New York City to the Catskills Region and then to New Paltz, NY is the perfect quick 2-3 day trip for any adventure-seeking New Yorker! It’s an even better trip when you’re exploring the region with New England’s famous peak fall foliage. For our trip, we only had two days.
We definitely took full advantage of our time off work and the unseasonably warm weather. On this trip we (slowly) drove my 1992 Land Rover Defender 110, which gave us the option of rooftop camping overnight, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.
We started our trip hiking the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower hike (6.5 miles round trip). From atop the fire tower were overlooked a very popular New York region ski resort, Hunter Mountain. We then camped 40 minutes away at North Lake South Lake. The following morning, we woke up bright and early to make breakfast. We then slowly made our way back South towards New York City.
On the way back, we stopped in New Paltz, NY for the day. Once in New Paltz, we found some coffee and headed off to hike Bonticou Crag. Bonticou Crag is part of the better known Mohonk Preserve. This hike offers a fun and challenging rock scramble. Once at the top you are greeted by views looking out every which way.
After the hike we grabbed lunch at the Main Course Marketplace (a favorite of ours) before heading back to the city.
1 hour : 47 minutes later we were parked in Manhattan. Right back where we started 36 hours prior.