The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province 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, a forest preserve 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, ...

, 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 (state), New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Oh ...

(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 nor ...

). 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 List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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. Billed as "an Aq ...

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

Map-Novi Belgii Novæque Angliæ (Amsterdam, 1685)

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 hi ...

'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. 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 Uls ...

. 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 ...

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 several ...

. 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, w ...

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).

Geography

The Catskill Mountains are approximately north-northwest of

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 purposesChambers 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 adjacent ...

, Sullivan, 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 ...

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 cou ...

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

, 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, ...

, 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 The Catskill Mountain 3500 Club, incorporated as the Catskill 3500 Club and often just referred to as the 3500 Club, is a peakbagging organization for hikers in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Those wishing to become members must climb all 3 ...

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 . Tubers on Esopus Creek 2011

Climatically, the Catskills lie within the

Allegheny Highlands forests The Allegheny Highlands forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of North America, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. Setting The ecoregion consists of four separate blocks of mixed forest surrounded by lower lying areas ...

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 of ...

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-də-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 Jerse ...

, which forms the southeastern edge of the Catskills, is part of the geologically distinct Ridge-and-Valley province and is a continuation of the same ridge known as Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania. The Catskill Mountains are more of a

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 silicat ...

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, especiall ...

. 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 w ...

. 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, wh ...

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 rough ...

(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. Platte Clove

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, 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, 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

is a tributary of the

, starting at

Winnisook Lake Winnisook Lake is an artificial lake located in Oliverea, New York, United States. It is the source of Esopus Creek and the highest lake in the Catskill Mountains at above sea level. The lake is the private property of the Winnisook Club, whi ...

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. The Ashokan Reservoir is part of the

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 fishing lure, lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is Casting (fishing), cast using a fly rod, Fishing reel#Fly reel, reel, and specialized Fly line, weighted line. T ...

, although in recent years it has been plagued by invasive plants.

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 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 Catskill Scenic Trail is a multi-use rail trail along the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad right-of-way in rural Delaware County, New York. It runs approximately from Grand Gorge, New York to Bloomville, New York. The western portion ...

, 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, 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

. 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 ...

, Little Pond, Mongaup Pond, and North-South Lake.

Skiing

There are five main downhill ski and snowboard areas in the Catskills:

Belleayre Mountain Belleayre Mountain, in Catskill Park, New York, United States, is a ski resort owned and operated by the Olympic Regional Development Authority or ORDA. It is the only Catskill resort that contains a gondola and attracts many new visitors from ...

(run by the Olympic Regional Development Authority); 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 Windham Mountain is a ski resort located in the town of Windham, New York (US), in the northern section of the Catskill Mountains, approximately 2.5 hours north of New York City. Windham Mountain is the closest big mountain skiing to the city. I ...

; 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 Plattekill Mountain is a privately owned and operated ski and bike resort northwest of Catskill Park in the town of Roxbury, New York. It features a vertical drop of 1,100 feet (335 meters) with 38 trails of varying degrees of difficulty. The m ...

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 Bo ...

Joppenbergh Mountain Joppenbergh Mountain is a nearly mountain in Rosendale Village, a hamlet in the town of Rosendale, in Ulster County, New York. The mountain is composed of a carbonate bedrock overlain by glacially deposited material. It was named after Rosenda ...

, in Rosendale Village hosted its first ski jumping 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 Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own Terrestrial locomotion, locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced a ...

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 or ...

s were constructed to facilitate

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

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 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-t ...

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 *

near

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, 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 (skin), hide, ...

, elevation * Mt. Utsayantha Fire Tower near Stamford, New York, 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 the r ...

Tower near Woodstock, elevation *

Red Hill Fire Observation Station The Red Hill Fire Observation Station consists of a fire lookout tower, cabin and pit privy located on the summit of Red Hill, a Catskill Mountain peak in Denning, New York, United States. It is the southernmost fire tower in the Catskill Par ...

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 ...

near Shandaken, elevation * Upper Esopus Fire Observation Station 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 elevatio ...

, elevation

Notable landmarks

The Catskill Mountain House, built in 1824, was a hotel near Palenville,

, 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 Yo ...

. In its prime at the turn of the century, visitors included United States Presidents

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 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 The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

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 The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 (the last train ran from Norwich to Middletown, NY on this date), after which it was or ...

. Over the course of 1950, service on the NYO&W downscaled to summer only. In its last years it ran trains from Roscoe to

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

, via

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

. It connected with the New York Central's

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo. It was organized as a competitor ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

. This service lasted until September 10, 1953. The

Delaware and Ulster Railroad The Delaware and Ulster Railroad (DURR) is a heritage railroad based in Arkville, New York. History The last regularly scheduled passenger train over the former Ulster & Delaware Railroad (U&D) tracks was operated between Kingston and Oneonta b ...

is a heritage railroad, based in

Arkville, New York Arkville is a hamlet in the Town of Middletown, Delaware County, New York, United States. It is located along New York State Route 28, one mile north of the village of Margaretville in the western Catskill Mountains. It has the ZIP code 1240 ...

, that still runs a scenic part of the track from Highmount to Hubbell Corners, New York, for tourist use. The

Catskill Mountain Railroad The Catskill Mountain Railroad is a heritage tourist railroad based in Kingston, New York, that began operations in 1982. The railroad leases a 4.7-mile portion (MP 3.6 to MP 8.3) of the former New York Central Railroad Catskill Mountain b ...

is also a heritage railroad in the Catskills, operating from Kingston up to Highmount. Udmap

The Catskills are accessible by automobile from the east along Interstate 87/

New York State Thruway , direction_a = South , terminus_a = {{Jct, state=NY, I, 95 at the The Bronx, Bronx–Yonkers, New York City line , junction = {{plainlist, * {{jct, state=NY, I, 287, Parkway, Saw Mill, NY, 119 in Elmsford, New York, Elmsford * {{jct, state=NY, ...

, which runs north–south through the

. To the south and southwest, the Catskills are accessible by a variety of highways, including New York State Route 55, U.S. Route 44, U.S. Route 209, and

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Southern ...

. Access to the western Catskills is provided by

New York State Route 30 New York State Route 30 (NY 30) is a state highway in the central part of New York in the United States. It extends for from an interchange with NY 17 (Future Interstate 86) in the Southern Tier to the US–Canada border in ...

; and the vaguely defined far-western edge of the region is variously considered to be

New York State Route 10 New York State Route 10 (NY 10) is a north–south state highway in the Central New York and North Country regions of New York in the United States. It extends for from the Quickway ( NY 17) (Future Interstate 86) in Deposi ...

or Interstate 88, though this boundary remains a matter of local preference. New York State Routes 28 and 23A cut east–west through the heart of the Catskills, serving many of the most popular outdoor tourist destinations.

New York State Route 23 New York State Route 23 (NY 23) is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion of New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus in Cortland Cou ...

runs east–west across the Catskills' northern section. The closest major airports to the Catskill region are

Albany International Airport Albany International Airport is six miles (9 km) northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an air port of entry in the town of Coloni ...

to the north and

Stewart International Airport Stewart International Airport, officially New York Stewart International Airport , is a public/military airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, south of Kingston, and southwest ...

in Newburgh to the south. Smaller airports in the region include: *

Columbia County Airport Columbia County Airport is a county-owned public use airport in Columbia County, New York, United States. The airport is located four nautical miles (7 km) northeast of the central business district of Hudson, New York. It is a small un-to ...

in Hudson *

Dutchess County Airport Hudson Valley Regional Airport , formerly known as Dutchess County Airport, is a county-owned public-use airport located on State Route 376 in the Town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York, United States, four miles (6 km) south of the ...

in Poughkeepsie *

Joseph Y. Resnick Airport Joseph Y. Resnick Airport , is located in Ellenville, New York, United States. Facilities and aircraft It is situated one mile northeast of the central business district, and contains one runway. The runway, 4/22, is of asphalt and measures . Th ...

Ellenville Ellenville is a village within the town of Wawarsing, Ulster County, New York, United States. Its population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. Geography The village of Ellenville is about 90 miles northwest of New York City and 90 miles southwest ...

* Kingston–Ulster Airport *

Kobelt Airport Kobelt Airport is a privately owned, public use airport in Ulster County, New York, United States. It is located three nautical miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Wallkill and is also known as Kobelt/Wallkill ...

in Wallkill * Randall Airport in Middletown *

Sullivan County International Airport Sullivan County International Airport is in Bethel, Sullivan County, New York. It is seven miles northwest of Monticello, a village in the Town of Thompson. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it a ...

* 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

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 ''

'' (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 Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

. Comedians such as

Rodney Dangerfield Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-line joke, one-liner humor, his c ...

Jackie Mason Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Maza; yi, יעקב משה מזא; June 9, 1928 – July 24, 2021) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. His 1986 one-man show ''The World According to Me!'' won a Special Tony Award, an Outer Critics Ci ...

Alan King Alan King (born Irwin Alan Kniberg; December 26, 1927 – May 9, 2004) was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious a ...

, and Don Rickles all got their start performing in Catskill hotel venues colloquially referred to as the Borscht Belt. 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 The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

'', 1859 painting by Asher Brown Durand depicting the Catskills using the "sublime landscape" approach File:Woodstock redmond stage.JPG, The Redmond Stage,

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

References

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
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