Hiking: Graham and Doubletop Mountains Snowshoeing Bushwhack, Catskill Park, NY | February 17, 2019

Graham and Doubletop are two trailless peaks of the Catskills that reach above 3500′ (3868′ and 3860′ respectively) and are the only two of the 3500′ers that are located on private land. To hike on these mountains requires permission beforehand. Respect the private landowners who have made their property available for hikers to climb these two peaks. Follow any of their directions they may offer and make sure you Leave No Trace while you are on these peaks.

IMPORTANT – Permission to hike these two peaks can be arranged by the Caretaker, Bill Scholl, by calling him at 845-586-4056. More info on Graham and Doubletop available on the 3500 Club website.

While both are trailless peaks, Graham does have an unmaintained trail that follows the old jeep trail to its summit. The trail leaves the Dry Brook Ridge Trail about 2 miles south of the Mill Brook Road Trailhead (and just before the trail reaches the Balsam Lake Mountain Trail). From that intersection, the route to the summit of Graham climbs steadily but moderately. For Doubletop there’s no such existing route and climbing will require some map and navigation skills. The preferred route is roughly via the property line between the private landowner at the State Forest Preserve lands that intersects with the Pine Hill-West Branch Trail just south of the summit of Big Indian Mountain. Other routes are possible when proper permissions are obtained ahead of time.

For us, it was a roughly 9 mile loop that took us over Graham and then Doubletop before getting back to the car. The conditions were great for a hike – sunny, blue skies and mild temperatures for this time of the year. There was 6 inches to more than 2 feet of snow depending on elevation, but all the snow featured a thick icy crust thanks to an earlier rainstorm and then cold weather. We wore snowshoes the entire time and they seemed to be the best suited to the conditions (we also had microspikes and crampons just in case).

At the top of Graham Mountain there’s a great view looking to the southwest, along with the ruins of a former TV tower. From Graham, you drop over 900 feet to the notch between Graham and Doubletop and then climb back up. There are a couple of good views on Doubletop, including an incredible 270-degree view that really knocks your socks off.

From there we descended and made our way back to the car.

No map or route details posted since these are trailless peaks that are located on private lands and any route will require the permission ahead of time from the caretaker.

Catskill Park Resources and Information: New York’s Catskill Park is more than 700,000 acres in size with over 300,000 acres of publicly accessible, state owned Forest Preserve lands. The Park offers more than 400 miles of trails. Want to know where to get started, check out our Guide to Hiking in the Catskills.

The Catskill Park’s official visitor center is the Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey Catskills Visitor Center (formerly the Catskill Interpretive Center), located at 5096 Route 28 in Mount Tremper, NY. The Visitor Center is staffed and open daily. They can be emailed at [email protected] or called at 845-688-3369.

Looking for a map? We suggest the Trail Conference’s Catskills Trails 6-Map Set. A hiking guidebook? We suggest the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Catskill Mountain Guide. Trails Illustrated offers a Catskill Park Map and the Catskills Visitor Center offers a regional map. The Adirondack Mountain Club publishes the Catskill Trails guidebook.

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