Long Path
Encyclopedia
The Long Path is a 347.4 miles (559.1 km) long-distance
hiking
trail
beginning at the George Washington Bridge
in Fort Lee
, New Jersey
and currently ending at Altamont
, New York
, in the Albany area
. While not yet a continuous trail, relying on road walks in some areas, it nevertheless takes in many of the popular hiking attractions west of the Hudson River
, such as the New Jersey Palisades
, Harriman State Park, the Shawangunk Ridge
and the Catskill Mountains
. It offers hikers an incredible diversity of environments to pass through, from suburbia and sea-level salt marsh
es along the Hudson to wilderness and boreal forest on Catskill summits 4,000 feet (1219 m) in elevation.
When originally conceived in the 1930s, it was to be the antithesis of a hiking trail, with neither a designated route nor blazes
, simply a list of points of interest hikers could find their own routes to. However, increasing development after World War II
in Orange
and Rockland
counties
made that less workable, and it was revived in the 1960s as a standard trail. Future plans call for it to be extended through the Adirondacks
to the Canadian
border.
who worked in Schenectady, New York
for General Electric
, began to imagine a "hiker's route" from New York City
to the Adirondacks shortly after helping to found the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club in 1929. He was very clear on one thing: that it not be marked as a trail.
"Schaefer envisioned resourceful hikers making use of what they found along the way," say historian
s Guy and Laura Waterman — whether hikers' trails, back roads, abandoned wood roads, tow paths, creek
beds, game trails, plus occasional bushwhacks where that appeared to offer the most interesting route." They quote him describing the Long Path as:
He wrote to an official at Harriman that:
's line about "the long brown path that leads wherever I choose" from his poem Song of the Open Road
. Since that was also where Raymond H. Torrey
, the New York Post
s influential hiking columnist
, had gotten the name for his column, it was a smart public relations
choice. Torrey, who had done much to get the Appalachian Trail
built, both physically and in print, in the New York metropolitan area
the previous decade, announced the idea in a column in 1933. Another strong advocate in the early days was a transplanted Coloradan
, W.W. Cady, who came to be identified with the LP almost as much as Schaefer himself.
He and Torrey, who devoted a series of columns to it the next year, scouted a route from the city to the Catskills, while Schaefer and his brother did the same for the "trail"'s northern half, envisioning an end at Whiteface Mountain
in the Adirondack High Peaks.
To Schaefer, once this route was scouted, it was finished, per his concept ... "(it) exist(s) as soon as the route had been field explored and then marked on a topo map, and so had become available to the person who appreciates such things." However, very few of these people could be counted among the hiking community of the day, to whom a trail was something to follow, and they had difficulty grasping the concept that the trail was open. Schaefer and hiking club pal Al Getz followed the Long Path from Schenectady to Edward's Hill in the southern Adirondacks, near Baker's Mills, NY, in the late 1930s, but as Schaefer and Cady became involved in the war effort
and drifted away from the hiking community afterwards, the idea of the Long Path as originally conceived quickly became part of history.
and its continuation over Peekamoose's neighbor, hitherto trailless Table Mountain
, crossing the East Branch of the Neversink River
and enabling a link with the existing Catskill trail system.
The Catskill route was finally completed in 1987 when a trail was built connecting the snowmobile
loop around Kaaterskill High Peak
to Palenville
. A further missing link, from the Sam's Point Preserve
in the Shawangunks to VerKeerderkill Falls
, was cut a decade later.
In 1991, Vince Schaefer (1906–1993) prepared a guide to the northern LP, consisting of a set of 5 sets of short descriptions of 80+ "Landmarks" with accompanying topographic map locations. The Guide was crafted as a hiker's pocket-sized book entitled, "Field Guide to the Landmarks of the Long Path of New York: Northern Section -- Gilboa to Whiteface Mt." Prepared by Vincent J Schaefer 1931-1991 with the original route and philosophy.
Schaefer's son, James M Schaefer joined the Long Path North Hiking Club Trail Committee, sharing sets of letters, sketches and plans from his father's files to push the Long Path into the 21st Century. With members of the LPN a route was set, landmarks were located by Global Positioning Systems and digital photos were established for 80 plus places that Schaefer reckoned to be worthy of attention.
On the ground, a low volume road walk was located through Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga counties, crossing the Helderbergs, the Rotterdam Hills, to the Mohawk River
. The LPN connected to county and state parks whenever possible and had a goal of relocating sections "off-road." Across the Mohawk the LP coursed into the Glenville Hills, with a major off-road section atop Wolf Hollow.
As it reached the (southern) Adirondack Blue Line
, just north of Lake Desolation, the LP took on a "Forever-Wild" character, becoming a bushwhack, a landmark-to-landmark trek through the southern and central Park into the High Peaks, following log roads, existing trails, low volume roads to eventually reach the top of Whiteface Mt., with its climate observation tower—SUNY's "Schaefer Observatory" -- of 1980 Olympic fame, as the last cached location of the LP.
In summary, the LP has become a hybrid trail. A 70 year-old first—an ecologically sensitive "path" from high density urban centers, across the spectacular Eastern New York high country, to the remote, serene, and untampered wilderness. The blazed 347 miles (558.4 km) of the LP are tailor-made for the traditional blazed-trail hiker, the 100 miles (160.9 km) low-volume road-walk affords the physically challenged with a way to appreciate semi-wild places accompanied by culturally, geologically and historic way-side landmarks. And for the woods savvy hiker, the bushwhacks through the last 150 miles (241.4 km) of the LP capture Vince Schaefer's original vision for the Long Path—a tramp across short distances using 'dead-reckoning, modern point-to-point "geo-caching" and sheer map reading, orienteering skills. 75 years after the thought, a "Long Brown Path" exists.
in Windham in 1985, H. Neil Zimmerman of the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference
renewed interest in the Adirondack connection. The Long Path North Committee was formed, and after some negotiations with area landowners eight miles (12.8 km) of trail were opened in 1990. By the middle of the decade, it would extend 75 miles (120 km) north of its former terminus, to the Indian Ladder in John Boyd Thacher State Park
. In the early 2000s, five more miles (8 km) were opened and blazed to Route 146
, and informal road blazes existed from there to the Mohawk and the Adirondack Park Blue Line.
Perhaps reflecting its origins as a trail that wasn't really a trail, the Long Path in the early 21st century is a work in progress, continually evolving even in those places where it has long been a presence. Relocations continue to be made and new sections opened.
The central Catskills have seen the greatest activity. In 1999, trail crews completed work on a section starting at the Willow Trail near the summit of Mount Tremper
near Phoenicia
, descending down into the neighboring valley and then over "Edgewood Mountain" into Silver Hollow Notch, where it follows an old road down to Route 214
. This section eliminated a lengthy road walk to Willow, albeit at the price of a two-mile (3 km) road walk into Stony Clove Notch
. However, this added Plateau Mountain to the trail route, and pending future approval from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
and an amendment to the Unit Management Plan for the Indian Head Wilderness Area, a new section will be built to follow a ridge from Silver Hollow Notch to the Devil's Path
on Plateau and eliminate that road walk.
To the south of Phoenicia, work is also continuing on a planned section to run from the Burroughs Range Trail near Wittenberg Mountain
over adjacent peaks to Route 28
that would eliminate the road walk out of Woodland Valley State Campground. Hikers would still have to walk along the highway into Phoenicia and then back out to pick up the trail unless they wished to ford Esopus Creek
.
Not long afterwards, the state purchased the former Lundy estate in the vicinity of Kerhonkson
, 4,930 acres (19.7 km²) straddling the Catskill Park Blue Line near the southern tip of the park. The new property, once occupied by an owner of Lundy's Restaurant
, is to become a state forest outside the park and a new Wild Forest within it. It will also allow for the relocation of the Long Path off roads to follow the Vernooy Kill. The relocation would rejoin the present Long Path route at Vernooy Falls west of Riggsville in the Ulster County township of Rochester, N.Y.
In late 2001, the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
allowed the construction of a new trail across its Platte Clove Preserve. It was added to the Long Path, and allowed for a rerouting of the route along existing trails to take in Indian Head Mountain and its stunning views of the Hudson Valley
, as well as eliminating a road walk that previously existed.
All these changes have combined or will to make the 94 miles (150 km) of Long Path in the Catskill Park almost entirely off-road.
In the Shawangunks, new agreements with landowners and/or changes in ownership have also made eliminations of road walks possible.
Further south, in heavily suburbanized Rockland County, where some road walks are now mostly unavoidable, the county's Planning Board has made the Long Path route an area of special attention and one of its spines for open space preservation efforts, trying to convince its local counterparts to protect the corridor.
North of the Catskills, the Long Path North Committee continues its efforts to bypass road walks and route the trail into more wooded areas, particularly the small state forest
s in Schoharie County
. The main problem the trail faces there, ironically, is underuse ... some sections just north of the Catskill Park, particularly the magnificent climb up Huntersfield Mountain and its associated range, are getting overgrown and only the blazes remain to indicate the trail. Increasing public awareness of the trail and promoting use of various sections continues to be a concern.
Lastly, the southern end of the trail was moved to an information kiosk
and parking area on the other side of the I-95
overpass at the bridge approach.
and the Shawangunks lies the broad valley of the Wallkill River
and the many lowlands within, then and now heavily farmed.
While under Schaefer's original concept it might have sufficed to use the odd field road and hedgerow as shortcuts between dusty country roads, as a blazed trail it is a headache for two reasons:
First, private landowners who were willing at first to allow a trail to be cut across their property have in many cases revoked that permission or changed their mind about giving it in the first place due to increased civil
liability
concerns on the part of themselves and their insurance
companies. While some changes in New York law have been made to accommodate those concerns, most take a wait-and-see attitude.
Second is the paucity of large tracts of open space, public or private, in that area that could be used. Today there are more options than there used to be, but for now the only major park of any kind that the trail takes advantage of in that region is Highland Lakes State Park
, for which the Palisades Interstate Park Commission
has never gotten around to developing or even planning, and thus the trail's approaches at either side of the park are poorly maintained and neglected. (To add to the confusion, blazes from earlier road walks can still be followed on roads south of Maybrook
and in the village of Montgomery
).
There are some encouraging future options. The creation of Stewart State Forest as a result of the late 1990s privatization
of Stewart International Airport
made another large tract of open land in the area available that had previously been closed to the trail; however that awaits the ultimate resolution of what is done with land still owned by the state Department of Transportation along Drury Lane pending the construction of the planned new exit along I-84
. Another new relocation possibility has emerged using abandoned railbeds and other off-road routes in the Washingtonville
area.
Despite this, the trail in northwestern Orange County, from Highland Lakes to the Shawangunks, still follows paved roads exclusively for 16.2 miles (26 km) and even the guidebook suggests that it might be a pleasant route for bicycling.
. In 1989, they conducted a feasibility study
on the idea of abandoning northern Orange County altogether and simply having the trail follow the Appalachian Trail from the junction in Harriman to High Point State Park in northwestern New Jersey, where a new trail would then be constructed to link up with the current LP along the ridge near Wurtsboro
. The result was the Shawangunk Ridge Trail, a 28.5-mile (49 km) connector which drew on a possible AT relocation that had first been considered in 1965, before the National Scenic Trails Act made it possible to protect the existing route.
It actually hugs the base of the ridge in some areas due to land-access issues, and has some road walks, but these are slowly being eliminated. The low-lying route in Sullivan County
actually is something of a blessing, as it allows hikers to take in the magnificent Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area
.
The AT-SRT detour is the route currently recommended by the Trail Conference for anyone considering a thru-hike of the LP, due to its better capacity for that purpose and fewer road walks, despite the additional 22 miles (35 km) it adds to the trip.
As the areas under the jurisdiction of the latter are somewhat beyond the Trail Conference's usual reach in the Greater New York area, the Long Path North Committee functions somewhat independently. In the future, when the trail begins to extend into the Adirondacks, it is likely that the Adirondack Mountain Club
or some other group based in the region will have management responsibilities for those sections.
Throughout most of its length, whether on or off the road, the LP is indicated by a 2-by-4-inch (5 by 10 cm) aqua
blaze. In some areas where blazes have not been repainted in some time older, light blue blazes may be found, but the distinctive "parakeet" aqua (sometimes referred to, incorrectly, in some guidebooks as teal
) indicates the Long Path, and only the Long Path.
In the Catskills and the state forests on the Shawangunk Ridge, the trail uses official NYSDEC markers — blue in the Shawangunks, and whatever color is used for the particular trail in the Catskills the LP follows. Markers with the LP logo (see above), either in aqua or blue (if older) can sometimes be found on signage at junctions where the LP changes trails.
The mile-long trail through the Catskill Center's Platte Clove Preserve follows green diamond-shaped metal markers with the Center's logo on it.
Finally, the section in Thacher State Park follows aqua plastic markers with the LP logo.
The Shawangunk Ridge Trail uses either the aqua blazes or blue NYSDEC markers, depending on whether it is on public or private land.
is not permitted.
After several dozen hikers had earned these, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would be the Earl Shaffer
of the Long Path, and on May 30, 1998, Mary Ann Nissley of Chalfont
, Pennsylvania
, a woman with experience hiking many long-distance trails, completed the first Long Path thru-hike in 25 days. Several others have followed since. To date all LP thru-hikers have gone from the George Washington Bridge to the Mohawk River; there is no reason not to try the journey southbound, but no one has yet.
The current Long Path guidebook now has information on nearby post office
s, motel
s and other things useful for those contemplating a thru-hike.
On May 24, 2005, trail runner
David O’Neill, the founder of Charity Runners Inc., finished the first thru-run of the Long Path, as a benefit for the Trail Conference. He had started on the first of the month; his time of 24 days is the current record for fastest journey up the Long Path (This included five days where he rested and allowed injuries to heal, and one day he did as a normal hike).
On May 13, 2006, O'Neill repeated the benefit thru-run and became the first to complete a thru-run of the Long Path using the AT-SRT detour. He started on the first of the month and completed the 369 miles (593.8 km) journey in 12 days, 5 hours, and 17 minutes.
In 2009, Jacob Aronson fulfilled Vincent Schaefer's original concept of hiking from the George Washington Bridge to Schaefer Observatory atop Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. He arrived in Altamont, NY, on July 6 to complete his thru-hike of the Long Path in 27 days. Using a combination of road walks and the Northville-Placid Trail
, he made his way from Altamont to Lake Placid, where he climbed nearby Whiteface Mountain on July 25, 46 days after he began hiking.
. After that, it enters the park along the cliff edges that it will remain in for the next 12.7 miles (20.4 km) to the state line, running through the woods next to Palisades Parkway at times and even passing through some of its rest stops and parking areas.
Once past the stone monument at the state line, it briefly dips back into New Jersey, then moves closer to Route 9W
near Columbia University
's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
, then heading for Tallman Mountain State Park
, where it climbs the eponymous feature, then descends to the trail's lowest elevation, a mere 5 feet (1.6 m) above sea level as it crosses Sparkill Creek
on a wooden bridge.
Climbing and crossing 9W again, it passes through the low hills in and near two county parks as it climbs up toward Blauvelt State Park
, then drops into Nyack
, where it crosses the New York State Thruway
for the first time. After passing through Mountainview County Nature Park, it follows 9W for a mile or so, then leaves it for Hook Mountain State Park and its dramatic views over the Hudson's Haverstraw Bay
. It then drops down to the small Haverstraw Beach State Park and follows a road out of it into High Tor State Park
, where the bare summit of the tor, the highest peak of the Palisades at 832 feet (253.5 m) affords the best views of this section of the Hudson Valley.
After High Tor, it stays on the ridge of South Mountain County Park as it curves away from the river, toward a crossing of Palisades Parkway, US 202
and NY 45
in Mount Ivy
. Again, the trail follows along in the woods along the parkway's right-of-way
until it can enter Cheesecote Town Park. After that, it's a short road walk that finally allows the trail to enter Harriman State Park.
-Bear Mountain
Trail, passing St.-John's-in-the-Wilderness Church, and finally reaching Seven Lakes Drive
at Lake Skannatati. North of there, it briefly joins the Dunning Trail and wanders among the ruins of an abandoned iron mine and joins the Arden-Surebridge Trail at the junction colloquially called Times Square. Leaving it to run alongside Dismal Swamp, it crosses the Appalachian Trail not long afterwards, then continues north towards the Lake Cohasset Shelter where camping is permitted. It then runs along the crest of Stockbridge Mountain, passing the Stockbridge and Stockbridge Cave Shelters, and afterwards works its way down to US 6
by way of a fire road.
It follows an access road into a parking area, then climbs up Long Mountain to a memorial
in honor of and at a favorite view of Raymond H. Torrey, who did much to make the trail possible. Then it heads westward, skirting at times the boundary of the United States Military Academy
(West Point) property, crossing NY 293
and following it and later Route 6 closely in neighboring woods until it can finally leave Harriman Park behind and drop down to local roads in the Central Valley
area, cross the Thruway again to NY 32
and Schunemunk Mountain.
On Schunemunk, it ascends some subsidiary knobs with sweeping views of the whole area, and eschews the summit for a drop down and then up again to the peak's western ridge, where it passes through some unique, rocky pitch pine
stands, and drops off it to local roads and an abandoned Erie
railbed, which bring it to NY 94
. After passing through and around Washingtonville on a combination of roads and railbeds, it follows local back roads past Campbell Hall, over the Wallkill River and under I-84
to Highland Lakes State Park.
After following old roads, horse trails and passing the two lakes that give the park its name, it emerges and once again follows local roads through Bullville
, into Sullivan County and finally back into the woods where it meets the Shawangunk Ridge Trail.
and briefly follows NY 52
as it descends towards Ellenville
, then climbs up to Cragsmoor
and the ridge crest again, following local streets to Sam's Point Preserve.
After following some of the old dirt roads from the days when the nearby ice caves were a tourist attraction, the trail follows a recently cut route through the dwarf pine forest to VerKeerderkill Falls
. This section has been identified as their favorite by many who have hiked much or all of the Long Path, as the shortness of the trees gives a feeling of being above tree line and allows for constant views of the ridge ahead and behind, Mid-Hudson valley to one side and the Catskills to the other. The falls themselves are also a unique sight. The trail is currently closed between VerKeerderkill Falls and Mud Pond, and a detour via High Point is necessary. However, this land in this area has recently (March 14, 2006) been added to the Minnewaska State Park Preserve and this section will presumably be re-opened.
The forest returns to normal as the trail then makes its way toward Minnewaska State Park Preserve
and its many rocky scrambles, cliffs and lakes. Awosting Falls is a highlight of this section.
From there the trail slowly begins to dip off the ridge, finally joining US 44
and NY 55
to cross Rondout Creek
and US 209
at Kerhonkson. Currently, it follows little-traveled local roads from there to the Catskill Park Blue Line.
Shortly after entering the Catskills, it reaches VerNooy Kill Falls, another popular day trip. It then climbs over Bangle Hill in the Sundown Wild Forest and descends steeply to a state campground at Bull Run.
One of the most challenging sections of the Long Path is ahead as it meets its first two Catskill High Peaks
, climbing more than 2600 feet (792.5 m) in 4 miles (6.4 km) to the summit of Peekamoose Mountain, then cresting neighboring Table after a brief dip.
From there it drops down to cross the East Branch of the Neversink River and then back up again slightly to a junction with the Phoenicia-East Branch Trail and the east end of the Finger Lakes Trail
. It follows the Phoenicia-East Branch Trail up to a col to the east of Wildcat Mountain, then up the beautiful Curtis-Ormsbee Trail to the summit ridge of Slide Mountain
, where the Burroughs Range Trail takes it a short distance to the highest peak in the Catskills and the highest point on the LP, approximately 4180 feet (1,274.1 m) above sea level.
It makes a rough descent over Cornell
and Wittenberg down to Woodland Valley State Campground, then follows the road out to Phoenicia.
, which offers splendid views of the entire region. Continuing on down to Warners Creek and then up Edgewood Mountain, where views north have been cut, it drops down again via Silver Hollow Notch to follow NY 214
to Stony Clove Notch
and the Devil's Path
, perhaps the most challenging and rewarding trail in the Catskills, over Plateau
, Sugarloaf
, Twin
and Indian Head
mountains down to the Platte Clove
Preserve, then a brief road walk to the Kaaterskill High Peak snowmobile trail. On the north side of that peak, the Long Path descends more than 2000 feet (609.6 m) via a zigzag route past several waterfalls to Palenville
, crosses NY 23A then goes back up the other side of Kaaterskill Clove
via the Old Overlook Road to the Escarpment Trail, the site of the legendary Catskill Mountain House
, North-South Lake State Campground
, and finally up to North Mountain
with its inspiring views back over the Escarpment and the lakes.
Eventually the trail tops out on 3420 feet (1,042.4 m) Stoppel Point near an old wrecked plane, then drops down into Dutcher Notch and then back up to a ridge culminating in a steep ascent up Blackhead Mountain and its 3940 feet (1,200.9 m) summit, then down again to Acra Point, Burnt Knob and finally Windham High Peak
, the northernmost of the Catskill High Peaks. Descending leisurely to NY 23, it leaves the Catskill Park but not the Catskills, as it immediately goes over several ranges of 3000 feet (914.4 m) peaks to Huntersfield Mountain, where NYSDEC has cut some views near the summit.
s and field edges to Schoharie Reservoir
and then enters the county of the same name
. First stop is Mine Kill State Park
and its waterfall, then the trail crosses through the woods to Lansing Manor at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project. It dips down into the Schoharie Creek
valley and crosses to Eminance and Patria state forests on the other side, then up NY 30 to Vroman's Nose
, a popular local hike.
Afterwards, it crosses the village of Middleburgh
and follows NY 145 briefly to climb the Middleburgh cliffs, then makes its way across Cotton Hill and Cannady state forests to Albany County
, where it takes in the Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area, Cole Hill State Forest and the 270-degree view of both the Catskills and Adirondacks from Roemer's High Point along the Helderberg Escarpment
, which it follows north to Thacher Park
, the Indian Ladder
and finally its current end at NY 146.
Long-distance trail
Long-distance trails are the longer recreational trails mainly through rural areas, used for non-motorised recreational travelling ....
hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
beginning at the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
in Fort Lee
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and currently ending at Altamont
Altamont, Albany County, New York
Altamont is a village located in the town of Guilderland in Albany County, New York. The village is in the western part of the town. The population was 1,720 at the 2010 census. The name means "high mountain."- History :...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in the Albany area
Capital District
New York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County...
. While not yet a continuous trail, relying on road walks in some areas, it nevertheless takes in many of the popular hiking attractions west of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, such as the New Jersey Palisades
New Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
, Harriman State Park, the Shawangunk Ridge
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...
and the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
. It offers hikers an incredible diversity of environments to pass through, from suburbia and sea-level salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es along the Hudson to wilderness and boreal forest on Catskill summits 4,000 feet (1219 m) in elevation.
When originally conceived in the 1930s, it was to be the antithesis of a hiking trail, with neither a designated route nor blazes
Trail blazing
Trail blazing, or trailblazing, is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with blazes, markings that follow each other at certain — though not necessarily exactly defined — distances and mark the direction of the trail...
, simply a list of points of interest hikers could find their own routes to. However, increasing development after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Orange
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
and Rockland
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
counties
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
made that less workable, and it was revived in the 1960s as a standard trail. Future plans call for it to be extended through the Adirondacks
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
to the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
border.
Conception
Vincent Joseph Schaefer, a scientistScientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
who worked in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
for General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, began to imagine a "hiker's route" from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to the Adirondacks shortly after helping to found the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club in 1929. He was very clear on one thing: that it not be marked as a trail.
"Schaefer envisioned resourceful hikers making use of what they found along the way," say historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s Guy and Laura Waterman — whether hikers' trails, back roads, abandoned wood roads, tow paths, creek
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
beds, game trails, plus occasional bushwhacks where that appeared to offer the most interesting route." They quote him describing the Long Path as:
...[A] route that a person having good "woods" sense could use to move across a region using compass and "topo" map, and that in a meandering way would lead such persons to most of the interesting scenic vistas, rock formations, choice or unique vegetation, historical sites and similar items that a certain type of outdoors person enjoys
He wrote to an official at Harriman that:
There would be no cutting or blazing, for this trail would be a truly wild walk that wouldn't erode the land or scar the solitude ... and each found site would be an adventure in orienteeringOrienteeringOrienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
.
Implementation
He named his idea the Long Path after Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
's line about "the long brown path that leads wherever I choose" from his poem Song of the Open Road
Song of the Open Road
Song of the Open Road is a 1944 musical comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon, from a screenplay by Irving Phillips and Edward Verdier.-Overview:...
. Since that was also where Raymond H. Torrey
Raymond H. Torrey
Raymond Hezekiah Torrey was the author of weekly columns, Outings and The Long Brown Path in the New York Evening Post in the 1920s and 1930s. The column played a major role in the development of the Appalachian Trail, the Long Path and the popularity of hiking generally...
, the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
s influential hiking columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
, had gotten the name for his column, it was a smart public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
choice. Torrey, who had done much to get the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
built, both physically and in print, in the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
the previous decade, announced the idea in a column in 1933. Another strong advocate in the early days was a transplanted Coloradan
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, W.W. Cady, who came to be identified with the LP almost as much as Schaefer himself.
He and Torrey, who devoted a series of columns to it the next year, scouted a route from the city to the Catskills, while Schaefer and his brother did the same for the "trail"'s northern half, envisioning an end at Whiteface Mountain
Whiteface Mountain
Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in New York State, and one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. Set apart from most of the other High Peaks, the summit offers a 360-degree view featuring the Adirondacks and perhaps on a clear day glimpses of Vermont and even Canada. The...
in the Adirondack High Peaks.
To Schaefer, once this route was scouted, it was finished, per his concept ... "(it) exist(s) as soon as the route had been field explored and then marked on a topo map, and so had become available to the person who appreciates such things." However, very few of these people could be counted among the hiking community of the day, to whom a trail was something to follow, and they had difficulty grasping the concept that the trail was open. Schaefer and hiking club pal Al Getz followed the Long Path from Schenectady to Edward's Hill in the southern Adirondacks, near Baker's Mills, NY, in the late 1930s, but as Schaefer and Cady became involved in the war effort
Military production during World War II
Military production during World War II was a critical component to military performance during WWII. Over the course of the war, the Allied countries outproduced the Axis countries in most categories of weapons.-Gross domestic product :...
and drifted away from the hiking community afterwards, the idea of the Long Path as originally conceived quickly became part of history.
Resurrection
In 1960, Robert Jessen of the Ramapo Ramblers hiking club, and another city-based hiker, Michael Warren, revived the idea. Since Rockland and Orange counties had become more developed even then, they abandoned the original concept of an unmarked route and pushed instead a conventional trail, although it had to make use of road routes. Over the next two decades they were successful in establishing a continuous trail from the George Washington Bridge to the southern Catskills, helped by a major relocation of the trail up Peekamoose MountainPeekamoose Mountain
Peekamoose Mountain is a mountain located in Ulster County, New York.The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains.Peekamoose Mountain is flanked to the north by Table Mountain....
and its continuation over Peekamoose's neighbor, hitherto trailless Table Mountain
Table Mountain (New York)
Table Mountain is a mountain located in Ulster County, New York.The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains.Table Mountain is flanked to the south by Peekamoose Mountain, and to the northeast by Lone Mountain....
, crossing the East Branch of the Neversink River
Neversink River
The Neversink River is a tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern New York in the United States...
and enabling a link with the existing Catskill trail system.
The Catskill route was finally completed in 1987 when a trail was built connecting the snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
loop around Kaaterskill High Peak
Kaaterskill High Peak
Kaaterskill High Peak is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, USA. It was once believed to be the highest peak in the entire range, but its summit, at 3,655 feet in elevation, places it only 23rd among the Catskill High Peaks. It is, however,...
to Palenville
Palenville, New York
Palenville is a hamlet in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 1,037 at the 2010 census.Palenville is in the southwest part of the Town of Catskill, located at the junction of Routes 23A and 32A. It lies at the foot of Kaaterskill Clove, nestled against the base of the...
. A further missing link, from the Sam's Point Preserve
Sam's Point Preserve
Sam's Point Preserve, or Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve, is a 4,600-acre preserve in Ulster County on the highest point of the Shawangunk Ridge in New York. It is owned by the Open Space Institute and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Its unique environment features dwarf pine trees...
in the Shawangunks to VerKeerderkill Falls
VerKeerderkill Falls
VerKeerderkill Falls is the highest waterfall in Sam's Point Preserve in the Shawangunk Mountains in the town of Shawangunk, Ulster County, New York. It is 180 feet tall and has a 3-mile long trail going to it branching off from the main trail, which is in Sam's Point Preserve. The waterfall is...
, was cut a decade later.
In 1991, Vince Schaefer (1906–1993) prepared a guide to the northern LP, consisting of a set of 5 sets of short descriptions of 80+ "Landmarks" with accompanying topographic map locations. The Guide was crafted as a hiker's pocket-sized book entitled, "Field Guide to the Landmarks of the Long Path of New York: Northern Section -- Gilboa to Whiteface Mt." Prepared by Vincent J Schaefer 1931-1991 with the original route and philosophy.
Schaefer's son, James M Schaefer joined the Long Path North Hiking Club Trail Committee, sharing sets of letters, sketches and plans from his father's files to push the Long Path into the 21st Century. With members of the LPN a route was set, landmarks were located by Global Positioning Systems and digital photos were established for 80 plus places that Schaefer reckoned to be worthy of attention.
On the ground, a low volume road walk was located through Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga counties, crossing the Helderbergs, the Rotterdam Hills, to the Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
. The LPN connected to county and state parks whenever possible and had a goal of relocating sections "off-road." Across the Mohawk the LP coursed into the Glenville Hills, with a major off-road section atop Wolf Hollow.
As it reached the (southern) Adirondack Blue Line
Blue Line (New York State)
The Blue Line is the term used in New York state for the boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks, within which can be found the state's Forest Preserve...
, just north of Lake Desolation, the LP took on a "Forever-Wild" character, becoming a bushwhack, a landmark-to-landmark trek through the southern and central Park into the High Peaks, following log roads, existing trails, low volume roads to eventually reach the top of Whiteface Mt., with its climate observation tower—SUNY's "Schaefer Observatory" -- of 1980 Olympic fame, as the last cached location of the LP.
In summary, the LP has become a hybrid trail. A 70 year-old first—an ecologically sensitive "path" from high density urban centers, across the spectacular Eastern New York high country, to the remote, serene, and untampered wilderness. The blazed 347 miles (558.4 km) of the LP are tailor-made for the traditional blazed-trail hiker, the 100 miles (160.9 km) low-volume road-walk affords the physically challenged with a way to appreciate semi-wild places accompanied by culturally, geologically and historic way-side landmarks. And for the woods savvy hiker, the bushwhacks through the last 150 miles (241.4 km) of the LP capture Vince Schaefer's original vision for the Long Path—a tramp across short distances using 'dead-reckoning, modern point-to-point "geo-caching" and sheer map reading, orienteering skills. 75 years after the thought, a "Long Brown Path" exists.
Expansion
As the lower trail neared completion to the northern boundary of Catskill Park at Route 23New York State Route 23
New York State Route 23 is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains, where it continues east as...
in Windham in 1985, H. Neil Zimmerman of the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference
New York - New Jersey Trail Conference
The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference is a federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations...
renewed interest in the Adirondack connection. The Long Path North Committee was formed, and after some negotiations with area landowners eight miles (12.8 km) of trail were opened in 1990. By the middle of the decade, it would extend 75 miles (120 km) north of its former terminus, to the Indian Ladder in John Boyd Thacher State Park
John Boyd Thacher State Park
John Boyd Thacher State Park is a state park located 15 miles southwest of Albany, New York near Voorheesville, in Albany County on State Route 157...
. In the early 2000s, five more miles (8 km) were opened and blazed to Route 146
New York State Route 146
New York State Route 146 is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. It extends for from Gallupville at NY 443 to near Mechanicville at U.S. Route 4 and NY 32. NY 146 is a major thoroughfare in the city of Schenectady, just outside of...
, and informal road blazes existed from there to the Mohawk and the Adirondack Park Blue Line.
The Long Path today
The central Catskills have seen the greatest activity. In 1999, trail crews completed work on a section starting at the Willow Trail near the summit of Mount Tremper
Mount Tremper
Mount Tremper, officially known as Tremper Mountain and originally called Timothyberg, is one of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It is located near the hamlet of Phoenicia, in the valley of Esopus Creek....
near Phoenicia
Phoenicia, New York
Phoenicia is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 381 at the 2000 census.Phoenicia is located in the northeast part of Town of Shandaken, on Route 28. It is the largest community in the town...
, descending down into the neighboring valley and then over "Edgewood Mountain" into Silver Hollow Notch, where it follows an old road down to Route 214
New York State Route 214
New York State Route 214 is a short but scenic state highway in the heart of the Catskill Park. It runs north–south from near the hamlet of Phoenicia up near an old railroad route into the narrow pass known as Stony Clove Notch, then down into the upper Schoharie Creek valley to end...
. This section eliminated a lengthy road walk to Willow, albeit at the price of a two-mile (3 km) road walk into Stony Clove Notch
Stony Clove Notch
Stony Clove Notch is a narrow pass, roughly 2,220 feet in elevation located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, deep in the Catskill Mountains. It is traversed by New York State Route 214, although in the past the Ulster and Delaware Railroad went through it as well.The notch divides...
. However, this added Plateau Mountain to the trail route, and pending future approval from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for the conservation, improvement, and protection of natural resources within the U.S. state of New York. It was founded in 1970, replacing the previous Conservation Department...
and an amendment to the Unit Management Plan for the Indian Head Wilderness Area, a new section will be built to follow a ridge from Silver Hollow Notch to the Devil's Path
Devil's Path (Catskills)
The Devil's Path is the name of a mountain range and hiking trail in the Greene County portion of New York's Catskill Mountains. The mountains commonly considered to be part of the Devil's Path are, from west to east, West Kill, Hunter, Plateau, Sugarloaf, Twin, and Indian Head.The name comes from...
on Plateau and eliminate that road walk.
To the south of Phoenicia, work is also continuing on a planned section to run from the Burroughs Range Trail near Wittenberg Mountain
Wittenberg Mountain
Wittenberg Mountain is a mountain located in Ulster County, New York.The mountain is part of the Burroughs Range of the Catskill Mountains.Wittenberg is flanked to the southwest by Cornell Mountain....
over adjacent peaks to Route 28
New York State Route 28
New York State Route 28 is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major routes, including Interstate 88 , U.S. Route 20 , and the...
that would eliminate the road walk out of Woodland Valley State Campground. Hikers would still have to walk along the highway into Phoenicia and then back out to pick up the trail unless they wished to ford Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Ulster County to the Hudson at Saugerties. Many tributaries...
.
Not long afterwards, the state purchased the former Lundy estate in the vicinity of Kerhonkson
Kerhonkson, New York
Kerhonkson is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,684 at the 2010 census.Kerhonkson is a small hamlet which, along with Accord, makes up the Town of Rochester on US 209, just south of the town's boundary with the Town of Wawarsing and just north of where US 44...
, 4,930 acres (19.7 km²) straddling the Catskill Park Blue Line near the southern tip of the park. The new property, once occupied by an owner of Lundy's Restaurant
Lundy's Restaurant
Lundy's Restaurant, also known as Lundy Brothers Restaurant, was a historic American seafood restaurant in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn...
, is to become a state forest outside the park and a new Wild Forest within it. It will also allow for the relocation of the Long Path off roads to follow the Vernooy Kill. The relocation would rejoin the present Long Path route at Vernooy Falls west of Riggsville in the Ulster County township of Rochester, N.Y.
In late 2001, the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, usually referred to as the Catskill Center, is a not-for-profit organization based in Arkville, New York, United States...
allowed the construction of a new trail across its Platte Clove Preserve. It was added to the Long Path, and allowed for a rerouting of the route along existing trails to take in Indian Head Mountain and its stunning views of the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
, as well as eliminating a road walk that previously existed.
All these changes have combined or will to make the 94 miles (150 km) of Long Path in the Catskill Park almost entirely off-road.
In the Shawangunks, new agreements with landowners and/or changes in ownership have also made eliminations of road walks possible.
Further south, in heavily suburbanized Rockland County, where some road walks are now mostly unavoidable, the county's Planning Board has made the Long Path route an area of special attention and one of its spines for open space preservation efforts, trying to convince its local counterparts to protect the corridor.
North of the Catskills, the Long Path North Committee continues its efforts to bypass road walks and route the trail into more wooded areas, particularly the small state forest
State forest
A state forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign state.The precise application of the term varies by jurisdiction...
s in Schoharie County
Schoharie County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,582 people, 11,991 households and 8,177 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 15,915 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
. The main problem the trail faces there, ironically, is underuse ... some sections just north of the Catskill Park, particularly the magnificent climb up Huntersfield Mountain and its associated range, are getting overgrown and only the blazes remain to indicate the trail. Increasing public awareness of the trail and promoting use of various sections continues to be a concern.
Lastly, the southern end of the trail was moved to an information kiosk
Kiosk
Kiosk is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. Kiosks were common in Persia, India, Pakistan, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward...
and parking area on the other side of the I-95
Interstate 95 in New Jersey
Interstate 95 is a major Interstate Highway that traverses the full extent of the East Coast of the United States, from Florida to Maine...
overpass at the bridge approach.
The Orange County problem
From the earliest days of the Long Path one of the most difficult issues has been how to get the trail across northern Orange County as a foot path. Between Schunemunk MountainSchunemunk Mountain
Schunemunk Mountain is the highest mountain in Orange County, New York. The 1,664-foot summit is located in the town of Blooming Grove, with other portions in Cornwall and Woodbury. The community of Mountain Lodge Park is built up its western slope.The mountain is a popular recreational resource...
and the Shawangunks lies the broad valley of the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
and the many lowlands within, then and now heavily farmed.
While under Schaefer's original concept it might have sufficed to use the odd field road and hedgerow as shortcuts between dusty country roads, as a blazed trail it is a headache for two reasons:
First, private landowners who were willing at first to allow a trail to be cut across their property have in many cases revoked that permission or changed their mind about giving it in the first place due to increased civil
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
liability
Legal liability
Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
concerns on the part of themselves and their insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
companies. While some changes in New York law have been made to accommodate those concerns, most take a wait-and-see attitude.
Second is the paucity of large tracts of open space, public or private, in that area that could be used. Today there are more options than there used to be, but for now the only major park of any kind that the trail takes advantage of in that region is Highland Lakes State Park
Highland Lakes State Park
Highland Lakes State Park is a state park in the State of New York, USA. The park is located in Orange County north of New York City.The park is west of Middletown on Route 211.The park offers hiking, fishing and a bridle path...
, for which the Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century...
has never gotten around to developing or even planning, and thus the trail's approaches at either side of the park are poorly maintained and neglected. (To add to the confusion, blazes from earlier road walks can still be followed on roads south of Maybrook
Maybrook, New York
Maybrook is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,084 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
and in the village of Montgomery
Montgomery (village), New York
Montgomery is a village located in Orange County, New York, United States, 60 miles northwest of New York City, and 90 miles southwest of Albany. The population was 3,636 at the 2000 census...
).
There are some encouraging future options. The creation of Stewart State Forest as a result of the late 1990s privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of Stewart International Airport
Stewart International Airport
Stewart International Airport is located in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, New York and over north of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The airport is located in the Town of Newburgh and the Town of New Windsor."." U.S. Census Bureau...
made another large tract of open land in the area available that had previously been closed to the trail; however that awaits the ultimate resolution of what is done with land still owned by the state Department of Transportation along Drury Lane pending the construction of the planned new exit along I-84
Interstate 84 (east)
Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...
. Another new relocation possibility has emerged using abandoned railbeds and other off-road routes in the Washingtonville
Washingtonville, New York
Washingtonville is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,851 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
area.
Despite this, the trail in northwestern Orange County, from Highland Lakes to the Shawangunks, still follows paved roads exclusively for 16.2 miles (26 km) and even the guidebook suggests that it might be a pleasant route for bicycling.
The Shawangunk Ridge Trail
One way of solving the Orange County problem, avoiding it entirely, came out the joint efforts of the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference and the National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. In 1989, they conducted a feasibility study
Feasibility study
Feasibility studies aim to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest...
on the idea of abandoning northern Orange County altogether and simply having the trail follow the Appalachian Trail from the junction in Harriman to High Point State Park in northwestern New Jersey, where a new trail would then be constructed to link up with the current LP along the ridge near Wurtsboro
Wurtsboro, New York
Wurtsboro is a village located on U.S. Route 209 in the town of Mamakating in Sullivan County, New York, United States, near its junction with New York State Route 17...
. The result was the Shawangunk Ridge Trail, a 28.5-mile (49 km) connector which drew on a possible AT relocation that had first been considered in 1965, before the National Scenic Trails Act made it possible to protect the existing route.
It actually hugs the base of the ridge in some areas due to land-access issues, and has some road walks, but these are slowly being eliminated. The low-lying route in Sullivan County
Sullivan County, New York
Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,547. The county seat is Monticello. The name is in honor of Major General John Sullivan, who was a hero in the American Revolutionary War...
actually is something of a blessing, as it allows hikers to take in the magnificent Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area
Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area
The Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area consists of over 3,000 acres of wetlands and uplands in Orange County and Sullivan County in New York State, U.S.-External links:**...
.
The AT-SRT detour is the route currently recommended by the Trail Conference for anyone considering a thru-hike of the LP, due to its better capacity for that purpose and fewer road walks, despite the additional 22 miles (35 km) it adds to the trip.
Management
The Long Path is currently under the purview of the Trail Conference, which divides it geographically into three sections:- The Long Path South Committee for the areas south of the Catskills
- the existing Catskill Trails Committee for the Catskills
- and The Long Path North Committee.
As the areas under the jurisdiction of the latter are somewhat beyond the Trail Conference's usual reach in the Greater New York area, the Long Path North Committee functions somewhat independently. In the future, when the trail begins to extend into the Adirondacks, it is likely that the Adirondack Mountain Club
Adirondack Mountain Club
The Adirondack Mountain Club is a nonprofit organization founded in 1922. It has approximately 35,000 members. The ADK is dedicated to the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, parks, wild lands, and waters; it conducts extensive conservation, and...
or some other group based in the region will have management responsibilities for those sections.
Marking
Aquamarine (color)
Aquamarine is a color that is a pale bright tint of spring green toned toward cyan. It is named after the mineral aquamarine, a gemstone mainly found in granite rocks...
blaze. In some areas where blazes have not been repainted in some time older, light blue blazes may be found, but the distinctive "parakeet" aqua (sometimes referred to, incorrectly, in some guidebooks as teal
Teal (color)
Teal is a medium blue-green color. It is named after the Common Teal, a member of the duck family, whose eyes are surrounded by the color.Teal is one of the initial group of 16 HTML/CSS web colors formulated in 1987, shown below....
) indicates the Long Path, and only the Long Path.
In the Catskills and the state forests on the Shawangunk Ridge, the trail uses official NYSDEC markers — blue in the Shawangunks, and whatever color is used for the particular trail in the Catskills the LP follows. Markers with the LP logo (see above), either in aqua or blue (if older) can sometimes be found on signage at junctions where the LP changes trails.
The mile-long trail through the Catskill Center's Platte Clove Preserve follows green diamond-shaped metal markers with the Center's logo on it.
Finally, the section in Thacher State Park follows aqua plastic markers with the LP logo.
The Shawangunk Ridge Trail uses either the aqua blazes or blue NYSDEC markers, depending on whether it is on public or private land.
End-to-end
When it began to be established as a marked trail, the Long Path was not built with an eye toward being "thru-hiked" in one continuous trip, as it was more a backbone for creating hiking opportunities in areas which did not yet have them and thus ideal for day trips or short overnights. The Trail Conference did give out rockers for those who completed a tally sheet of trips made on different dates. The trail, even with the AT/Shawangunk Ridge detour available, was difficult for those from out of the region who would need access to maildrops and places to sleep in the areas where campingCamping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
is not permitted.
After several dozen hikers had earned these, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would be the Earl Shaffer
Earl Shaffer
Earl V. Shaffer , was an American outdoorsman and author known from 1948 as The Crazy One for attempting what became the first documented hiking trip over the entire length of the Appalachian Trail...
of the Long Path, and on May 30, 1998, Mary Ann Nissley of Chalfont
Chalfont, Pennsylvania
Chalfont is a home rule municipality located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census.Chalfont is named after Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, England...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, a woman with experience hiking many long-distance trails, completed the first Long Path thru-hike in 25 days. Several others have followed since. To date all LP thru-hikers have gone from the George Washington Bridge to the Mohawk River; there is no reason not to try the journey southbound, but no one has yet.
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
s, motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
s and other things useful for those contemplating a thru-hike.
On May 24, 2005, trail runner
Trail running
Trail running is a variant on running that differs markedly from road running and track running. Trail running generally takes place on hiking trails, most commonly single track trails, although fire roads are not uncommon. A distinguishing characteristic of the trails is that they are often...
David O’Neill, the founder of Charity Runners Inc., finished the first thru-run of the Long Path, as a benefit for the Trail Conference. He had started on the first of the month; his time of 24 days is the current record for fastest journey up the Long Path (This included five days where he rested and allowed injuries to heal, and one day he did as a normal hike).
On May 13, 2006, O'Neill repeated the benefit thru-run and became the first to complete a thru-run of the Long Path using the AT-SRT detour. He started on the first of the month and completed the 369 miles (593.8 km) journey in 12 days, 5 hours, and 17 minutes.
In 2009, Jacob Aronson fulfilled Vincent Schaefer's original concept of hiking from the George Washington Bridge to Schaefer Observatory atop Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. He arrived in Altamont, NY, on July 6 to complete his thru-hike of the Long Path in 27 days. Using a combination of road walks and the Northville-Placid Trail
Northville-Placid Trail
The Northville-Lake Placid Trail, also known as the NPT, is a lightly travelled foot trail that runs 133 mi through the Adirondack Park in northern New York State. It was laid out by the Adirondack Mountain Club in 1922 and 1923, and is now maintained by the New York State Department of...
, he made his way from Altamont to Lake Placid, where he climbed nearby Whiteface Mountain on July 25, 46 days after he began hiking.
Fort Lee to Harriman State Park
Currently, from its new beginning just slightly south of the old one, the LP goes over the bridge approach and then a pedestrian bridge over a ramp from the bridge to Palisades Interstate ParkwayPalisades Interstate Parkway
The Palisades Interstate Parkway is a long limited-access highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in New Jersey...
. After that, it enters the park along the cliff edges that it will remain in for the next 12.7 miles (20.4 km) to the state line, running through the woods next to Palisades Parkway at times and even passing through some of its rest stops and parking areas.
Once past the stone monument at the state line, it briefly dips back into New Jersey, then moves closer to Route 9W
U.S. Route 9W
U.S. Route 9W is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins on Fletcher Avenue in Fort Lee, New Jersey as it crosses the US 1 & 9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 approaches to the George Washington Bridge, where it heads north up the west...
near Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
The Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory is a research unit of Columbia University located on a campus in Palisades, N.Y., north of Manhattan on the Hudson River.- History :...
, then heading for Tallman Mountain State Park
Tallman Mountain State Park
Tallman Mountain State Park is a New York State Park located in the Town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, adjacent to the Hudson River. It is located just south of Piermont and includes part of Piermont Marsh, which is included in the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve...
, where it climbs the eponymous feature, then descends to the trail's lowest elevation, a mere 5 feet (1.6 m) above sea level as it crosses Sparkill Creek
Sparkill Creek
Sparkill Creek, located in Rockland County, New York and Bergen County, New Jersey, is eight miles long and begins from rain on Clausland Mountain in Orangetown, New York...
on a wooden bridge.
Climbing and crossing 9W again, it passes through the low hills in and near two county parks as it climbs up toward Blauvelt State Park
Blauvelt State Park
Blauvelt State Park is located in the Town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, not far from the Hudson River. The park is south of Nyack, New York.This is an undeveloped park with no facilities other than hiking trails and limited parking...
, then drops into Nyack
Nyack, New York
Nyack is a village in the towns of Orangetown and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of South Nyack; east of Central Nyack; south of Upper Nyack and west of the Hudson River, approximately 19 miles north of the Manhattan boundary, it is an inner suburb of New...
, where it crosses the New York State Thruway
New York State Thruway
The New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
for the first time. After passing through Mountainview County Nature Park, it follows 9W for a mile or so, then leaves it for Hook Mountain State Park and its dramatic views over the Hudson's Haverstraw Bay
Haverstraw Bay
Haverstraw Bay, located in New York, is the widest portion of the Hudson River. The width of Haverstraw Bay is approximately 3.4 miles . The length approximately 5 miles from river kilometer 58 at Croton Point to river kilometer 66 at Stony Point...
. It then drops down to the small Haverstraw Beach State Park and follows a road out of it into High Tor State Park
High Tor State Park
High Tor State Park is a state park located on the northern edge of the Town of Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York in the USA. It is named after High Tor Mountain, also known as Vogel Mountain, it's highest peak at an elevation of 832 feet....
, where the bare summit of the tor, the highest peak of the Palisades at 832 feet (253.5 m) affords the best views of this section of the Hudson Valley.
After High Tor, it stays on the ridge of South Mountain County Park as it curves away from the river, toward a crossing of Palisades Parkway, US 202
U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 is a highway stretching from Delaware to Maine, also passing through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire....
and NY 45
New York State Route 45
New York State Route 45 is a north–south state highway in central Rockland County, New York, United States. It spans from the village of Chestnut Ridge at the New Jersey – New York border, where it becomes County Route 73 in Bergen County, New Jersey, to U.S. Route 202 in...
in Mount Ivy
Mount Ivy, New York
Mount Ivy is a hamlet in the towns of Haverstraw and Ramapo New York, United States located north of New City; east of Pomona; south of Thiells and west of the Garnerville...
. Again, the trail follows along in the woods along the parkway's right-of-way
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
until it can enter Cheesecote Town Park. After that, it's a short road walk that finally allows the trail to enter Harriman State Park.
Harriman to the Shawangunks
The trail meanders through this southern part of the park, briefly joining with the cross-park SuffernSuffern, New York
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont...
-Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain (Hudson Highlands)
Bear Mountain is one of the best-known peaks of New York's Hudson Highlands. Located mostly in Orange County's Town of Highlands, it lends its name to a nearby bridge and the state park that contains it....
Trail, passing St.-John's-in-the-Wilderness Church, and finally reaching Seven Lakes Drive
Seven Lakes Drive
Seven Lakes Drive is a 17.91 mile long parkway in the U.S. state of New York. The southern terminus of the route is at New York State Route 17 in Sloatsburg. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 9W and U.S. Route 202 a mile south of Fort Montgomery in Bear Mountain State Park...
at Lake Skannatati. North of there, it briefly joins the Dunning Trail and wanders among the ruins of an abandoned iron mine and joins the Arden-Surebridge Trail at the junction colloquially called Times Square. Leaving it to run alongside Dismal Swamp, it crosses the Appalachian Trail not long afterwards, then continues north towards the Lake Cohasset Shelter where camping is permitted. It then runs along the crest of Stockbridge Mountain, passing the Stockbridge and Stockbridge Cave Shelters, and afterwards works its way down to US 6
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...
by way of a fire road.
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
in honor of and at a favorite view of Raymond H. Torrey, who did much to make the trail possible. Then it heads westward, skirting at times the boundary of the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
(West Point) property, crossing NY 293
New York State Route 293
New York State Route 293 is a state highway located entirely within eastern Orange County, New York, in the United States. The highway starts at U.S. Route 6 in Woodbury, and heads to the northeast, ending at an intersection with US 9W and NY 218 in the community of Highlands...
and following it and later Route 6 closely in neighboring woods until it can finally leave Harriman Park behind and drop down to local roads in the Central Valley
Central Valley, New York
Central Valley is a hamlet in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 1,857 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a census-designated place...
area, cross the Thruway again to NY 32
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany,...
and Schunemunk Mountain.
On Schunemunk, it ascends some subsidiary knobs with sweeping views of the whole area, and eschews the summit for a drop down and then up again to the peak's western ridge, where it passes through some unique, rocky pitch pine
Pitch Pine
The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized pine, native to eastern North America. This species occasionally hybridizes with other pine species such as Loblolly Pine , Shortleaf Pine , and Pond Pine The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized (6-30 meters or 20-100 feet)...
stands, and drops off it to local roads and an abandoned Erie
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
railbed, which bring it to NY 94
New York State Route 94
New York State Route 94 is a state highway entirely within Orange County in southern New York. The western terminus is at the New York-New Jersey state line, where it continues as NJ 94 for another to Columbia, New Jersey. Its eastern terminus is located at U.S. Route 9W in New Windsor....
. After passing through and around Washingtonville on a combination of roads and railbeds, it follows local back roads past Campbell Hall, over the Wallkill River and under I-84
Interstate 84 (east)
Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...
to Highland Lakes State Park.
After following old roads, horse trails and passing the two lakes that give the park its name, it emerges and once again follows local roads through Bullville
Bullville, New York
Bullville, New York is a hamlet in the Town of Crawford in Orange County, New York, USA. It is located at the junction of routes NY-17K and NY-302.Bullville was one of the original four important settlements in the Town of Crawford....
, into Sullivan County and finally back into the woods where it meets the Shawangunk Ridge Trail.
Shawangunks and southern Catskills
The trail stays in the ridgecrest, mostly, as it works its way into Ulster CountyUlster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
and briefly follows NY 52
New York State Route 52
New York State Route 52 is a long state highway in the southeastern part of New York in the United States. It generally runs from west to east, beginning at the Pennsylvania state line in the Delaware River near Narrowsburg, crossing the Hudson River on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, and ending...
as it descends towards Ellenville
Ellenville, New York
Ellenville is a village in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. The postal ZIP code is 12428. The telephone exchange is predominantly 647 and an overlaid 210 in the 845 area code.- Geography :...
, then climbs up to Cragsmoor
Cragsmoor, New York
Cragsmoor is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 449 at the 2000 census.Cragsmoor is located atop the Shawangunk Ridge, in the south part of the Town of Wawarsing...
and the ridge crest again, following local streets to Sam's Point Preserve.
After following some of the old dirt roads from the days when the nearby ice caves were a tourist attraction, the trail follows a recently cut route through the dwarf pine forest to VerKeerderkill Falls
VerKeerderkill Falls
VerKeerderkill Falls is the highest waterfall in Sam's Point Preserve in the Shawangunk Mountains in the town of Shawangunk, Ulster County, New York. It is 180 feet tall and has a 3-mile long trail going to it branching off from the main trail, which is in Sam's Point Preserve. The waterfall is...
. This section has been identified as their favorite by many who have hiked much or all of the Long Path, as the shortness of the trees gives a feeling of being above tree line and allows for constant views of the ridge ahead and behind, Mid-Hudson valley to one side and the Catskills to the other. The falls themselves are also a unique sight. The trail is currently closed between VerKeerderkill Falls and Mud Pond, and a detour via High Point is necessary. However, this land in this area has recently (March 14, 2006) been added to the Minnewaska State Park Preserve and this section will presumably be re-opened.
The forest returns to normal as the trail then makes its way toward Minnewaska State Park Preserve
Minnewaska State Park Preserve
The Minnewaska State Park Preserve is a 21,106 acre preserve located on the Shawangunk Ridge in New York on US 44/NY 55, five miles east of New York State Route 299. The park is managed by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. It is primarily used for picnicking, hiking, mountain biking,...
and its many rocky scrambles, cliffs and lakes. Awosting Falls is a highlight of this section.
From there the trail slowly begins to dip off the ridge, finally joining US 44
U.S. Route 44
U.S. Route 44 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 237 miles through four states in the Northeastern region of the United States. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 209 and New York State Route 55 in Kerhonkson, a hamlet in the Hudson Valley region of New York...
and NY 55
New York State Route 55
New York State Route 55 is a state highway in southern New York, running from the Pennsylvania state line at the Delaware River in Barryville to the Connecticut state line at Wingdale...
to cross Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
and US 209
U.S. Route 209
U.S. Route 209 is a long U.S. highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Although the route is a spur of U.S. Route 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, making the connection via U.S. Route 9W instead. The southern terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania...
at Kerhonkson. Currently, it follows little-traveled local roads from there to the Catskill Park Blue Line.
Shortly after entering the Catskills, it reaches VerNooy Kill Falls, another popular day trip. It then climbs over Bangle Hill in the Sundown Wild Forest and descends steeply to a state campground at Bull Run.
One of the most challenging sections of the Long Path is ahead as it meets its first two Catskill High Peaks
Catskill High Peaks
The Catskill High Peaks are all of the mountains in New York's Catskill Mountains above 3,500 ft in elevation whose summits are separated either by one-half mile or a vertical drop of at least 250 ft between it and the next nearest separate summit...
, climbing more than 2600 feet (792.5 m) in 4 miles (6.4 km) to the summit of Peekamoose Mountain, then cresting neighboring Table after a brief dip.
Finger Lakes Trail
The Finger Lakes Trail System consists of a network of trails in New York. The trail system is administered by the , a non-profit, volunteer organization....
. It follows the Phoenicia-East Branch Trail up to a col to the east of Wildcat Mountain, then up the beautiful Curtis-Ormsbee Trail to the summit ridge of Slide Mountain
Slide Mountain (New York)
Slide Mountain is the highest peak in the Catskills. It is located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, in southern New York. While the contour line on topographic maps is generally accepted as its height, the exact elevation of the summit has never been officially determined by the U.S...
, where the Burroughs Range Trail takes it a short distance to the highest peak in the Catskills and the highest point on the LP, approximately 4180 feet (1,274.1 m) above sea level.
It makes a rough descent over Cornell
Cornell Mountain
Cornell Mountain is a mountain located in Ulster County, New York.The mountain is part of the Burroughs Range of the Catskill Mountains.Cornell Mountain is flanked to the northeast by Wittenberg Mountain, to the southwest by Friday Mountain, and to the west by Slide Mountain — the highest peak in...
and Wittenberg down to Woodland Valley State Campground, then follows the road out to Phoenicia.
Central and northern Catskills
Crossing NY 28 and going through Phoenicia, an oasis of civilization amid the mountains, the Long Path follows a road east out of town to the trailhead for Mount Tremper, where it follows the old road up to the fire towerFire lookout
A fire lookout is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and a good view of the surrounding terrain, to spot smoke caused by a wildfire.Once a possible fire...
, which offers splendid views of the entire region. Continuing on down to Warners Creek and then up Edgewood Mountain, where views north have been cut, it drops down again via Silver Hollow Notch to follow NY 214
New York State Route 214
New York State Route 214 is a short but scenic state highway in the heart of the Catskill Park. It runs north–south from near the hamlet of Phoenicia up near an old railroad route into the narrow pass known as Stony Clove Notch, then down into the upper Schoharie Creek valley to end...
to Stony Clove Notch
Stony Clove Notch
Stony Clove Notch is a narrow pass, roughly 2,220 feet in elevation located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, deep in the Catskill Mountains. It is traversed by New York State Route 214, although in the past the Ulster and Delaware Railroad went through it as well.The notch divides...
and the Devil's Path
Devil's Path (hiking trail)
The Devil's Path is a hiking trail in the Greene County section of the Catskill Mountains of New York, often described as the toughest hiking trail in the Eastern United States...
, perhaps the most challenging and rewarding trail in the Catskills, over Plateau
Plateau Mountain (New York)
Plateau Mountain is a mountain located in Greene County, New York.The mountain is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains.Plateau has a two-mile-long summit ridge above ....
, Sugarloaf
Sugarloaf Mountain (Greene County, New York)
Sugarloaf Mountain is a mountain located in Greene County, New York.The mountain is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains.To the northwest, Sugarloaf is separated from Plateau Mountain by Mink Hollow Notch; to the southeast, Sugarloaf is separated from Twin Mountain by Pecoy...
, Twin
Twin Mountain (Greene County, New York)
Twin Mountain is a mountain located in Greene County, New York.Twin gets its name from its two summits; the lower, 3,590-ft peak is about to the southeast of the higher.The mountain is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains....
and Indian Head
Indian Head Mountain (New York)
Indian Head Mountain is a mountain located in the southeast corner of Greene County, New York.The mountain, named for the appearance of its profile, is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains....
mountains down to the Platte Clove
Platte Clove
Platte Clove, sometimes Plattekill Clove, is a narrow and steep valley in the Catskill Mountains of New York. It is mostly in Greene County, although the lowest portions are in Ulster County....
Preserve, then a brief road walk to the Kaaterskill High Peak snowmobile trail. On the north side of that peak, the Long Path descends more than 2000 feet (609.6 m) via a zigzag route past several waterfalls to Palenville
Palenville, New York
Palenville is a hamlet in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 1,037 at the 2010 census.Palenville is in the southwest part of the Town of Catskill, located at the junction of Routes 23A and 32A. It lies at the foot of Kaaterskill Clove, nestled against the base of the...
, crosses NY 23A then goes back up the other side of Kaaterskill Clove
Kaaterskill Clove
Kaaterskill Clove is a deep gorge, or valley, in New York's eastern Catskill Mountains, lying just west of the village of Palenville. The clove was formed by Kaaterskill Creek, a tributary of Catskill Creek rising west of North Mountain, and is estimated by geologists to be as much as 1 million...
via the Old Overlook Road to the Escarpment Trail, the site of the legendary Catskill Mountain House
Catskill Mountain House
The Catskill Mountain House was a famous hotel near Palenville, New York in the Catskill Mountains overlooking the Hudson River Valley, built in 1824. In its prime, from the 1850s to the turn of the century, it was visited by three U.S. presidents The Catskill Mountain House was a famous hotel...
, North-South Lake State Campground
North-South Lake
North-South Lake is an 1,100-acre state campground in the Catskill Forest Preserve near Palenville, New York operated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation near the site of the historic Catskill Mountain House overlooking the Hudson River...
, and finally up to North Mountain
North Mountain (Catskills)
North Mountain is a peak in the Catskill Mountains of New York, on the border between the towns of Catskill and Hunter, in Greene County. It is part of the Catskill Escarpment....
with its inspiring views back over the Escarpment and the lakes.
Eventually the trail tops out on 3420 feet (1,042.4 m) Stoppel Point near an old wrecked plane, then drops down into Dutcher Notch and then back up to a ridge culminating in a steep ascent up Blackhead Mountain and its 3940 feet (1,200.9 m) summit, then down again to Acra Point, Burnt Knob and finally Windham High Peak
Windham High Peak
Windham High Peak is a mountain located in Greene County, New York.The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains.Windham High Peak stands within the watershed of the Hudson River, which drains into New York Bay....
, the northernmost of the Catskill High Peaks. Descending leisurely to NY 23, it leaves the Catskill Park but not the Catskills, as it immediately goes over several ranges of 3000 feet (914.4 m) peaks to Huntersfield Mountain, where NYSDEC has cut some views near the summit.
The Long Path North
From Huntersfield the trail makes its way via a combination of roads, woodlotWoodlot
A woodlot is a term used in North America to refer to a segment of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products such as wood fuel, sap for maple syrup, sawlogs, as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation...
s and field edges to Schoharie Reservoir
Schoharie Reservoir
The Schoharie Reservoir is a small reservoir in the Catskill Mountains of New York State that was created to be one of 19 reservoirs that supplies New York City with water. It was created by impounding Schoharie Creek...
and then enters the county of the same name
Schoharie County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,582 people, 11,991 households and 8,177 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 15,915 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
. First stop is Mine Kill State Park
Mine Kill State Park
Mine Kill State Park is a state park located in Schoharie County, New York, USA. The park is in the southeast part of the Town of Blenheim.Mine Kill offers year-round recreation, including snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, picnicking, fishing, boating, and swimming...
and its waterfall, then the trail crosses through the woods to Lansing Manor at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project. It dips down into the Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek in New York, USA flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain in the Catskill Mountains through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice impounded north of Prattsville to create New York City's Schoharie Reservoir and the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project.Two notable...
valley and crosses to Eminance and Patria state forests on the other side, then up NY 30 to Vroman's Nose
Vroman's Nose
Vroman's Nose is a prominent geological feature in the town of Fulton , in Schoharie County, New York, United States. It is among the more popular hiking sites in upstate New York and is of significant historical note.-Founding and Naming:...
, a popular local hike.
Afterwards, it crosses the village of Middleburgh
Middleburgh (village), New York
Middleburgh is a village in Schoharie County, New York, USA. The population was 1,398 at the 2000 census.The Village of Middleburgh is in the southwest part of the Town of Middleburgh and is west of Albany.- History :...
and follows NY 145 briefly to climb the Middleburgh cliffs, then makes its way across Cotton Hill and Cannady state forests to Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
, where it takes in the Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area, Cole Hill State Forest and the 270-degree view of both the Catskills and Adirondacks from Roemer's High Point along the Helderberg Escarpment
Helderberg Escarpment
The Helderberg Escarpment is an escarpment in eastern New York, roughly west of the city of Albany....
, which it follows north to Thacher Park
John Boyd Thacher State Park
John Boyd Thacher State Park is a state park located 15 miles southwest of Albany, New York near Voorheesville, in Albany County on State Route 157...
, the Indian Ladder
John Boyd Thacher State Park
John Boyd Thacher State Park is a state park located 15 miles southwest of Albany, New York near Voorheesville, in Albany County on State Route 157...
and finally its current end at NY 146.
External links
- New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Long Path page
- Long Path North Hiking Club
- LPN page on Mary Ann Nissley's thru-hike.
- CNN story on Long Path at Trail Conference site
- End-to-End tally sheet (for trail circa 1997)
- Charity Runners account of David O'Neill's thru-run
- Hiking Information Catskill High Peaks
- Blog of Jacob Aronson's thru-hike
- OpenStreetMap Long Path GPS map of lower portion of the LP