Happy Trails

It is a beautiful winter and the Great Western Catskills are glistening with fresh snow. That means it’s time to gather up the friends and family for a weekend to refresh and recharge in the crisp winter air.  Fun and adventure are waiting on the slopes or the trails and with stay and play packages, cozy lodging and wonderful dining you don’t need and excuse to get away from it all.

Catskill Scenic Trail

While the age of train rides from New York to the Catskills has been eclipsed by buses and cars the romance of the rails is not lost, just updated! The Catskill Scenic Trail, the rail path of the former Ulster & Delaware Railroad has been reincarnated in a companion project with the Delaware & Ulster scenic rail-ride. This four season trail boasts 26 miles of hard-packed base that meanders through hill and dale from Roxbury to Bloomville and several towns in between.  A hike through the fresh snow and crisp winter air is the natures cure for shaking off the post-holiday doldrums. Even better, glide from town to town on cross country skis. Check out their website for a trail map at http://catskillscenictrail.org/.

Fueling Up

Start your adventure on the Catskill Scenic Trail off right with breakfast. Staying close to Margaretville? Try the amazing breakfast offerings at the Arkville Bread and Breakfast. They offer everything from eggs over easy to airy waffles and sausage.  In Roxbury, stop in at the  East Branch Cafe where you can  fuel up with a pile of warm and fluffy pancakes with local maple syrup and a steaming cup of fresh, hot coffee.  Hit the trail and hike on down the line for lunch at the Creekside Café where homemade soups and fresh, warm made-to-order sandwiches await hungry hikers.  As the sun sets over the beautiful mountains dinner beckons.  Spice it up with enchiladas and rice and beans at La Cabana in Fleischmanns or savory, home-cooked Italian at Mama Maria’s in Stamford. No matter what you are craving there is a restaurant to satisfy those hungry taste buds.

Recharging

A day out in the fresh air means a good night sleep.  Many of the local hotels and bed and breakfasts offer stay and play packages that meet every need. The historic  River Run Bed and Breakfast in Fleischmanns offers a “Taste of the Catskills” stay and play package with breakfast each morning and a special 5 course tasting dinner at the Andes Hotel with a two-night stay. Check into the conveniently located Margaretville Motel and enjoy free lift tickets for either Belleayre or Plattekill Mountains.

Views and Wild Azalea on Dry Brook Ridge

At 3460’ in elevation and lying west of the Catskills’ high peaks (summits above 3500’), Dry Brook Ridge is a less frequented and rewarding mountain to visit. There are several approaches to this long ridge, including the Dry Brook Ridge Trail which runs 9.6 miles from the village of Margaretville to the Millbrook Road Parking Area (and another 4 miles to Quaker Clearing in the Beaverkill Valley). Along the way, there are intersections with the German Hollow Trail (a 1.65-mile trail climbing from the east); the Huckleberry Loop Trail, which reaches Hill Road to the west in 2.3 miles; and again the Huckleberry Loop Trail Valley which connects with Ploutz Road in 1.5 miles. All of these trails are shown on the Central Catskills Trails Map (# 142) which is published by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. It is recommended that hikers obtain this map, which shows the many ‘point-to-point’ and advanced hiking possibilities found in this area.

Near the center of the ridge and near its highest point are a series of ledges that offer westerly views. A good way to reach these ledges (also known as Penguin Rocks) is from the Ploutz Road Parking Area. Ploutz Road is reached by taking the Millbrook Road 6.7 miles from the Pepacton Reservoir. After turning left, proceed just over a mile, passing the farmhouse, until the parking area on the right. At first, the trail ascends through a mature spruce forest, then it passes through some rocky sections before coming to the DBR Trail after a climb of about 1000’. Turning left, the trail moves through an open swampy area and semi-stunted ridgetop forests until the first overlook is reached in about a mile. This is a good place for a break while you take in the view and decide if you would like to continue about three-quarters of a mile to the next major overlook. Each of these overlooks is denoted by a star symbol on the trail map. If you turn around at this second viewpoint the hike is about six miles roundtrip.

There have been two lean-tos adjacent to this 9.6 miles section of the DBR until a few years ago when the German Hollow Lean-to was crushed by trees during a storm. It is still slated for reconstruction, although it may be relocated. The second lean-to is located 1.35 miles from Mill Brook Road, which makes for a convenient “out-and-back” overnight trip or a welcomed shelter if you’re on a longer journey. (Note his lean-to is located near private land and access to the spring shown on the map is limited.) 

The large tracts of wild forest along the ridge make for excellent wildlife habitat, and the ridge is known for its bear and bobcat. In the spring, the ‘Pinkster’ bush, a type of wild azalea, blooms in abundance along the higher, central part of the trail. Although many hikers opt for the 9.6-mile through hike, each of the trailheads offer secluded climbs to the ridge. To reach the trail from Margaretville, turn onto Southside Road from Route 28 (across from Fair Street), go to the top of the hill and turn left; the trailhead will be on your right in a short distance.

Scenic Kelly Hollow Hike on the Border of Delaware and Ulster Counties

One of the great things about hiking in the Catskills is that the drives to get to the trailheads are scenic and relaxing. To reach the Kelly Hollow Trail, you could go to Arkille, turn at Dry Brook Road, and enjoy the Dry Brook Valley; or you could travel along the south side of the Pepacton Reservoir and take Millbrook Road to the trailhead. Better yet, you could make a loop out of it.

The Kelly Hollow Trail itself is a loop, which makes for some good options. In fact, there’s a short loop that’s less than three miles and a longer one that’s four miles. Along the way you’ll encounter a range of interesting places for such a short hike. From the parking area, the trail crosses the small stream, then goes along an old road through a Norway spruce forest. These trees were planted back in the 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corp was active, and today they make for a unique hiking experience. (You’ll see the sign for the “cut-off” for the shorter loop on your right, which dips down into the shady and rocky ravine before rejoining the big loop again.) Steadily but gradually climbing, the road emerges from the evergreens and eventually hooks westward at a stream crossing. After a slight incline, the trail levels, rounds a ridge, and arrives at the Kelly Hollow Lean-to. The lean-to not only offers overnight accommodations, Catskills style, but it’s next to Beaver Pond, which often lives up to its name due to the presence of tree-gnawing residents. And there are frogs, newts and good bird watching. This spot, some two miles from the parking area, makes for a good family overnight.

The trail then rounds the upslope side of the pond, giving a good feeling of being at the head of the hollow. The trail also happens to be one of few marked cross country ski trails in the Catskills. Up until this point, the trail has been relatively easy for the back country skier, but between the pond and the road this second half of the loop requires more advanced skiing skills. Descending, steeply in places, the trail makes a couple of switchbacks before coming to the junction with the shorter loop. If you take this loop (by turning right) it will rejoin the outer loop and return to the parking area. If you stay left, you will complete the larger loop; however, you will come out at the road about a quarter-mile west of the main parking area (the one with the brown and yellow sign). Not far before the road you will also see an old cemetery just off the trail to your left.

As far as Catskill hiking goes, Kelly Hollow is relatively easy; yet whichever loop you choose, there’s enough elevation gain to break a good sweat and there’s plenty to discover along the way.

[The Kelly Hollow Trailhead is located on the right side of Millbrook Road, just over five miles from the intersection of Millbrook Road and the NYC Board of Water Supply Road along the south side of the Pepacton Reservoir. If you’re coming from Arkville, take Dry Brook Road six miles to Millbrook Road, turn right, and go 6.6 miles; the trailhead will be on your left. Although not required, it’s a good idea to have the set of Catskill Trails hiking maps, available at: www.nynjtc.org/product/catskill-trails-map-set]

Weathering Storms. Silver Linings.

The Cheese Barrel in Margaretville

Water, water everywhere.  The lushness of the mountains, the verdant green of the hayfields - all fed by the bountiful water and land that filters it down to the rivers, streams and reservoirs.  The towns here have weathered floods big and small. Folks talk about the flood in '96.  The 2006 flood. Most scars are gone. Rivers are now lined with huge rip-rap boulders to protect their banks.  Farm fields have new crops planted.  Riparian buffers planted with bushes and grasses to hold the soil.

Floods make people come together and help each other out with a contagious sense of community and pride.  It's what makes our small Catskills towns so welcoming and tactile. All that strength and warmth at the same time. So Irene pummeled almost every town in the county, in some manner this past weekend.  But she really threw her might at the villages of Margaretville, Arkville, and Fleischmanns.  And while we all know in our bones that these towns will be rebuilt, there is the sense that the storm did have a silver lining.

The towns along the East Branch of the Delaware River are working together to come up with a recreation plan that accesses the river and uses it to promote tourism and recreational opportunities.  Looking at these rivers towns, not for their ability to move timber and farm products downstream, but to move kayakers and to encourage fishing, are strong forces that can shape how we rebuild these communities.

Welcoming travelers has been something Delaware County has done with pride since the railroad starting bringing city folk up to escape the heat of the concrete jungle.  It is something we will do this weekend for Labor Day travelers, and the next weekend, and for fall foliage and Columbus weekend and for generations to come.  We look forward to your supporting our communities as you travel here and promise we'll try our hardest to put the polish back on our main streets.  We'll see you in the mountains!!