New York's Catskills are an ancient chain of weathered mountains southwest of Albany and often considered an extension of the Appalachian Mountains. Long popular with New York City residents as a weekend getaway, the Catskills enjoyed their heyday in the early 20th Century. Once home to hundreds of sleep-away camps and ethnic resorts, the mountains remain popular for camping, hiking, fishing and hunting.
Primitive Camping
When heading to the Catskills to camp you have a variety of choices from wilderness camping to amenity-filled campsites. Wilderness or "primitive" camping offers zero amenities other than unfettered access to nature. Camping of this sort is allowed in all wild forest areas of the Catskill Forest Preserve. Guidelines include not setting up camp within 150 feet of a stream, pond or trail and to remain below the 3,500-foot elevation. Some of the popular primitive camping locations include the Slide Mountain Wilderness with its beautiful vistas, Willowemoc Creek, famous for trout fishing and Big Pond where you'll compete with Bald Eagles for trout in this deep water lake.
Campgrounds
If you like camping in tents but don't want to be without some of the creature comforts of home, then choosing a maintained campsite may be best for you. You will have the outdoor experience, but also have access to showers, stores, events, Wi-Fi and showers. Russell Brook Campsites in Delaware County is surrounded by 18,000 acres of protected forests. The Skyway camping resort in Ulster County offers a beach, boat rentals, hiking trails, showers and a recreation center. Stratton Falls Campground in Roxbury offers tent sites and access to canoeing, golfing and tubing on Esopus Creek.
RV Parks
Catskill Mountain RV parks offer a variety of choices with most able to accommodate RVs up to 40-feet in length. Brookside Campgrounds offers many activities and hiking opportunities. Tent camping is allowed and they offer pull-in and back-in sites. The Catskill Adventure resort in Wurtsboro offers full hook-ups and can accommodate large RVs in the pull-through sites. Beaver Spring Lake campgrounds near Oneonta and Cooperstown offers large open site as well as a private lake, free Wi-Fi and a built-in pool. These RV parks and most others in the Catskills are open from April to October.
Outdoor Activites
The Catskills are most popular in the early fall as the leaves change color and paint the mountains and glens vivid hues of red, yellow and purple. Activities in this vast area include hiking, hunting, fishing in spring, summer and fall, as well as cross-country skiing and ice fishing in winter. Snow skiers and snowboarders will find Hunter Mountain one of the best ski resorts in the state. However, the best activity in the Catskills is hiking. Poet's Ledge offers a 10-mile round trip hike to Buttermilk, Wildcat and Viola Falls. Snowshoers should try the five-mile roundtrip hike to Huckleberry Point and hikers looking for fire towers should take the Hunter Mountain Loop, which offers access to a working fire tower and a stunning view of the countryside.
Warnings
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation & Office of Parks Recreation has established several rules to stem the spread of invasive insects inside the Catskill region. Firewood may not be brought into the area and must be collected on site. Many campgrounds will not allow any firewood to be brought in and insist on selling you any wood you may burn during your stay.
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