Devil's Path (Catskills)

Last updated
The Devil's Path, seen from the south. From left: Plateau, Sugarloaf, Twin and Indian Head. Overlook Mountain at right is not in the range. Devil's Path from south.jpg
The Devil's Path, seen from the south. From left: Plateau, Sugarloaf, Twin and Indian Head. Overlook Mountain at right is not in the range.

The Devil's Path is 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 early settlers of the region, who believed the range's craggy cliffs were specially built by the devil so that he alone could climb them and occasionally retreat from the world of men. Today, they are famous for the deep gaps between them, which get lower in elevation as the mountains between them get higher when proceeding westward on the hiking trail.

The mountains and the land around them were acquired by the state as Forest Preserve and made part of the Catskill Park in the 1920s and 1930s. Today the area is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as the Indian Head Wilderness Area. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catskill Park</span> Nature preserve in southeastern New York State, USA

The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of 700,000 acres of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, 287,500 acres (116,300 ha) or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by the state as part of the Forest Preserve; it is managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Another 5% is owned by New York City to protect four of the city's reservoirs in the region that lie partially within the park and their respective watersheds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Mountain (New York)</span> Highest mountain in Greene County, New York, and second highest in the Catskills

Hunter Mountain is in the towns of Hunter and Lexington, just south of the village of Hunter, in Greene County, New York, United States. At approximately 4,040 feet (1,231 m) in elevation, it is the highest peak in the county and the second-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Path</span> Hiking trail from George Washington Bridge to Mohawk River valley in upstate New York

The Long Path is a 357-mile (575 km) long-distance hiking trail beginning in New York City, at the West 175th Street subway station near the George Washington Bridge and 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 a diversity of environments to pass through, from suburbia and sea-level salt marshes along the Hudson to wilderness and boreal forest on Catskill summits 4,000 feet (1,220 m) in elevation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slide Mountain (Ulster County, New York)</span> Highest peak of New Yorks Catskill Mountains

Slide Mountain is the highest peak in the Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in the town of Shandaken in Ulster County. While the 4,180-foot (1,270 m) 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. Coast and Geodetic Survey, and many informal surveys suggest the mountain may actually top 4,200 feet above sea level.

The Slide Mountain Wilderness Area is, at 47,500 acres (19,200 ha), the largest tract of state-owned Forest Preserve in New York's Catskill Park, and the largest area under any kind of wilderness area protection between the Adirondacks and the southern Appalachians. It is located in the towns of Shandaken, Denning and Olive in Ulster County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stony Clove Notch</span> Mountain pass in Greene County, New York

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platte Clove</span> Valley in New York State, USA

Platte Clove, sometimes Plattekill Clove, is a narrow and steep valley in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaaterskill High Peak</span> Mountain in United States of America

Kaaterskill High Peak is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, United States. 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, the fourth most prominent peak in the range. Due to its situation as the easternmost High Peak, its summit is just outside the watersheds of New York City's reservoirs in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devil's Path (hiking trail)</span> Mountainous hiking trail in New York States Catskill region

The Devil's Path is a hiking trail in the Greene County section of the Catskill Mountains of New York, sometimes described as one of the more challenging trails in the New York Tri-state area. It goes across the eponymous mountain range and then three other peaks to the west, offering hikers and peakbaggers a chance to reach the summits of five of the 35 Catskill High Peaks. It draws hikers from not just the region but far outside, due to the challenging climbs straight up and down the steep gaps between the four peaks of the range, which often require hikers to use hands as well as feet to pull themselves almost straight up cliffs and through rocky chutes. These climbs, however, lead to views across the Catskill range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusk Mountain</span> Mountain in New York, United States

Rusk Mountain is a peak located in the towns of Jewett and Lexington in Greene County, New York, United States. At 3,680 feet in elevation, it is the 20th-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains and considered a member of the Catskill High Peaks. While there is no maintained trail, a bushwhack to the summit is considered relatively easy, and required for membership in the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panther Mountain (New York)</span> Mountain in New Yorks Catskill range that rose from old meteor crater

Panther Mountain is one of the Catskill High Peaks, located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York. At approximately 3,720 feet (1,130 m) in elevation, it is the 18th highest in the range. A combination of factors has led some geologists to believe the mountain is on the site of an ancient meteorite impact crater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Mountain Fire Tower</span> Historic fire lookout tower in New York, United States

The Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located on the summit of the eponymous mountain, second highest of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halcott Mountain</span> Mountain in the Catskill range in U.S. state of New York

Halcott Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. It is mostly located in Greene County, with some of its lower slopes in Delaware and Ulster counties. Its exact summit elevation has not been officially determined, but the highest contour line on the mountain is 3,520 feet (1,070 m). It is one of the peaks on the divide between the Delaware and Hudson watersheds.

West Kill Mountain, or Westkill Mountain, is located in Greene County, New York. The mountain is named after the West Kill stream which flows along its northern side, and is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. To the east, West Kill Mountain faces Southwest Hunter Mountain across 800-foot-deep (240 m) Diamond Notch; to the west, West Kill faces North Dome across Mink Hollow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Head Mountain (New York)</span> Mountain in the United States

Indian Head Mountain is a 3,573 ft (1,089 m) 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. To the northwest, Indian Head is separated from Twin Mountain by Jimmy Dolan Notch; to the southeast, Indian Head is flanked by Plattekill Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twin Mountain (Greene County, New York)</span> Mountain in New York, United States of America

Twin Mountain is a mountain located in Greene County, New York. Twin gets its name from its two summits; the lower, 3,590-ft (1,090 m) peak is about .5 miles (0.8 km) to the southeast of the higher. The mountain is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. To the northwest, Twin Mtn. is separated from Sugarloaf Mountain by Pecoy Notch; to the southeast, Twin Mtn. is separated from Indian Head Mountain by Jimmy Dolan Notch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plateau Mountain (New York)</span> High Peak of New Yorks Catskill Mountains with two-mile (3.2 km) summit ridge

Plateau Mountain is located in the town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, United States. It is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. Plateau has a two-mile-long (3.2 km) summit ridge above 3,500 feet (1,100 m). The highest point, at least 3,840 feet (1,170 m), is at the southeast end, facing Sugarloaf Mountain to the east across Mink Hollow Notch. It is the 12th-highest peak in the range Devils Tombstone is located west of Plateau Mountain. The northwest end faces Hunter Mountain to the west across 1,400-foot deep (430 m) Stony Clove Notch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balsam Mountain (Ulster County, New York)</span> 28th highest peak of Catskill Mountains

Balsam Mountain is one of the High Peaks of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. Its exact height has not been determined, so the highest contour line, 3,600 feet (1,100 m), is usually given as its elevation. It is located in western Ulster County, on the divide between the Hudson and Delaware watersheds. The summit and western slopes of the peak are within the Town of Hardenburgh and its eastern slopes are in Shandaken. The small community of Oliverea is near its base on that side. Most of the mountain is publicly owned, managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as part of the state Forest Preserve, part of the Big Indian-Beaverkill Range Wilderness Area in the Catskill Park. The summit is on a small corner of private land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balsam Lake Mountain</span> Westernmost of the Catskill High Peaks in U.S. state of New York

Balsam Lake Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It is the westernmost of the range's 35 High Peaks. Its exact height has not been determined, but the highest contour line on topographic maps, 3,720 feet (1,130 m), is usually given as its elevation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catskill Escarpment</span>

The Catskill Escarpment, often referred to locally as just the Escarpment or the Great Wall of Manitou, and known as the Catskill Front to geologists, is the range forming the northeastern corner of the Catskill Mountains in Greene and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York. It rises very abruptly from the Hudson Valley to summits above 3,000 feet (910 m) in elevation, including three of the Catskill High Peaks, with almost no foothills. The plateau to the south and west averages 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level.

References

  1. "Indian Head Wilderness". New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved July 3, 2022.