I've done a great deal of day hiking in the Catskills and I usually reserve my overnighter excursions for the Adirondacks, but, I get sick of driving.

Anyone have a favorite Catskill overnight trip? Maybe 25 miles covered over the two days?

What makes it great? Is there reliable water along the way?

I noticed while doing the Mt. Tremper firetower hike that there was a lean-to and a couple of Camp Sites. Its about a 2 - 3 hour hike to the tower, if memory serves, so you could start in the afternoon, sleep at the lean-to, then go up the firetower. It has a sensational view, and the hike is more rustic than the Overlook Mtn firetower in Woodstock. More info at: http://www.catskillcenter.org/towers/index.html

-em

hiked from mink hollow leanto on devils path (long path) to echo lake or devils kitchen? leanto. 4 basically 4000 footers in one day.
challenging hiking,beautiful views,water at devils kitchen leanto.maybe 9-11 miles?
just an idea,peace

Do you need a hike that is a loop or would something point to point work? One hike I like to do in the winter is the escarpment trail from windham high peak to noth/south lake campground (or down to palenville).
In summer, I have always liked the devils path area because of the many steep mountains (even though all but hunter are below 4000', it won't feel it at the end of the day) and there are plenty of loops that can be done in that area.
I like the slide mt/giant ledge area too but it seems like there are too many larger groups camping down there. Save this for winter camping. Besides, I find slide mt to be highly overrated. The back side of slide is nice and steep but the front (main way it is done) is basically a crowded road.
It all depends on exactly what you're looking for. PM me if you need more specific info.

balsam mt is a sweet, easy trail, with 2 leantos and a loop.
there's a leanto .5 miles from either end, then a loop between them.
there's also a 1000 ft gain on one side of balsam in less than a mile.


slide/wittenburg/cornell is a nice trail, but doesnt quite complete the loop. if you can get a ride from the woodland valley campground back to your car, it will be a loop. thats what i did.

Watch out for the porcupines. The Catskills are full of them and they are quite bold. Besides almost running into them on trails frequently, we had one keep us up all night trying to lick the salt off of our aluminum tent poles. Very strange sounds those critters make. My husband kept jumping out of the tent to throw rocks near it to try to scare it away and it basically looked at him with an bad attitude and kept eating our tent poles. Definitely put away your food, cooking gear, and anything that will attract them.

Jannette

Just did the Escarpment trail from South to North last weekend. Gorgeous viewpoints - reputedly! It was misty on Saturday, so we couldn't see a thing from Artists Rock, Newmans Ledge etc. Got tothe top of North Mountain in a downpour!!!!!

Pretty damp camping that night, but the weather was fine the next day, giving us some spectacular views.

Water is basically non-existant on this trail the first day, going South to North, so plan carefully. Your first water source will be near the intersection of the Escarpment trail, and the Dutcher Notch Trail.

The second half of the trail is a bit shorter, with some steep ascents, and tricky descents - exercise caution, its real easy to slip on these, and its not the kind of place you want to bust an ankle or knee.

In summary, its a great overnighter trip, especially if the weather co-operates. Expect lots of elevation gain, great view, but scant water. Anyone who's interested, PM me for more details.

Peter

Pittfall and Charlie Butters are right on, the devils path from Prediger Road take the Jimmy Dolan trail to the notch go right to Twin (3,640ft great views) down to Pecoy notch and up to Sugarloaf (3800 feet) down to Mink Hollow Leanto. There is a spring but I'm not sure it is active. You can continue on to Plateau (3840 feet) and down a VERY steep trail to The Devil's Tombstone (Route 214) get picked up or have a second car parked there. If you have more time just keep hiking up Hunter Mt and on to Westkill high peak

thinking of doing an overnight loop from devils toombstone campground up hunter and around on devils path and spruceton trail. wondering what the trails might be like this weekend and looking foward to some recommendations thanks!

peaspeascharlieb