Hiking: Slide Mountain via Wittenberg/Cornell/Slide Trail - Curtis Ormsbee Trail Loop, Catskill Park, NY | February 3, 2019
At 4,184 feet in elevation, Slide Mountain is the highest mountain in the Catskill Park and the Catskill Mountains. The 1,800 foot ascent is generally moderate and the mountain offers hikers several great views as you ascend and descend. The view from the very top has grown in, but still offers a good view. Throughout the year, conditions can and do change rapidly on the mountain and all hikers should be properly prepared when attempting Slide Mountain, especially in the winter months when the conditions and the weather are much less forgiving.
The Adventure in the Outdoors family is growing. We now offer guided hikes in New York through Hike On Guides and we recently had the chance to take a client to the top of the Catskills. We weren’t sure on the weather when we first left the house, with most of the mountain peaks along the way shrouded in clouds, but as the day went by, the clouds thinned and lifted so by the time we were on top of Slide, we were rewarded with some great views from the roof of the Catskill Mountains!
Slide is one of our favorite mountains in the Catskills and offers one of the rare loop hikes in the Catskill Park (though it’s not a complete loop trail, more like a lollipop trail with a very short stick on either side). Starting at the parking lot on County Route 47 (Frost Valley Road), the route has some pretty steady climbs, but isn’t nearly as steep as other trails on other mountains and has enough variability to make it an excellent walk.
Our preference in the loop is to use the Curtis-Ormsbee Trail to ascend Slide and use the Wittenberg-Slide-Cornell Trail to descend. The Curtis-Ormsbee Trail does have a few steep ascents, but between those short climbs, the trail runs along one of Slide’s many ridges. The Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide Trail in this area follows the old jeep trail that used to service the former fire tower that sat at the summit of Slide Mountain and while it is not a steep trail, it is a consistently moderate grade that can feel like a bit of slog on the way up.
Our climb was just a few days after a decent snowfall in the region. At the base there was maybe 8-10 inches of snow and as we ascended, the snowpack increased to about 2-2 1/2 feet of snow at the summit. The trails were broken out earlier and all had well packed routes. For us, snowshoes were fine for the entire trip, even the steeper sections. Temperatures were moderate for the time of the year, starting off in the mid-20s and getting to just above freezing when we were descending.
All told this hike is just under 7 miles in length with a total vertical climb of about 1,800 feet.
- Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult
- Length: 7 Miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,800 feet
- Map and Guidebook: Catskill Trails by NYNJ Trail Conference / Catskill Mountains Guide by Appalachian Mountain Club
If you are looking for more information about the extensive history of the Catskill Mountains and the Catskill Park, we would suggest reading one of the following: The Catskills, From Wilderness to Woodstock; The Catskill Park, Inside the Blue Line; or The Catskills, It’s History and how it changed America. For the most comprehensive natural history of the Catskill Park and the Forests of the Catskill region, we recommend reading The Catskill Forest, a History by Michael Kudish.
Read up on the Catskill Park at our Catskill Mountains Information Page for hikes, advice, travel and planning information. We also offer a Guide to Hiking in the Catskills.
Visit the Catskill Park’s official visitor center, the Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey Catskills Visitor Center (formerly the Catskill Interpretive Center).
Adventures in the Outdoors – a community of hikers and outdoor enthusiasts sharing information and adventures http://adventures-in-the-outdoors.blogspot.com
Source: http://adventures-in-the-outdoors.blogspot.com/2019/02/hiking-slide-mountain-via.html
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