Hiking Outside of New York City? Hunter Mountain is Worth the Trip

Every November, my boyfriend, Keith, and I take a beautiful 3 hour drive up to Hunter Mountain, a tradition we started in 2015. Although a good portion of the weekend is spent lazing around the Kaatskill Mountain Club and drinking wine in the hot tub, we always spend one day hiking (and in some instances, literally climbing) up to the summit. Being the Colorado-born mountain man that he is, Keith always chooses the most difficult route.

There are four trails that will take you to the top of Hunter Mountain, each unique in difficulty. We always take the Becker Hollow Trail, which is considered to be the most difficult hike in the Catskills. Although it’s shortest trail to the top, the climb is nearly 2,000 feet in only 2 miles. Needless to say, it’s a work out, and getting back down is often harder than the trek up.

For our hike, we got up early to check the weather and make a game plan. This year, we woke up to find all the pine trees beautifully coated in raindrops, glistening in the early morning sun. While normally a pleasant site, it only made me think of one thing: ice.

Crossing our fingers that the ice would melt, we set out on our usual route, which for the first hour or so is a pleasant and easy hike, but because of it’s difficulty closer to the summit, Becker Hollow is a quiet route less traveled.

In the past, we’ve stumbled upon a few questionable things in the forest, like this perfectly nice pair of glasses deserted on a tree branch, or– my favorite find from last year– a pile of about 20 powdered sugar donuts dumped over a ledge. It’s fun to make up stories about how these things ended up here and why, plus the hike goes by a lot faster while you’re having a rigorous debate about mysterious mountain donuts.

Hunter Mountain is located entirely within the Hudson River and New York City watersheds, so there are plenty of beautiful, rocky streams to skip over.

A little less than halfway through– and right before our hike turns into a climb– we always take a long break to give our feet a rest and just enjoy being in the woods. This year we brought a hammock to rest in that turned out to be surprisingly easy to set up with the right trees.

By the time we get ourselves upstate, most of the leaves are either covering the ground or on their last leg of life, desperately clinging to their branches. I spent most of my time in the hammock watching the wind carry them away.

Becker Hollow is infamous for it’s continuous upward slope with no level stretches. Even with the thinning treeline indicating that the summit is close, the steep part of the hike can feel like it’ll never end and requires quite a few rest stops.

At the summit, hikers from different paths come together to chat, have some beers, and enjoy the view. Hunter is the second highest mountain in the Catskills, at 4,040 feet and it’s summit is home to the second highest fire tower in the North East. The tower was built in 1909 and a series of rickety stairways will take you to the top, but the gorgeous view at the summit is a nice reminder that climbing a mountain is always worth the effort.

For more information on how to get to Hunter Mountain, visit the resort’s website.