It’s always a great trip when my best friend, Andrew, and I get together. This time, I took a backseat in the planning of our camping trip. I’ll admit, it was a bit tough for me to not plan out the destination, or much of the trip itself. I am quite pleased with the trip he put together. As I looked at the area he had targeted, it dawned on me that just a few days before, I had been listening to podcast of sorts that talked about some strange phenomenon in the Hudson Valley and that we were going to be in the general area where a lot of it had been reported over the years. But I will dive into those details in another post. I was, to say the least, excited at the prospect of experiencing first hand any one of the phenomenon or legends associated with the area. Unfortunately, I have no tales to tell at this time. Maybe another time I will, but for now, I have nothing from this trip.
Getting There
Colgate Lake Wild Forest is just West of the town of Catskill, NY. You drive West on Rt 23A to Rt 25which then takes you to the little town of East Jewett, NY. Along the way Rt 23A follows the Kaaterskill Creek which, in my opinion, is stunningly beautiful.
Colgate Lake Wild Forest
Colgate Lake Wild Forest is another diamond in the ruff. This pristine patch of wilderness is one of less popular areas within the Catskills Park boundary. While the lake was utilized by the bulk of the people seen during my stay, it pales in comparison to Overlook Mountain when I was there back in April. All the hiking we did was very easy and enjoyable. For being a holiday weekend, I was pleasantly surprised that the area wasn’t more packed than it was. There were a lot of people, by my standards, out enjoying the lake, but it wasn’t so overly crowded that it wasn’t enjoyable.
Across the road from the lake are several established NYS DEC camping sites. In fact, there were only 2 campsites being used while we were there, ours and another family directly next to the first parking lot. Other than that, we had the place to ourselves. I would have preferred a site on the lake, but the DEC has yet to put any there that I am aware of at this time. The site we had was great regardless, and I definitely would go back to it again. To find our site, we choose the center trailhead next to the trailhead sign. It was a very short 5 minute hike from the car to the site we choose, passing by at least 6 other established camping sites.
The site was well secluded from the several other sites being all the way in the back of the camping area. During our initial exploration of the area deciding on what site best suited our needs. They were very easy to find as they tell tale sign was a very noticeable man made stone fire ring. Up on the knoll to the west of the lake was another camping area we discovered while looking for ours. According to the map printed off the DEC’s website, there were 2 additional off the trail further down the road, though we were unable to locate them on this trip. Maybe next time. All the sites we found were well suited for tent camping. Andrew and I, however, are hammock campers, so places out in the open without trees did not work for us, though, I have a solution in mind to solve that problem, more on that another time.
BONUS TRIP: Kaaterskill Falls
Not exactly as planned, we did make it to Kaaterskill Falls on our way home from Colgate Lake Wild Forest. Kaaterskill Falls is approximately 260ft in hight. It’s located on Spruce Creek near the town of Haines Falls, NY.
It’s a very easy hike from the upper trailhead to to the viewing platform. There’s an additional section of trail that leads to the base of the falls that we did not take on this trip. None the less, it was still a magnificent site to behold. As of this time, the official parking area for the lower trail is closed, though people were seen using a lower parking area on RT23A and walking up the highway to get to the lower trailhead.
Final Thoughts
While it was tough to not plan and just take a backseat to most of the logistics of this trip, it was a fantabulous trip. I am proud of the trip Andrew put together, and I just may let him continue to plan our camping trips from now on. This area is definitely high on the revisit list. There is a beautiful ridgeline behind our campsite I would like to hike some time. A future trip to explore the Kaaterskill Falls area is in the works already.
While the falls were definitely the more popular of the 2 areas visited, and for good reason, Colgate Lake Wild Forest has just as much to offer it f not possibly more, in my humble opinion. What’s more to say? I don’t know. However, I would urge people to get out and enjoy nature more. I feel recharged and refreshed after every trip to the woods I take. I look forward to the next trip, almost yearning for it. And wishing it never had to end.
The Wandering Leatherneck 