Catskill Mountain Railroad - Twilight Limited

One of the most fun activities I've done in Ulster County is ride on the Twilight Limited Train on the Catskill Mountain Railroad. Twice each summer, the CMRR has a nighttime ride that includes a fun stop at the Phoenicia Train Station where they have live music and snacks. In addition to dancing to Bluegrass tunes, you can visit the Empire State Railway Museum during the stopover in Phoenicia. The train then heads toward the Ashokan Reservoir before turning back to Mount Tremper Station to drop everyone off.

Although the Twilight Limited runs only twice a year, there are regular rides during the week plus other special rides, like their Fall Foliage Rides. You can even charter a train for a special occasion.

During the Twilight Limited, we enjoyed the sounds of Earl Pardini and the Slide Mountain String Band. They played a fairly long set at the station in Phoenicia and then joined us for the remainder of the ride. Someone else on our train ride posted footage from the trip on YouTube. It includes several pictures (some blurry) and video from the ride. It includes music from the band and some great footage of the merriment on the platform in Phoenicia. The video captures several train passengers dancing the Virginia Reel, a folk dance dating back to the 17th century.

The old ticket booth inside the Phoenicia Train Station/Museum is pictured above. The YouTube video includes shots of a lot of the pictures and memorabilia inside the museum.

The train is quite impressive on the interior as well. Above is a photo of the enclosed car. There were also two "outdoor" cars that had benches running along the center and were open to the elements - perfect for the weather on Saturday night.

The CMRR is an extension of the Delaware and Ulster Railroad, which was completed in 1900. The railroad helped build up the Catskills as a vacation/retreat destination for people from New York City, and its fortunes rose and fell along with those of the mountain houses in the region. More information about the history of the railroad is available here.

Overall, the ride was a lot of fun, and I'm definitely looking forward to going back for the Fall Foliage Train. The Mount Tremper Train Station is located just outside of Phoenicia and is the main starting and stopping point for the Esopus Line. You can also take the train along its Kingston Line with the train starting at Kingston Plaza. The Kingston ride focuses mainly on the city of Kingston and doesn't appear to go into the countryside like the Esopus Line.

Giant Ledge/Panther Mountain Hike

Ulster County has tons of great hiking. Between Mohonk, Minnewaska and the Catskills, there are trails for everyone at all levels of difficulty. A challenging hike is the trail to Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain. The trail head that we used is on Route 47. Route 47 meets Route 28 a few miles west of Phoenicia. Head south from 28 about 7 miles, and the trail head parking will be on the right.

The trail is quite steep, as seen in the picture above. Interestingly, the trees on the trail tend to be far more inclined to the deciduous category than you typically see in the area. As you get father up the mountain, the trees become more evergreen - with some great balsam firs.

The big pay-offs on the hike are prior to the peak at Panther Mountain. Giant Ledge includes a series of overlooks that afford sweeping views of the Catskills. They are well worth the hike, and they are even better than the views I've seen from some of the other mountains, including Wittenberg.

Panther Mountain tops out at an elevation of 3,720 feet. The trail head is around 2,200/2,300 feet, so the elevation gain is about 1,500 feet. It's a bit of a challenge, but it's well worth it for the views! For more information about Panther Mountain, go to this link.

Mohonk Garden Shop & Greenhouse

Another great place to visit at Mohonk is the Garden Shop & Greenhouse. And you don't even have to pay for a day pass or stay at Mohonk House - you just have to register at the main gate, and you can drive to the Garden Shop. There is a time limit that you can stay at the shop - usually about 45 minutes, but it's a great way to see some of the Mohonk grounds and to have the chance to shop at a fun greenhouse.

The Garden Shop includes plants, lawn ornaments and other accessories. Many of the plants available at the shop are the same plants used on the grounds. There are also some very unique plants - including some of the Victorian-era plants that the Mohonk grounds are known for.

More information about the shop are available on the Mohonk site on this page. It is a good idea to call ahead of time to ask them to notify the main gate that you are coming (although we've also been able to gain access to the shop without calling ahead). The page includes times and the main number for the Garden Shop.

Mohonk Day Trippin'

If you want to experience Mohonk House - one of the gems of the Hudson Valley - you don't have to spend an outrageous sum of money on a hotel room. You can do a day trip! At the main gate, you can get a day pass (note: you have to pay parking in addition to the pass). Because day parking is at the main gate (and it's a couple of miles to the main house), Mohonk provides a shuttle bus that will drop you off at the Picnic Lodge (pictured below).The Picnic Lodge is the main point of entry for day trippers and is the only location for day trippers to purchase meals. Day trippers are not allowed inside the main house, although you can access the trails around the property. Below is the kitchen area of the Picnic Lodge.As the name suggests, you can picnic at the Picnic Lodge. There are comfy rocking chairs on the front porch (the same rocking chairs that you see all along the lakefront side of the main house).

You can also use the picnic tables on the side porch of the Picnic Lodge. Here's a good secret for day trippers. You can have an even better experience at Mohonk by planning a meal at the main dining room.

Day meals are allowed for breakfast, brunch, and dinner. For an upfront-paid fee, you get your meal plus access to the guest parking lot at the main house, and you are allowed to visit the first floor of the main house - including the cool gift store. Meals can be pricey, so I suggest going in for breakfast - that also gives you the whole day to wander around.

Contact numbers for Mohonk (to ask about day passes and/or to make day meal reservations) are here.

Shaft 2A Hike

One of the coolest (and shortest) hikes that I've found in the Ulster County area is the Shaft 2A hike. Located on the northwestern edge of the Minnewaska Preserve, the trail takes you to an 87-foot waterfall. To make the hike longer, you can also climb up the rock cliffs to take a trail that runs along the stream feeding the waterfall. Alternatively, at the top of the falls you can take a trail that runs toward the main part of Minnewaska. The optional trail will take you through the area of Minnewaska that suffered from a forest fire in April 2008. One of the best times to visit Shaft 2A and the falls is during the winter when the falls freeze. The picture above shows some relative scale for the height of the waterfall. Below is a shot from behind the frozen waterfall.

The video below (hope it works - it's not quite optimized for the blog video player - sorry about any problems viewing it) was taken at the top of the waterfall in Spring 2010 and shows the stream that feeds the falls as well as the drop off over the falls. You can see how beautiful the area is.

If the video doesn't work, it is also on YouTube. You should be able to view it here. You can view another video I shot from down below the falls here. Also, you can view one of my hikes (with pictures) to Shaft 2A and into Minnewaska. It is viewable at EveryTrail here.

Information about how to get to the trail can be found on the Shaft 2A page at WikiPaltz. There is no formal parking area - just a dead-end road. From the road, the hike to the falls takes about 20 minutes. Some parts of the hike are alongside a fairly steep incline and can be quite slippery in the winter. There are great views of the falls from several vantage points along the trail. To get to the top of the falls, you will have to cross the stream and head up the cliff area to the left of the falls.

The Beach at Awosting

I've talked to a lot of people that have visited Lake Minnewaska. They love the trails around the lake and have jumped in at the public swimming area. Many of these people, however, have never made the trek out to Lake Awosting to check out the granite beach there. It's definitely worth making the trip.



I wrote about riding around Lake Awosting from Minnewaska, and so my earlier post provides some info about Awosting. However, I wanted to write some more about the beach specifically.

Awosting Beach is at the blue dot on the map above. The red trail illustrates a loop that runs from the Minnewaska parking lot around Awosting to the beach and back. If you take the most direct route from the parking lot (the north half of the loop - you can go directly to the beach along the east side of the lake), it is a distance of about 3.5 miles. You can also come up from the Awosting parking lot, which brings you up to the north side of the lake. The distance is about the same (maybe a little less), but you take some significant uphill terrain to get there.

The beach at Awosting is made of a huge granite slab that extends out about 50 feet (the water is about 8-to-9 feet deep at the back of the roped-in area). The water is crystal clear - be sure to bring your goggles! - and it remains quite cool throughout the summer - despite being out in the open. The "beach" area is the continuation of the rock slab, and you'll find a number of people lying out in the sun.

Because of the distance, many people opt to ride bikes out there, although if you're up for a hike, it's definitely do-able. The beach area has bike racks and a comfort station with changing rooms and bathrooms. Please note that there are no trash facilities inside the park - you have to carry out everything that you bring in. Additionally, the bathrooms - though very clean and relatively pleasant to use - have composting toilets. There are no water fountains or other plumbing inside the park - so make sure you carry in enough water for your entire hike/bike.

To get information about the park - including park office contact info, etc., check out this site. There is a panoramic view of Lake Awosting at this site.

Great Dining in Krumville - The Country Inn

After reading a recent Bluestone Press review of The Country Inn, we decided to check it out. I'm happy to report that it lived up to the great review - wonderful food in a great setting. The Country Inn is in Krumville on Route 2 (1380 County Road 2 - not far from the junction with 2A). The menu includes a great mix of dishes with a huge beer selection (hundreds of beer - I recommend the Abita Strawberry Harvest).

Although the food and beer selection is great, my favorite part of the experience was the setting. The Country Inn sits alongside a beautiful pond surrounded by forest. There is a back deck so that you can enjoy the surroundings, but the interior dining space is also nice. The back deck has three or four tables, but it looks like they may be expanding the outdoor space soon.

For more info about The Country Inn, check out this site. It provides hours, contact info, and information about the history of the restaurant. And if you want verification that the restaurant is good, you can check out the reviews page. Also, keep in mind that the restaurant only takes cash (they have an ATM on location).