Catskills Mountains
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The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a
physiographic province physiographic province is a geographic region with a characteristic geomorphology, and often specific subsurface rock type or structural elements. The continents are subdivided into various physiographic provinces, each having a specific characte ...
of the larger
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
, located in southeastern
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the
Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned b ...
, a
forest preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
protected from many forms of development under New York state law. Geologically, the Catskills are a mature
dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, m ...
, a flat region subsequently uplifted and eroded into sharp
relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
by watercourses. The Catskills form the northeastern end of the
Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided ...
(also known as the
Appalachian Plateau The Appalachian Plateau is a series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are a mountain range that run down the Eastern United States. The Appalachian Plateau is the no ...
). The Catskills were named by early Dutch settlers. They are well known in American society as the setting for films and works of art, including many 19th-century
Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, ...
paintings, as well as for being a favored destination for vacationers from
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in the mid-20th century. The region's many large resorts gave many young stand-up comedians an opportunity to hone their craft. Since the late 19th century, the Catskills have been a haven for artists, musicians and writers, especially in and around the towns of
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
and
Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
.


History


Etymology

Nicolaes Visscher I Nicolaes Visscher I (25 January 1618, Amsterdam – buried 11 September 1679, Amsterdam) was a Dutch engraver, cartographer and publisher. He was the son of Claes Janszoon Visscher. His son, Nicolaes Visscher II (1649–1702), also worked with him ...
's 1656 map of
New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...
located the ' at the mouth of
Catskill Creek Catskill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hudson River that drains the northeastern Catskill Mountains of the U.S. State of Ne ...
. The region to the south is identified as ' (High Lands of the Esopus), a reference to a local band of northern
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
Native Americans who inhabited the banks of the Hudson and hunted in the highlands along the
Esopus Creek Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in 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 Ulst ...
. While the meaning of the name ("cat creek
kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...
'']" in Dutch language, Dutch) and the namer (early Dutch explorers) are settled matters, how and why the area is named "Catskills" is a mystery. Mountain lions (catamounts) were known to have been in the area when the Dutch arrived in the 17th century and may have been a reason for the name. The confusion over the origins of the name led over the years to variant spellings such as ''Kaatskill'' and ''Kaaterskill'', both of which are also still used: the former in the regional magazine ''
Kaatskill Life ''Kaatskill Life'' is a quarterly regional magazine covering the Catskills of New York. It has been published since its 1986 founding by the ''Delaware County Times'' in Delhi. Its coverage area includes Otsego County as well as the more tradit ...
'', the latter as the name of a
mountain peak A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a ...
and a
waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
. The supposed Native American name for the range, ''Onteora'' ("land in the sky"), was actually created by a white man in the mid-19th century to drum up business for a resort. It, too, persists today as the name of a
school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, whi ...
and as the name of a
Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
summer camp (
Onteora Scout Reservation The Theodore Roosevelt Council, 386 is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America. It is one of the nation's oldest, having been home to its namesake, the former US president, who was a founding member of BSA. History The council was establish ...
).


Geography

The Catskill Mountains are approximately north-northwest of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
and southwest of Albany, starting west of the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
. The Catskills occupy much of two
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
( Greene and
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
), and extend slightly into
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...
,
Sullivan Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science f ...
, and southwestern Schoharie counties. At the range's eastern end, the
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
s begin dramatically with the
Catskill Escarpment 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 coun ...
rising up suddenly from the
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
. The western boundary is far less certain, as the mountains gradually decline in height and grade into the rest of the
Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided ...
, but maps from the 18th and 19th centuries consistently mark the border of the Catskill Mountains as the East Branch of the Delaware River, which is consistent with the actual topographic relief. The
Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, ...
, to the immediate southwest in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, are also a part of the Allegheny Plateau. The Catskills contain more than 30 peaks above and parts of six important rivers. The Catskill Mountain 3500 Club is an organization whose members have climbed all the peaks in the Catskills over . The highest mountain, Slide Mountain in Ulster County, has an elevation of . Climatically, the Catskills lie within the Allegheny Highlands forests
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...
.


Climate

According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
system, the Catskill Mountains have two climate zones. The vast majority of the Catskills have a warm summer humid continental climate (''Dfb'') with some isolated locations in valleys with hot summer humid continental climate (''Dfa''). The
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
on Slide Mountain at is 5a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of . The plant hardiness zone in Margaretville at is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of .


Geology

Although the Catskills are sometimes compared with the
Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-dÉ™-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...
farther north, the two mountain ranges are not geologically related, as the Adirondacks are a continuation of the
Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...
. Similarly, the
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 the border with New Jersey ...
, which forms the southeastern edge of the Catskills, is part of the geologically distinct
Ridge-and-Valley The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...
province and is a continuation of the same ridge known as
Kittatinny Mountain Kittatinny Mountain (Lenape: Kitahtëne) is a long ridge traversing primarily across Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey, running in a northeast-southwest axis, a continuation across the Delaware Water Gap of Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain ...
in New Jersey and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania. The Catskill Mountains are more of a
dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, m ...
than a series of mountain ranges. The sediments that make up the rocks in the Catskills were deposited when the ancient Acadian Mountains in the east were rising and subsequently eroding. The sediments traveled westward and formed a great delta into the sea that was in the area at that time. The escarpment of the Catskill Mountains is near the former (landward) edge of this delta, as the sediments deposited in the northeastern areas along the escarpment were deposited above sea level by moving rivers, and the Acadian Mountains were located roughly where the
Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range () are a range of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont. ...
are located today (though significantly larger). Finer sediment was deposited further westward, and thus the rocks change from gravel conglomerates to
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
and
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especia ...
. Further west, these fresh water deposits intermingle with shallow marine sandstone and shale until the end, in deeper water
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
. The uplift and erosion of the Acadian Mountains was occurring during the
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...
and early
Mississippian period The Mississippian ( , also known as Lower Carboniferous or Early Carboniferous) is a subperiod in the geologic timescale or a subsystem of the geologic record. It is the earlier of two subperiods of the Carboniferous period lasting from roughl ...
(395 to 325 million years ago). Over that time, thousands of feet of these sediments built up, slowly moving the Devonian seashore further west. A meteor impact occurred in the shallow sea approximately 375 mya, creating a diameter crater. This crater eventually filled with sediments and became Panther Mountain through the process of uplift and erosion. By the middle of the Mississippian period, the uplift stopped, and the Acadian Mountains had been eroded so much that sediments no longer flowed across the Catskill Delta. Over time, the sediments were buried by more sediments from other areas, until the original Devonian and Mississippian sediments were deeply buried and slowly became solid rock. Then the entire area experienced uplift, which caused the sedimentary rocks to begin to erode. Today, those upper sedimentary rocks have been completely removed, exposing the Devonian and Mississippian rocks. Today's Catskills are a result of the continued erosion of these rocks, both by streams and, in the recent past, by glaciers. In successive
ice ages An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
, both valley and continental glaciers have widened the valleys and the notches of the Catskills and rounded the mountains. Grooves and scratches in exposed bedrock provide evidence of the great sheets of ice that once traversed the region. Even today the erosion of the mountains continues, with the region's rivers and streams deepening and widening the mountains' valleys and cloves.


Recreation


The Borscht Belt

In the mid–20th century, summer resorts in the Catskills, nicknamed the
Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the no ...
, were a major vacation destination for Jewish New Yorkers. At its peak of popularity, about 500 resorts operated in the region. Later changes in vacationing patterns have led most of those travelers elsewhere, although there are still some bungalow communities and summer camps in the region catering to Orthodox populations.


Aquatic sports and recreation

Esopus Creek Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in 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 Ulst ...
is a tributary of the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
, starting at Winnisook Lake on Slide Mountain. It flows across Ulster County to the Hudson River at Saugerties. The Esopus is noted for making an almost 270-degree turn around Panther Mountain, following a buried impact crater rim. It is famous for tubing, a sport of rafting down a river in an inner tube. Many tubers begin their trip at
Phoenicia, New York Phoenicia is a hamlet (and census-designated place) of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 309 at the 2010 census, making it the highest populated community in the town. The village center is located just off R ...
, and head down the creek towards the Ashokan Reservoir at
Olive, New York Olive is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The town is west of Kingston, New York and is inside the Catskill Park. The population was 4.226 at the 2020 census. History The town was settled ''circa'' 1740. The town of Olive was ...
. The Ashokan Reservoir is part of the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
water supply system, with fishing allowed under permit, but swimming and most other recreational uses are forbidden. River canoeing and kayaking are popular. There are 42 rapids ranging from class I to V+. The Esopus Creek is famous for its
fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diff ...
, although in recent years it has been plagued by
invasive plant An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...
s.


Cycling

Road and mountain bicycling are fairly popular in the range. Bicycle racing includes the Tour of the Catskills, a three-day road
stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages ...
held in Green and Ulster counties each summer, and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Windham. Other cycling resources include the Catskill Scenic Trail, the Headwaters Trails in Stamford and the Roundtopia trail network (mapped by the Round Top Mountain Bike Association). Several ski centers provide downhill mountain bicycling in the warmer months.


Hiking and camping

Within the range is the
Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned b ...
, comprising over . Catskill Park is part of New York's Forest Preserve. Not all the land is publicly owned; about 60% remains in private hands, but new sections are added frequently. Most of the park and the preserve are within Ulster County, with a significant portion in Greene County, and parts in Sullivan and Delaware counties as well. Many of the trails in public areas are maintained and updated by the
New York–New Jersey Trail Conference The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC) is a volunteer-based federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations (mostly hiking clubs and environmental organizations). The conference coordin ...
and the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club. Devil's Path is one of the many trails open for hikers. Spots to camp in the Catskills include
Bear Spring Mountain Bear Spring Mountain is a mountain located in the Catskill Mountains of New York state, south of Walton, New York Walton is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 5,576 at the 2010 census. The town is in the w ...
, Little Pond, Mongaup Pond, and
North-South Lake ''North-South'' ( hy, Õ€ÕµÕ¸Ö‚Õ½Õ«Õ½-Õ€Õ¡Ö€Õ¡Õ¾) or ''Four Buddies and the Bride'' is an Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UN ...
.


Skiing

There are five main downhill ski and snowboard areas in the Catskills: Belleayre Mountain (run by the
Olympic Regional Development Authority The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) is a New York State public benefit corporation, created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used after the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid, New York. ORDA is the only sta ...
); Hunter Mountain (the first ski area to install
snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...
machines in New York); Windham Mountain; Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun in
Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
; and Plattekill Mountain in
Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...
. Joppenbergh Mountain, in Rosendale Village hosted its first
ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...
competition in 1937. Ski jumping was continued on the mountain until February 7, 1971, when the last competition was held. The Mountain Trails Cross Country Ski Center in Tannersville has of trails.


Structures


Fire towers

The Catskill Mountains
fire tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a " fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain o ...
s were constructed to facilitate forest fire prevention and control. Twenty-three fire towers were built in the Catskill Mountains between 1908 and 1950. The fire towers fell out of use by the 1970s as fire spotting from airplanes had become more effective and efficient, so the fire towers were decommissioned; the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower was the last to be taken out of service in 1990. All but six of the towers were dismantled. The five remaining towers have been renovated and opened to the public as observation posts with panoramic views and a sixth tower was opened at the Catskill Visitor Center in 2022. The current towers are: *
Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station The Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station is located at the summit of the mountain of that name in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It comprises a steel frame fire lookout tower, the observer's cabin and privy and the je ...
near Hardenburgh, elevation * Hunter Mountain Fire Tower near
Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...
, elevation * Mt. Utsayantha Fire Tower near
Stamford, New York Stamford is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 2,000 at the 2020 census. The town is in the eastern part of the county and has a village called Stamford. Geography The northeastern town line is the border of ...
, elevation *
Overlook Mountain Overlook Mountain is the southernmost peak of the Catskill Escarpment in the central Catskill Mountains near Woodstock, New York. The centerpiece of the Overlook Mountain Wild Forest area of Catskill Park, the mountain is the site of one of t ...
Tower near Woodstock, elevation * Red Hill Fire Observation Station near Denning, elevation *
Mount Tremper Fire Observation Station The Mount Tremper Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Mount Tremper at Shandaken in Ulster County, New York. The station and contributing resources include a , steel frame lookout tower erected in 1917 and a ...
near
Shandaken Shandaken is a town on the northern border of Ulster County, New York, United States, northwest of Kingston, New York. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,866.2020 US Census, Shandaken, Ulster County, New York https://www.c ...
, elevation *
Upper Esopus Fire Observation Station Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
near
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. At in elevation, ...
, elevation


Notable landmarks

The
Catskill Mountain House The Catskill Mountain House, which opened in 1824, was a famous hotel near Palenville, New York, and in the Catskill Mountains overlooking the Hudson River Valley. In its prime, from the 1850s to the turn of the century, it was visited by thre ...
, built in 1824, was a hotel near
Palenville Palenville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 1,037 at the 2010 census. Palenville is in the southwestern part of the town of Catskill, located at the junction of Routes ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, in the Catskill Mountains overlooking the
Hudson River Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
. In its prime at the turn of the century, visitors included
United States Presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government an ...
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
,
Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...
and
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
.


Transportation

From 1872, the northern part of the Catskills were served by the Catskill Mountain Branch of the
Ulster and Delaware Railroad The Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D) was a railroad located in the state of New York. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route to the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D extended from Kingston Point on the Hudson R ...
which was absorbed into the New York Central railroad in 1932. Oneonta to Kingston passenger rail service continued until 1954. Part of the line still exists but now serves only freight. The southern part of the Catskills was served by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway. Over the course of 1950, service on the NYO&W downscaled to summer only. In its last years it ran trains from Roscoe, New York, Roscoe to Weehawken, New Jersey, via Liberty, New York, Liberty. It connected with the New York Central's West Shore Railroad at Cornwall, New York, Cornwall. This service lasted until September 10, 1953. The Delaware and Ulster Railroad is a heritage railroad, based in Arkville, New York, that still runs a scenic part of the track from Highmount to Hubbell Corners, New York, for tourist use. The Catskill Mountain Railroad is also a heritage railroad in the Catskills, operating from Kingston, New York, Kingston up to Highmount. The Catskills are accessible by automobile from the east along Interstate 87 (New York), Interstate 87/New York State Thruway, which runs north–south through the
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
. To the south and southwest, the Catskills are accessible by a variety of highways, including New York State Route 55, U.S. Route 44 in New York, U.S. Route 44, U.S. Route 209, and New York State Route 17. Access to the western Catskills is provided by New York State Route 30; and the vaguely defined far-western edge of the region is variously considered to be New York State Route 10 or Interstate 88 (east), Interstate 88, though this boundary remains a matter of local preference. New York State Routes New York State Route 28, 28 and New York State Route 23A, 23A cut east–west through the heart of the Catskills, serving many of the most popular outdoor tourist destinations. New York State Route 23 runs east–west across the Catskills' northern section. The closest major airports to the Catskill region are Albany International Airport to the north and Stewart International Airport in Newburgh to the south. Smaller airports in the region include: * Columbia County Airport in Hudson, New York, Hudson * Dutchess County Airport in Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie * Joseph Y. Resnick Airport in Ellenville, New York, Ellenville * Kingston–Ulster Airport * Kobelt Airport in Wallkill, Ulster County, New York, Wallkill * Randall Airport in Middletown, Orange County, New York, Middletown * Sullivan County International Airport in
Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
* Wurtsboro–Sullivan County Airport


In popular culture

The Hudson Valley Film Commission maintains a list of films set in the Hudson Valley/Catskills Region. Of them, more than three dozen films are set in the Catskills. Author/illustrator Jonathan Schork, born and raised in Olivebridge in the southern Catskills, acknowledges the area as the inspiration for two of his children's books: 2016's ''The Love of Simon Fox'', and 2018's ''More Tales from the Enchanted Wood'' (the latter the recipient of several prizes for children's literature). The town of Bethel, New York, located in the Catskills, was home to the famous Woodstock music festival that took place August 15–18, 1969. The event, wherein 32 music acts performed in front of over 500,000 concert-goers, was captured in the documentary movie ''Woodstock (film), Woodstock'' (1970). The site is now home to the world-renowned Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The many hotels and vacation resorts located in the Catskills are notable in American cultural history for their role in the development of modern stand-up comedy. Comedians such as Rodney Dangerfield, Jackie Mason, Alan King, and Don Rickles all got their start performing in Catskill hotel venues colloquially referred to as the
Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the no ...
. File:Catskill Mountain House.jpg, ''View from The Mountain House'' (1836), painting by William Henry Bartlett File:Paul Weber, Scene in the Catskills, 1858, NGA 176783.jpg, Paul Weber, ''Scene in the Catskills'', 1858 File:WLA lacma Sanford Robinson Gifford October in the Catskills 1880.jpg, ''October in the Catskills'', 1880 painting by Sanford Robinson Gifford File:Asher Brown Durand - The Catskills - Walters 37122.jpg, ''The Catskills (painting), The Catskills'', 1859 painting by Asher Brown Durand depicting the Catskills using the "sublime landscape" approach File:Woodstock redmond stage.JPG, The Redmond Stage, Woodstock music festival, 1969 File:Wall, William Guy -Cauterskill Falls on the Catskill Mountains, Taken from under the Cavern, 1826-27.jpg, ''Kaaterskill Falls on the Catskill Mountains'' (1826–27), painting by William Guy Wall, Honolulu Museum of Art


See also

* Helderberg Escarpment * Resorts World Catskills


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links

*
Hiking Guide to Catskill High Peaks
€”Catskill 3500 Club
List of Catskills peaks organized by hiking difficultyWebsite for the Catskill Mountain Club hikingThe Catskill Archive – History of the Catskill MountainsThe Catskill Mountain FoundationThe Catskill CenterThe Catskill Watershed CorporationCatskill Region Photo GalleryCatskill Mountainkeeper
€”Protecting the Six Counties of the Catskills
Catskill Mountain Businesses listed on Hudson Valley DirectorySullivan County Visitors Association
{{Authority control Catskills, Allegheny Plateau Landforms of Delaware County, New York Landforms of Greene County, New York Landforms of Schoharie County, New York Landforms of Sullivan County, New York Landforms of Ulster County, New York Mountain ranges of New York (state) Physiographic regions of the United States Regions of New York (state) Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains Tourist attractions in New York (state) Upstate New York