Slide Mountain Wilderness
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The Slide Mountain Wilderness Area is, at , the largest tract of state-owned
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, funga, or features of geologic ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
's
Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. 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 by ...
, and the largest area under any kind of
wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...
protection between the
Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York (state), New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the hi ...
and the southern
Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
. It is located in the towns of Shandaken, Denning and
Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
in
Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...
.


Location

Within those three towns, the Slide Wilderness might be better described as contained within the lands bounded on the north roughly by
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 Ul ...
and
Route 28 Highway 28 may refer to: Australia * Cumberland Highway *Mountain Highway, Mountain Highway (Victoria) * – NT Canada * Alberta Highway 28 * British Columbia Highway 28 * Nova Scotia Trunk 28 * Ontario Highway 28 * Saskatchewan Highway 28 Cz ...
, the east by Ulster County Route 42 (known in different towns as Sundown Road or Peekamoose Road) almost to the shores of
Ashokan Reservoir The Ashokan Reservoir (; Iroquois for "place of fish") is a reservoir in the New York City water supply system in Ulster County, New York. It receives the waters of Schoharie Reservoir, and together they provide the flow of the Catskill Aqueduc ...
, the west by Ulster County Route 47, and on the south by Sugarloaf Road and Red Hill Road. The area's wilderness character is buffered not only by restrictive local
zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...
and
conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...
of neighboring private lands but also by bordering on two other large state-owned tracts, the Big Indian-
Beaver Kill The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York. The kill drains a Baldigo, Ba ...
Wilderness Area to the west and the Sundown Wild Forest to the east.


Resources


Physical

According to Catskill forest historian Michael Kudish, the Slide wilderness contains the most extensive tract of first-growth forest in the Catskills. Much of the area remained out of reach during the peak years of logging and barkpeeling from eastern hemlock trees, to make tannin for
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
production in the mid-19th century, and thus remained largely untouched. Indeed, the upper valley of the East Branch of the Neversink, located centrally within the SMWA, is the only completely wild valley in the Catskills. It is possible to look out over it from several points on the surrounding mountains and see no evidence of civilization. Within its boundaries lie 10 of the 35
Catskill High Peaks The Catskill High Peaks are all of the mountains in New York's Catskill Mountains above in elevation whose summits are separated either by ''or'' a vertical drop of at least between it and the next nearest separate summit. By usual standards ...
, including the highest Catskill peak,
Slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...
, 4,180 feet (1277 m) of elevation; and lowest,
Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...
. Three important regional
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
s arise within the wilderness as well: the
Neversink River The Neversink River (also called Neversink Creek in its upper course) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern N ...
, largest
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
; and
Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...
tributaries Rondout and Esopus creeks, both of which are impounded to create major
reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
s for the
New York City water supply system The New York City water supply system is a combination of Aqueduct (water supply), aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels which supplies fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems (New Croton Aqueduct, Croton, Catskill Aqueduct, Ca ...
. There are, however, no lakes or ponds within it.


Biological


Plant life

The tract is almost completely wooded. DEC identifies five distinct forest communities within the Slide Wilderness: three subtypes of the
boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...
found at higher elevations in the Catskills ("mountain fir", "mountain spruce-fir" and "spruce-fir rocky summit"), hemlock-northern hardwood forest and beech-maple mesic forest northern
hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...
s, such as
sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...
,
beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
and
yellow birch ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the p ...
, are the most predominant, with associate species such as
black cherry ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub in the r ...
, white ash,
red maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...
,
basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...
, big-tooth aspen and
red oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...
can be found at some locations.
White pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...
and hemlock also carve out some groves of their own, particularly in areas closer to streams.
Hobblebush ''Viburnum lantanoides'' (commonly known as hobble-bush, witch-hobble, alder-leaved viburnum, American wayfaring tree, and moosewood) is a perennial shrub of the family Adoxaceae (formerly in the Caprifoliaceae), growing high with pendulous bra ...
and
serviceberry ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a ...
are common shrubs at the higher elevations.
Vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignin, lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified Ti ...
s to be found in the forest
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...
s include several
fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
varieties (predominantly woodfern and hay-scented),
stinging nettle ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Or ...
and
jewelweed ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus '' Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family Balsaminace ...
.
trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
,
wood sorrel ''Oxalis'' ( (British English) or (American English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family, Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species ...
,
clintonia ''Clintonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family Liliaceae. Plants of the genus are distributed across the temperate regions of North America and eastern Asia, in the mesic habitat, mesic understory of deciduous forests, deciduous ...
, bunchberry, starflower and foamflower round out the biome for the
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s. One ravine has been found to support a colony of nodding pogonia, an
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...
that grows in only three other locations in New York.


Animal life

Mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s that favor forest
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
predominate within the Slide Wilderness. Among the 49 species known to exist there,
black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
s have done exceptionally well, as have
snowshoe hare The snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sink ...
,
gray squirrel Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America: *The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into the United Kingdom, ...
and
porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...
.
White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...
, who were successfully reintroduced into New York in 1887 via a protected habitat on lands now part of the wilderness area, winter here.
Cottontail rabbit Cottontail rabbits are in the ''Sylvilagus'' genus, which is in the family Leporidae. They are found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characterist ...
and
beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
also maintain lower population levels.
Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia * Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elec ...
were reintroduced to the area in the late 1970s and have thrived in numbers significant enough to make life difficult for the porcupine, always abundant in the Catskills.
Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s are an especially important component of the local
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
for historical reasons.
Bicknell's thrush Bicknell's thrush (''Catharus bicknelli'') is a medium-sized thrush, at and . One of North America's rarest and most localized songbirds, it breeds on coniferous mountain tops and disturbed habitats of northeastern North America. While very simi ...
was first observed on the summit of Slide in 1881; today, after recently being declared a separate species from the
gray-cheeked thrush The gray-cheeked thrush (''Catharus minimus'') is a medium-sized thrush. This species is in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of ''Catharus'' thrushes. It is a member of a close-knit group of migrant species ...
, it is considered a threatened species and its summer breeding areas in the boreal forests important enough that in 1999, New York
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...
augmented the wilderness status of the area with Bird Conservation Area status that applied to almost all the Catskill High Peaks. This protects not only the Bicknell's but other species such as the
black-and-white warbler The black-and-white warbler (''Mniotilta varia'') is a species of New World warbler, and the only member of its genus, ''Mniotilta''. It breeds in northern and eastern North America and winters in Florida, Central America, and the West Indies do ...
,
black-throated blue warbler The black-throated blue warbler (''Setophaga caerulescens'') is a small passerine bird of the New World warbler family. Its breeding ranges are located in the interior of deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in eastern North America. Over the ...
,
Canada warbler The Canada warbler (''Cardellina canadensis'') is a small boreal songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). It summers in Canada and northeastern United States and winters in northern South America. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoolog ...
,
red-eyed vireo The red-eyed vireo (''Vireo olivaceus'') is a small American songbird. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers (Parulidae). Common across its vast range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUC ...
,
Louisiana waterthrush The Louisiana waterthrush (''Parkesia motacilla'') is a New World warbler, that breeds in eastern North America and winters in the West Indies and Central America. Plain brown above, it is white below, with black streaks and with buff flanks and ...
,
scarlet tanager The scarlet tanager (''Piranga olivacea'') is a medium-sized American songbird. Until recently, it was placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), but it and other members of its genus are now classified as belonging to the cardinal family (Card ...
and
rose-breasted grosbeak The rose-breasted grosbeak (''Pheucticus ludovicianus''), colloquially called "cut-throat" due to its coloration, is a large, seed-eating grosbeak in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). It is primarily a foliage gleaner. Males have black heads, ...
, some of which require large unbroken forests to nest. More common birds observed in the area include
ruffed grouse The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only spe ...
and
wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...
, the latter being common enough to be a game species in the springtime. In all, 98 species of birds are believed to make their home here. The streams of the Catskills, including those in this wilderness, are famous for their
trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
, and the
brook Brook may refer to: Computing *Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C *Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler *BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programming People * Brook (surname) *People with the given name Brook, ...
,
brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...
and
rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
varieties can be found here, although not in sufficient numbers to allow for intensive fishing. The 37 amphibian and reptile species found in the area include six deemed to be of special concern by the state:
Jefferson salamander The Jefferson salamander (''Ambystoma jeffersonianum'') is a mole salamander native to the northeastern United States, southern and central Ontario, and southwestern Quebec. It was named after Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. It is typically ...
,
blue-spotted salamander The blue-spotted salamander (''Ambystoma laterale'') is a mole salamander native to the Great Lakes states and northeastern United States, and parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Their range is known to extend to James Bay to the north, and ...
,
spotted salamander The spotted salamander (''Ambystoma maculatum''), also known commonly as the yellow-spotted salamander, is a species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. The species is native to the eastern United States and Canada. It is the sta ...
,
spotted turtle The spotted turtle (''Clemmys guttata''), the only species of the genus ''Clemmys'', is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its ...
,
wood turtle The wood turtle (''Glyptemys insculpta'') is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to northeastern North America. The genus '' Glyptemys'' contains only one other species of turtle: the bog turtle (''Glyptemys muhle ...
and eastern hognose snake.


History

While the wilderness area designation is rather recent, formally dating to the 1985 adoption of the Catskill State Land Master Plan, the area has been part of New York's constitutionally protected Forest Preserve for a century before that. Ironically, the lands around Slide Mountain were added to the original legislation not for conservation purposes, but to settle a tax debt Ulster County owed to the state.


Management

The SMWA, like all lands in the state's Forest Preserve, is managed by the Division of Lands and Forests within New York's Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC is the successor agency to the Conservation Department, Conservation Commission and Forest Commission, all of which managed the lands in prior eras. The
forest ranger A ranger, park ranger, park warden, field ranger, or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands and protected areas – private, national, state, provincial, or local parks. Their duties include (but are not limi ...
s of DEC's Office of Public Protection provide law enforcement services to the unit. New York's wilderness-area management guidelines are similar to, if a bit looser than, those followed by the federal government. Any development of new facilities within the unit requires a change to the Unit Management Plan (UMP), or is added only at the UMP's periodic updates, both of which require public comment and extensive review. The UMP is itself governed not only by the state's Environmental Conservation Law but Article 14 of the state constitution, which requires that the Forest Preserve be kept "forever wild" and free for public use beyond any reasonable
fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...
required for a particular activity. In a departure from the usual practice of most American public land management, the state pays full
property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...
es on the lands to all local governmental entities as if it were a commercial landowner.


Recreational use

Use of the land is limited to minimal-impact passive recreation such as
hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...
,
camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...
,
hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
and
angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...
. No powered vehicles are allowed within (The use of
chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...
s for
trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...
maintenance is also permitted only by explicit written authority of the DEC
commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...
). There are no designated
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
trails within the wilderness. While
mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...
usage is currently a matter of debate as the CPSLMP is updated, and not specifically prohibited, it does not seem likely that it will be allowed. No structures may be erected on the land except those DEC creates within UMP guidelines.
Tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...
s are permitted; hunters'
tree stand Tree stands or deer stands are open or enclosed platforms used by hunters. The platforms are secured to trees in order to elevate the hunter and give them a better vantage point. A tripod stand is a similar device, but because it is freestanding ...
s are not. there are 35.3 miles (56.8 km) of officially maintained and marked trails (more are planned). There are three
lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing structures open on one or more sides (colloquially referred to as lean-tos in spite of being unattac ...
s, and 29 officially designated
campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...
s in the wilderness area. Outside of those, camping is not permitted within 150 feet (45.7 m) of any trail, road or stream. In areas above 3,500 feet (1,067 m) in elevation, it is only allowed between December 21 and March 21, when
snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
protects the ground. Open fires are forbidden above that location as well. It is the most popular of the four wilderness areas currently located within the Catskill Park.


Access

The state has built 10 separate parking lots along or near roads that abut the Slide wilderness, five of which serve as hiking trailheads. The sixth trail, the east end of the Burroughs Range Trail which traverses
Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...
,
Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...
and Slide Mountains, starts at the Woodland Valley State Campground, which adjoins the wilderness area. Similarly, camping is available at the southeast corner in the Peekamoose Valley Wild Forest, near the Bull Run trailhead. There is also a trail referred to as the Dutcher Step Trail that traverses the private property of the Winnisook Club. Anyone attempting to hike this trail should seek permission from the club first. The trail has some interesting views that the main trail does not. The club seems willing to allow hikers on a limited basis as long as you leave the trail as you found it and sign a release first.


See also

*
List of U.S. state and tribal wilderness areas List of wilderness areas designated by U.S. state and tribal governments. Seven states had designated wilderness programs in 2008 while some other states had designated wildernesses. In 2008, 12 states had 91 wilderness areas with a total protecte ...


Notes

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References

* Rudge, Bill ''et al.'', ''Slide Mountain Wilderness Unit Management Plan'', New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 1998.


External links


Hiking information for Slide Mountain
Catskill 3500 Club

at NYSDEC website. Wilderness areas of New York (state) Catskill Park Protected areas of Ulster County, New York Protected areas established in 1985 1985 establishments in New York (state)