Tramp & Trail

We carpooled down the Thruway to exit 21, regrouping at Cedar Grove, the home and studio of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School of Painting.  From there we proceeded over the Catskill Creek and through the Kaaterskill Clove up to the Kaaterskill Falls.

The trail starts with the beautiful Bastion Falls and proceeds upwards one half mile to Kaaterskill Falls, the highest falls in New York State , as if climbing a natural staircase. It was nice to see so many young people and families out in nature.

Next we stopped at  North-South Lake State Park.  We parked in the South Lake Parking Lot and walked along both lakes through the woods to the shores of North Lake where we had lunch.  From there we took the trail up to Artist’s and Sunset Rocks.  The shaded forest felt cool as we  climbed steadily to our destinations.  The views of the Hudson River, the twin lakes, the farms in the valley, the mountains in the distance were wonderful in spite of slightly hazy skies.  When we checked out this hike a month before, the mountain was encased in fog and we saw nothing but white mist.  On our way back to the cars, we took a short side trip to the site of the Catskill Mountain House for more spectacular views.  The Catskills differ from the Adirondacks in several respects but the most important on this day was NO BLACK FLIES!!!!!!!!!

By:  Nancy Coleman