112-549: Woodchuck Lodge is a historic house on Burroughs Memorial Road in a remote part of the western Catskills in Roxbury, New York . Built in the mid-19th century, it was the last home of naturalist and writer John Burroughs (1837–1921) from 1908, and is the place of his burial. The property is now managed by the state of New York as the John Burroughs Memorial State Historic Site , and
224-477: A pitch pine - scrub oak barren, is found on the summits of Hallihan and Jockey hills in the town of Kingston , just northwest of the Saw Kill confluence. While there is some development clustered along Route 28 next to the stream, there is no significant agricultural use. Among the mountains within it or on its boundaries are 21 peaks over 3,000 ft (910 m) in elevation, including all or part of 16 of
336-472: A favored destination for vacationers from New York City in the mid-20th century. The region's many large resorts gave many young stand-up comedians an opportunity to hone their craft. Since the late 19th century, the Catskills have been a haven for artists, musicians and writers, especially in and around the towns of Woodstock and Phoenicia . Nicolaes Visscher I 's 1656 map of New Netherland located
448-531: A half-mile (800 m) below Winnisook Lake it returns to the road's side and receives its unnamed first tributary from the east, draining another of Slide's hollows. Bending to the west northwest, the Esopus forms part of the boundary of the Big Indian Wilderness Area to its south as it receives Giant Ledge Stream from the north, draining the peak of that name and Panther Mountain ,
560-481: A half-mile with an apartment complex and strip mall on the south side and woodlands on the north of the 180-foot-wide (55 m) channel, Tannery Brook empties into the Esopus from a buried culvert just below where Route 28, now concurrent with Interstate 587 , crosses the creek for the last time. A half-mile past I-587, amid woodlands on both sides, the Esopus meanders parallel to the Thruway. Three-quarters of
672-412: A higher fault density in the bedrock on the Esopus, in the late 20th century. Later, the crater began to fill in with silt and became a crater lake . As the delta uplifted into a single plateau , the stream bed began to form along the heavily jointed and weaker shale and sandstone above the buried rim of the crater wall. As with the Catskills as a whole the newly forming streams began dissecting
784-605: A large bend that takes it below 600 feet (180 m) in elevation, the Esopus enters Ashokan Reservoir , 12 miles (19 km) below Allaben, the end of the creek's 26-mile (42 km) upper section. Four miles (6.4 km) from where it widens into the reservoir, just before Travers Hollow Brook and the Bush Kill drain into it, the main stem of the Esopus flows out of the reservoir's spillway . The reservoir continues for 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to its spillway near Olive Bridge . The reservoir's eastern section, slightly to
896-597: A long curve to the north and back southeastward over its next half-mile to where it crosses under the New York State Thruway just south of Exit 19, where the Catskill Park Blue Line leaves the stream to run along the west edge of the highway property. Another half-mile further downstream, Washington Avenue crosses; a state-owned public-access area with boat launch is located on the north bank along Sandy Road 500 feet downstream. After
1008-682: A mile downstream on a meandering course with a narrow channel, the Kingston city line leaves the stream on the east. The meandering creek draws near to the Thruway in a mile and begins to run parallel to it. Just past a turn to the northeast the Town of Ulster maintains another public access area near the ballparks on Buckley Street on the south side of the 145-foot (44 m) channel. The Esopus crosses under Route 209 near Lake Katrine 1.1 mi (1.8 km) north of that point. A half-mile past that bridge, it receives another significant tributary,
1120-502: A mountain stream — shallow, rocky and swift, with most of the stream's trout taken by anglers there. The upper portion is itself divided into a "small" and "big" stream by the outlet of the Shandaken Tunnel . Below the reservoir's spillway the stream begins again, becoming flatter, deeper and slower to its short estuary . The Esopus flows out of artificially created Winnisook Lake , at 2,660 feet (810 m) above sea level
1232-401: A series of five cascades that drop 68 feet (21 m) over the course of the next 2,000 ft (610 m) of stream, Below Glenerie Falls, the Esopus, now below a hundred feet (30 m) in elevation, again turns north, paralleling U.S. Route 9W for a mile through a narrow, steep valley. After Glasco Turnpike (Ulster County Route 32) crosses the 100-foot channel, Route 9W veers off to
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#17327811224361344-402: A thousand feet downstream. It bends to the northeast again, and after another 2,000 feet (610 m) reaches the western corner of the city of Kingston , the largest settlement along the creek, after which it becomes the city's northern boundary. Another 1,500 feet (460 m) downstream, a bridge along the abandoned Ulster & Delaware right-of-way crosses the Esopus. The stream takes
1456-576: A wide braided bend, Wynkoop Road (Ulster County Route 29A) crosses the 120-foot (37 m) channel just east of the hamlet of Hurley and the Hurley Mountain Inn . North of that crossing, the Esopus bends away from Route 209 through fields, with some braiding and diversions, to the Ulster town line a mile downstream. Here its north bank becomes part of the Catskill Park Blue Line as well, bending east southeast and crossing under Route 209
1568-527: Is impounded at Olive Bridge to create Ashokan Reservoir , the first of several built in the Catskills as part of New York City 's water supply system . Its own flow is supplemented 13 miles (21 km) above the reservoir by the Shandaken Tunnel , which carries water from the city's Schoharie Reservoir into the creek. The creek, originally known by the Native Americans in the area as Atkarkaton or Atkankarten and by Dutch settlers as
1680-564: Is a temperate rainforest [1] [2] and meets all 4 of the criteria in Alaback’s definition of what qualifies or defines a temperate rainforest. [3] 1. Averages at least 55 inches of precipitation per year with at least 10% of its average annual precipitation during the summer months. [4] 2. Cool, frequently overcast summers with average July temperature less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) 3. Infrequent forest fires/wildfires and fires do not play an important role in shaping
1792-681: Is an organization whose members have climbed all the peaks in the Catskills over 3,500 feet (1,100 m). The highest mountain, Slide Mountain in Ulster County, has an elevation of 4,180 feet (1,270 m). Climatically, the Catskills lie within the Allegheny Highlands forests ecoregion . According to the Köppen climate classification system, the Catskill Mountains have two climate zones. The vast majority of
1904-711: Is famous for its fly fishing , although in recent years it has been plagued by invasive plants . Road and mountain biking are fairly popular in the range. Bicycle racing includes the Tour of the Catskills, a three-day road stage race held in Green and Ulster counties each summer, and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Windham. Other cycling resources include the Catskill Scenic Trail ,
2016-539: Is less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit). As for the 3rd criteria, forest fires or wildfires also are very rare and many places within the Catskills which have never had any forest fires ever before and many the trees and ecology of the forest is old and untainted by wildfires or forest fires have not played any significant role in the ecology or ecosystem of the forest with the exception of Native Americans who did prescribed burning in some areas in order to create land for farming. [7] And of course it also meets
2128-440: Is mainly an aesthetic and ecological resource, although the estuary at Saugerties is a popular bass fishery . The Esopus's role in the state and regional economy has led to a concentrated effort to protect and manage it, particularly on the upper stretch. The interests of the various stakeholders have not always converged, particularly where it concerns the city's management of its water needs. Turbidity created by discharges from
2240-754: Is noted for making an almost 270-degree turn around Panther Mountain , following a buried 6-mile (10 km) impact crater rim. It is famous for tubing , a sport of rafting down a river in an inner tube. Many tubers begin their trip at Phoenicia, New York , and head down the creek towards the Ashokan Reservoir at Olive, New York . The Ashokan Reservoir is part of the New York City water supply system, with fishing allowed under permit, but swimming and most other recreational uses are forbidden. River canoeing and kayaking are popular. There are 42 rapids ranging from class I to V+ . The Esopus Creek
2352-967: Is the Kaaterskill Creek basin, with the West Kill draining the Spruceton Valley to the northwest into Schoharie Creek , a long tributary of the Mohawk River , itself the Hudson's longest tributary. On the western boundary, water drains into the East Branch of the Delaware River ; the two upper branches of the Neversink , the Delaware's largest left tributary, rise along the Esopus basin's southwest boundary, with
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#17327811224362464-676: The Landt van Kats Kill at the mouth of Catskill Creek . The region to the south is identified as Hooge Landt van Esopus (High Lands of the Esopus ), a reference to a local band of northern Lenape Native Americans who inhabited the banks of the Hudson and hunted in the highlands along the Esopus Creek . While the meaning of the name ("cat creek [ kill ]" in Dutch ) and the namer (early Dutch explorers) are settled matters, how and why
2576-586: The Devil's Path range and its southeastern corner. A very small portion overlaps the Delaware County line west of Pine Hill . The upper Esopus basin, above the reservoir, is 256 square miles (660 km ) with the lower basin accounting for the other 169 square miles (440 km ). To the south it is bordered by the combined watershed of the Rondout Creek and Wallkill River . On the northeast
2688-512: The Devonian and early Mississippian period (395 to 325 million years ago). Over that time, thousands of feet of these sediments built up, slowly moving the Devonian seashore further west. A meteor impact occurred in the shallow sea approximately 375 mya , creating a 10 km (6 mi) diameter crater. This crater eventually filled with sediments and became Panther Mountain through
2800-467: The Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York . From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain , the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Ulster County to the Hudson at Saugerties . Many tributaries extend its watershed into neighboring Greene County and a small portion of Delaware County . Midway along its length, it
2912-551: The Hudson River . The Catskills occupy much of two counties ( Greene and Ulster ), and extend slightly into Delaware , Sullivan , and southwestern Schoharie counties. At the range's eastern end, the mountains begin dramatically with the Catskill Escarpment rising up suddenly from the Hudson Valley . The western boundary is far less certain, as the mountains gradually decline in height and grade into
3024-528: The Lenape band that inhabited its banks, some of whom entertained Henry Hudson on his voyage up the river in 1609 after possible earlier contact with fur traders. European traders began plying the river in greater numbers, eventually establishing permanent settlements for the purpose. Dutch settlers established Wiltwyck, today's Kingston , on the high ground between the Esopus and the Rondout in 1649. After
3136-452: The Native Americans used the flat flood plains of the lower Esopus for cornfields, and there are accounts of the area around Olive, today inundated by the reservoir, planted as an apple orchard . The Natives did not settle the area permanently, and only ventured into the higher reaches of the valley to hunt as there was less arable land there. The Esopus would be important to the area's early European colonization . It took its name from
3248-703: The Revolution , aggravated by inadequate surveys of the region. Encumbrances remained on many properties into the 20th century. The complications with the land claim delayed an accurate survey of the Catskills until 1885. In the meantime, permanent settlement of the Esopus valley began in the mid-18th century and finished with the establishment of the Slide Mountain post office in 1805. Most of these communities were supported by local forest-products industries: loggers harvested trees for sawmill operators, and furniture makers set up shop nearby. A road,
3360-510: The Saw Kill . The riverside is more developed here, with homes and docks on the east bank. The channel narrows to 60 ft (18 m). A mile north of the Saw Kill, the Esopus bends northeast again and Leggs Mill Road (County Route 31) crosses as the stream descends slightly over a weir and some exposed bedrock. Backyards and docks line both banks over the next half-mile, where the channel widens again to 250 ft (76 m), after which
3472-544: The Taconic Mountains are located today (though significantly larger). Finer sediment was deposited further westward, and thus the rocks change from gravel conglomerates to sandstone and shale . Further west, these fresh water deposits intermingle with shallow marine sandstone and shale until the end, in deeper water limestone . The uplift and erosion of the Acadian Mountains was occurring during
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3584-606: The "Esopus Kill ", takes its name from the Esopus tribe of the Lenape , who were living around the lower Esopus when the Dutch first explored and settled the Hudson Valley in the early 17th century. The creek's wide valley made it an ideal trading route for the Esopus and other Lenape who harvested the beaver pelts the European traders desired. Later, under the English , it became the beginning point for contentious land claims in
3696-418: The "Groot Esopus". In some other accounts, the es prefix is read as a diminutive , making the name mean "little river". Another interpretation is that Esopus means "high banks", referring to the stream's history of heavy floods. The Esopus is usually discussed as an upper and lower stream divided by the reservoir. The upper portion, where most recreational use takes place, has the characteristics of
3808-589: The 1970s as fire spotting from airplanes had become more effective and efficient, so the fire towers were decommissioned; the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower was the last to be taken out of service in 1990. Six remaining towers were renovated and opened to the public as observation posts with panoramic views and a tower was opened at the Catskill Visitor Center in 2022. In 2024 a tower was restored to Bramley Mountain , bringing
3920-410: The 35 Catskill High Peaks exceeding 3,500 ft (1,100 m). Slide Mountain , the highest peak in the range, is also the highest peak in the Esopus watershed at about 4,180 ft (1,270 m). It has the highest average elevation of any of the watersheds that feed New York City's reservoirs. Tributaries, named and unnamed, add another 330 miles (530 km) of streams to the watershed. From
4032-662: The 4th criteria of dormant season caused by lower temperatures in the winter and snow is very common in the winter Although the Catskills are sometimes compared with the Adirondack Mountains farther north, the two mountain ranges are not geologically related, as the Adirondacks are a continuation of the Canadian Shield . Similarly, the Shawangunk Ridge , which forms the southeastern edge of
4144-788: The Catskill Mountain Branch of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad which was absorbed into the New York Central railroad in 1932. Oneonta to Kingston passenger rail service continued until 1954. Part of the line still exists but now serves only freight. The southern part of the Catskills was served by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway . Over the course of 1950, service on the NYO&;W downscaled to summer only. In its last years it ran trains from Roscoe to Weehawken, New Jersey , via Liberty . It connected with
4256-734: The Catskill region are Albany International Airport to the north and Stewart International Airport in Newburgh to the south. Smaller airports in the region include: The Catskills serve as the setting for many works of fiction, such as the short story Rip Van Winkle , and the children's book My Side of the Mountain . The Hudson Valley Film Commission maintains a list of films set in the Hudson Valley/Catskills Region. Of them, more than three dozen films are set in
4368-475: The Catskills , are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains , located in southeastern New York . As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the Catskill Park , a 700,000-acre (2,800 km ) forest preserve protected from many forms of development under New York state law. Geologically,
4480-653: The Catskills are a mature dissected plateau , a flat region subsequently uplifted and eroded into sharp relief by watercourses. The Catskills form the northeastern end of the Allegheny Plateau (also known as the Appalachian Plateau ). The Catskills were named by early Dutch settlers. They are well known in American society as the setting for films and works of art, including many 19th-century Hudson River School paintings, as well as for being
4592-491: The Catskills are notable in American cultural history for their role in the development of modern stand-up comedy . Comedians such as Rodney Dangerfield , Jackie Mason , Alan King , and Don Rickles all got their start performing in Catskill hotel venues colloquially referred to as the Borscht Belt . Esopus Creek Esopus Creek / ɪ ˈ s oʊ p ə s / is a 65.4-mile-long (105.3 km) tributary of
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4704-576: The Catskills have a warm summer humid continental climate ( Dfb ) with some isolated locations in valleys with hot summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ). The plant hardiness zone on Slide Mountain at 4,180 feet (1,270 m) is 5a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −16.6 °F (−27.0 °C). The plant hardiness zone in Margaretville at 1,000 feet (300 m) is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −10.6 °F (−23.7 °C). The Catskill Mountains also
4816-543: The Catskills still average at least 55 inches annually. [6] For the 2nd criteria, summers in the Catskills are indeed cooler, not as hot and frequently cloudy, overcast, and foggy and even frequently chilly overnight as soon as the sun goes down. The tops of the mountains also meet the criteria of average July temperature less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in July. The top of Slide Mountain for example has an average July temperature of 60.3 degrees Fahrenheit which
4928-524: The Catskills, is part of the geologically distinct Ridge-and-Valley province and is a continuation of the same ridge known as Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania. The Catskill Mountains are more of a dissected plateau than a series of mountain ranges. The sediments that make up the rocks in the Catskills were deposited when the ancient Acadian Mountains in
5040-481: The Catskills. The town of Bethel, New York , located in the Catskills, was home to the famous Woodstock music festival that took place August 15–18, 1969. The event, wherein 32 music acts performed in front of over 500,000 concert-goers, was captured in the documentary movie Woodstock (1970). The site is now home to the world-renowned Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The many hotels and vacation resorts located in
5152-821: The Catskills: Belleayre Mountain (run by the Olympic Regional Development Authority ); Hunter Mountain (the first ski area to install snowmaking machines in New York); Windham Mountain ; Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun in Monticello ; and Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury . Joppenbergh Mountain , in Rosendale Village hosted its first ski jumping competition in 1937. Ski jumping was continued on
5264-474: The Esopus drove them out of the settlement in two wars , colonial governor Peter Stuyvesant ordered that it be enclosed in a stockade so it would be safer from raids by Indians and the other contending colonial power in the area, the English . The latter took over the New Netherland colony in 1664, taking a more nuanced approach to the native peoples of the area. The settlement's location above
5376-547: The Esopus from the north, increasing its flow. This point on the stream is known as the Shandaken Portal or just the Portal. South of the Portal, what is now the "big" portion of the upper Esopus turns southeast after Broadstreet Hollow Creek, with one smaller northern channel remaining closer to the road while the larger southern one bends closer to the base of Garfield Mountain , forming another one-mile portion of
5488-491: The Esopus reaches Phoenicia , the first major settlement along its course. Route 28 crosses again just west of where the stream receives Stony Clove Creek from the north, where it drains southern Greene County . The creek widens but remains shallow; the Catskill Mountain Railroad parallels its banks. The stream bends into a southerly course between Mount Tremper to the east and Romer Mountain to
5600-741: The Headwaters Trails in Stamford and the Roundtopia trail network (mapped by the Round Top Mountain Bike Association). Several ski centers provide downhill mountain bicycling in the warmer months. Within the range is the Catskill Park , comprising over 700,000 acres (280,000 ha). Catskill Park is part of New York's Forest Preserve . Not all the land is publicly owned; about 60% remains in private hands, but new sections are added frequently. Most of
5712-505: The Indians as they migrated north. Most of the chestnuts died in the chestnut blight of the early 20th century. Catskill forest historian Michael Kudish found that other southern hardwood species can be found in the Esopus valley all the way to Oliverea, a mile or so below the creek's source. Human habitation or use of the stream's lower reaches has been recorded as far back as 4,000 years ago. As with many other streams in Ulster County,
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#17327811224365824-549: The Neversink's East Branch headwaters flowing a thousand feet from the Esopus' source at Winnisook Lake. The upper Esopus watershed is rugged and 95 percent forested, with 58.5 percent part of the "forever wild" Forest Preserve and protected from almost all harvest or clearing. Three different types of forest predominate: montane spruce-fir boreal forest on the higher mountain summits, beech-birch-maple northern hardwood forest with some Eastern hemlock groves that survived
5936-657: The New York Central's West Shore Railroad at Cornwall . This service lasted until September 10, 1953. The Delaware and Ulster Railroad is a heritage railroad , based in Arkville, New York , that still runs a scenic part of the track from Highmount to Hubbell Corners, New York, for tourist use. The Catskill Mountain Railroad is also a heritage railroad in the Catskills, operating from Kingston up to Highmount. The Catskills are accessible by automobile from
6048-424: The Saw Kill and Plattekill Creek subwatersheds, much of which remain within the forests of the Catskill Park . The history of the Esopus, like the creek itself, has several distinct eras, starting with a meteor falling on the future Catskill Mountains. The Esopus's upper course was set 375 million years ago in the Devonian period, when the Catskills were still a river delta of low sedimentary beaches and
6160-422: The Shandaken Tunnel after a 1996 flood led to a successful lawsuit against the city and a state regulation; downstream of the reservoir the city has been criticized for contributing to flooding problems by releasing too much water during heavy rainstorms since Hurricane Irene in 2011. Boaters and anglers have also clashed, and invasive species are beginning to enter the upper creek as well. Historians agree that
6272-516: The Slide Mountain Wilderness boundary; the two converge at a public parking lot used to put in canoes and kayaks. Three miles (4.8 km) downstream, the creek turns to the south for another mile before turning east where Woodland Creek , the largest right tributary of the Esopus, flows in from the south following the east side of the former Panther crater wall, from its headwaters on Wittenberg Mountain , just east of where Woodland Valley Road crosses. Another 0.8 miles (1.3 km) in that direction,
6384-471: The Ulster, Delaware and Dutchess Turnpike, was improved from an old colonial path that led up the valley and then into Delaware County past Highmount . By the middle of the century it was paralleled by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad . Timber was not the only product taken from the mountainsides and sent down the valley. Tanners brought up cowhides via those routes to treat in water boiled in hemlock bark, and charcoal kilns were more numerous in
6496-409: The area is named "Catskills" is a mystery. Mountain lions (catamounts) were known to have been in the area when the Dutch arrived in the 17th century and may have been a reason for the name. The confusion over the origins of the name led over the years to variant spellings such as Kaatskill and Kaaterskill , both of which are also still used: the former in the regional magazine Kaatskill Life ,
6608-413: The attention of fast-growing New York City, which was able to acquire land and build the reservoir and tunnel after overcoming local political opposition. The reservoir divides the creek into an upper stretch, mostly a wild mountain stream, and a lower stretch closer to the Hudson that gradually becomes more estuarine . Above the reservoir, its water quality is closely monitored, not only for its role in
6720-403: The circular route around Panther Mountain, paralleled by Creek Side Drive on its north. Another thousand feet downstream, Fire House Road (County Route 47) crosses, after which the Esopus turns sharply to the north, then northeast at a large gravel bar, for its next mile. At the Millbrook Hollow Brook confluence, it bends eastward, with another northern tributary, Seneca Hollow Brook emptying into
6832-428: The city's water supply but to preserve its local economic importance as a recreational resource. As the upper Esopus is one of the most productive trout streams in the Northeast , fly fishermen come in great numbers to take trout from its relatively accessible banks. Canoeists and kayakers have been drawn to its whitewater , which has also spawned a busy local tubing industry in the summer months. The lower Esopus
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#17327811224366944-452: The colonial frontier so that it might be better protected from the French to the north and west, but those officials dallied, only making such grants when they could enrich themselves and their friends in the process. The Catskills and the Esopus Valley, with little land that could be cleared for farming, were not suitable to that end. In 1704 a group of farmers in Hurley petitioned the colonial governor , Viscount Cornbury , for some of
7056-415: The count to eight. The current towers are: The Catskill Mountain House , built in 1824, was a hotel near Palenville , New York , in the Catskill Mountains overlooking the Hudson River Valley . In its prime at the turn of the century, visitors included United States Presidents Ulysses S. Grant , Chester A. Arthur and Theodore Roosevelt . From 1872, the northern part of the Catskills were served by
7168-445: The creek again turns north, the channel narrowing to 150–200 feet (46–61 m), and the CSX River Subdivision 's freight tracks parallel the Esopus on its east. The stream flows north on a straight course, trending slightly east, for 1.75 miles (2.82 km) until it receives its last major tributary, Plattekill Creek , from the east at the Saugerties town line. At this point it bends eastward again and goes down Glenerie Falls ,
7280-414: The east along Interstate 87 / New York State Thruway , which runs north–south through the Hudson Valley . To the south and southwest, the Catskills are accessible by a variety of highways, including New York State Route 55 , U.S. Route 44 , U.S. Route 209 , and New York State Route 17 . Access to the western Catskills is provided by New York State Route 30 ; and the vaguely defined far-western edge of
7392-490: The east bank. At the end of this reach, just southeast of the village of Saugerties , the Esopus receives its last tributary, Tannery Brook , from the north, turns east and enters the village. A half-mile of meandering past some marshy flats on the south side, a bridge carries Route 9W and New York State Route 32 over the stream, its last crossing. Below the bridge it flows over 25-foot (7.6 m) Cantine Dam, creating Cantine Falls. It bends north, then south, and returns to
7504-418: The east were rising and subsequently eroding. The sediments traveled westward and formed a great delta into the sea that was in the area at that time. The escarpment of the Catskill Mountains is near the former (landward) edge of this delta, as the sediments deposited in the northeastern areas along the escarpment were deposited above sea level by moving rivers, and the Acadian Mountains were located roughly where
7616-442: The east, as docks and structures abound on either side. After 1.3 miles (2.1 km) the Esopus empties into the Hudson, 88.5 miles (142.4 km) north of its mouth in New York City at Saugerties Light , a few feet (1-2 m) above sea level. The Esopus' watershed covers 425 square miles (1,100 km ). Most of it is in Ulster County, like the stream itself; the Greene County portion includes most of that county south of
7728-511: The ecology or ecosystem of the forest 4. Dormant season caused by lower temperature or even occasional snow. [5] For the first criteria, majority areas within the Catskill Mountains do indeed average at least 55 inches of precipitation annually and summer is the wettest season hence it by far meets the criteria of at least 10% of its average annual precipitation during the summer months. Slide Mountain and nearby Hunter Mountain average about 63 inches of precipitation annually and most areas within
7840-428: The first Dutch settlers named the stream for the Lenape band that inhabited its banks. The Lenape themselves may have called it Atkarkarton or Atkankarten , meaning "smooth land" in their language, probably in reference to a meadow alongside the river near Kingston. Lenape use of that name is recorded in 1657; it later became the name of a hamlet in the area. From the mid-17th century Esopus , sometimes Sopers ,
7952-457: The following year. In 1947 he returned the property to the Burroughs family, except for the field containing the boyhood rock and grave, which he gave to the state. The lodge remained a private residence, sometimes for summer use and sometimes year-round, until 1975, when it was acquired by a nonprofit organization. It is now also owned by the state as part of the historic site. Catskills Mountains The Catskill Mountains , also known as
8064-405: The forest. The stream's headwaters descend from there northward into Big Indian Hollow, dropping 169 feet (52 m) per mile (1.6 km) with an average slope of 13 percent, through its first three miles, a narrow and rocky mountains stream through this section. Along it there are three waterfalls—Otter Falls, and Parker and Blossom Falls below. At first trending westward, away from the road,
8176-402: The former meteor crater whose walls determine the creek's upper course. Another half-mile further west, the Esopus receives its first left tributary, Hanging Birds Nest Brook, which drains the north face of Spruce and Hemlock mountains to the south. From there the Esopus flows due northwest for its next mile, as the valley floor of Big Indian Hollow opens up and some cleared land begins to abut
8288-606: The highest lake in the Catskills, on the northwest slopes of Slide Mountain , the Catskills' highest peak in the town of Shandaken , within 300 feet (100 m) of the West Branch of the Neversink River on the other side of the divide between the Hudson and Delaware watersheds , amid expansive forest. At the source it is crossed by a small wooden footbridge, followed by Oliverea Road ( Ulster County Route 47 ), which it immediately begins to parallel through
8400-481: The house is open for tours on weekends between May and October. The property is a National Historic Landmark , designated in 1962 for its association with Burroughs, one of the most important nature writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Woodchuck Lodge is located in a rural setting on the north side of Burroughs Memorial Road, about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the village of Roxbury. It includes about 25 acres (10 ha) of land, including woods, fields,
8512-513: The latter as the name of a mountain peak and a waterfall . The supposed Native American name for the range, Onteora ("land in the sky"), was purportedly created in the mid-19th century to drum up business for a resort. It is still the name of a school district and as the name of a Boy Scout summer camp ( Onteora Scout Reservation ). The Catskill Mountains are approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-northwest of New York City and 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Albany , starting west of
8624-407: The lower Esopus as well, as the long glacial ridges closer to the Hudson channeled the stream north to Saugerties after they melted. As the glaciers melted slowly, they created ice dams and glacial lakes . The most significant of the latter along the Esopus's course left behind the large plain at Shokan. In the 20th century the original lake would be recreated as Ashokan Reservoir . The Esopus
8736-426: The main entrance, but also rustic features, such as the posts supporting the porch. The lodge was built about 1863 by John Burroughs' brother Curtis, on the land where they had grown up (the original family homestead lies west of the lodge). Burroughs rented it from Curtis' son in 1910 and 1911 for the summer, and then purchased it outright in 1913. Burroughs died in 1921, and the property was purchased by Henry Ford
8848-472: The main house, and a large rock on which Burroughs played as a child, and where his grave is located. The lodge is an L-shaped wood-frame structure, with a two-story gabled section on the left and a single-story gabled ell extending to the right. The front roof face of the ell extends forward over a porch the spans the ell and the rightmost bay of the left section, where the entrance is located. There are modest Greek Revival features, including pilasters flanking
8960-551: The mountain until February 7, 1971, when the last competition was held. The Mountain Trails Cross Country Ski Center in Tannersville has 22 miles (35 km) of trails. The Catskill Mountains fire towers were constructed to facilitate forest fire prevention and control. Twenty-three fire towers were built in the Catskill Mountains between 1908 and 1950. The fire towers fell out of use by
9072-554: The mountains. After independence , the Esopus corridor became the main route into the Catskills, first by road then later by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad , for forest-product industries like logging, tanning and charcoal making . Those industries declined in the late 19th century, shortly before the creation of the Forest Preserve and the Catskill Park made the region more attractive for resorts and recreation, particularly trout fishing. The renewed Esopus also attracted
9184-482: The mountains. Grooves and scratches in exposed bedrock provide evidence of the great sheets of ice that once traversed the region. Even today the erosion of the mountains continues, with the region's rivers and streams deepening and widening the mountains' valleys and cloves. In the mid–20th century, summer resorts in the Catskills, nicknamed the Borscht Belt , were a major vacation destination for Jewish New Yorkers. At its peak of popularity, about 500 resorts operated in
9296-586: The next mile of flow almost due south. Over the next 1.2 miles (1.9 km) the Esopus bends back and forth through similar terrain, paralleling New York State Route 213 for a thousand feet (305 m) below a steep bluff, to where its valley widens and cultivated fields become dominant in the surrounding landscape. Two miles (3.2 km) to the south, with the channel again widening to 150 ft (46 m), Hurley Mountain Road ( Ulster County Route 5 ) crosses. Another 1,500 feet (460 m) south of that bridge,
9408-403: The next mile, along with gravel bars along the banks. Bending past more braided sections and bars, the Esopus reaches the small former hamlet of Oliverea 0.6 mi (1 km) further north. Here McKenley Hollow Road crosses, in a section with retaining walls on either side of the channel. Another 500 ft (150 m) to the north, the similarly named tributary, carrying water from
9520-493: The north, is not part of the creek's course. The Esopus drops below 500 ft (150 m) in elevation as it leaves the reservoir. A thousand feet (300 m) downstream the reborn stream crosses under Route 28A again, amid a wide, forested canyon. It turns south, then east again, through Cathedral Gorge past the Ashokan Center on the north, through channelized and widened sections. Narrowing again, after another bend,
9632-435: The northeast, away from the stream, while the Esopus continues north through its narrow wooded gorge, for the next three miles (4.8 km), widening to 300 ft (91 m). Development around the stream is limited to a quarry on the east a mile downstream of the bridge, and then a dead-end residential street on the west bank during the last of the three miles; the 161-acre (65 ha) Esopus Bend Nature Preserve buffers
9744-792: The park and the preserve are within Ulster County, with a significant portion in Greene County, and parts in Sullivan and Delaware counties as well. Many of the trails in public areas are maintained and updated by the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference and the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club . Devil's Path is one of the many trails open for hikers. Spots to camp in the Catskills include Bear Spring Mountain , Little Pond, Mongaup Pond, and North-South Lake . There are five main downhill ski and snowboard areas in
9856-495: The park at Fording Place Road east of the hamlet of Lomontville, the Esopus starts paralleling U.S. Route 209 , meandering slightly as it widens, with farmland on its west, sometimes widening from 60 ft (18 m) into 500-foot-wide (150 m) pools. Two miles north of Fording Place Road, another tributary, Stony Creek , flows in from the west at the Hurley town line. Another 1.75 miles (2.82 km) downstream, just past
9968-470: The plateau into mountains and valleys. This process led the Esopus, with its particularly deep and wide valley, to fill up its bed with the red clay that clouds the waters of the stream in high water and floods. More recently in geologic time, about 12,000 years ago, the Wisconsin glaciation filled the valley, carving the slopes on its sides more steeply and eroding more sediment into the river. It shaped
10080-580: The point where the Esopus came out of the Catskills made it an ideal trading post for Indians responding to the European demand for beaver pelts to make the beaver hats then in vogue. In the later 17th century, with European settlement well established around the eastern Catskills, land replaced fur as the Indian-held commodity most desired by the new arrivals. The English government in London charged local officials with granting large chunks of land on
10192-567: The process of uplift and erosion. By the middle of the Mississippian period, the uplift stopped, and the Acadian Mountains had been eroded so much that sediments no longer flowed across the Catskill Delta. Over time, the sediments were buried by more sediments from other areas, until the original Devonian and Mississippian sediments were deeply buried and slowly became solid rock. Then the entire area experienced uplift, which caused
10304-410: The region is variously considered to be New York State Route 10 or Interstate 88 , though this boundary remains a matter of local preference. New York State Routes 28 and 23A cut east–west through the heart of the Catskills, serving many of the most popular outdoor tourist destinations. New York State Route 23 runs east–west across the Catskills' northern section. The closest major airports to
10416-482: The region. Later changes in vacationing patterns have led most of those travelers elsewhere, although there are still some bungalow communities and summer camps in the region catering to Orthodox populations. Esopus Creek is a 65.4-mile (105.3 km) tributary of the Hudson River , starting at Winnisook Lake on Slide Mountain . It flows across Ulster County to the Hudson River at Saugerties . The Esopus
10528-514: The reservoir to Marbletown, the lower Esopus is also surrounded by forest. Downstream of that point, its flood plain becomes heavily farmed, with 2,000 acres (810 ha) of worked agricultural land, mostly cornfields, abutting the stream between there and the Leggs Mills Road bridge at Lake Katrine. The mountains continue to influence the lower stream, with one High Peak, 3,573-foot (1,089 m) Indian Head Mountain , contributing to
10640-741: The rest of the Allegheny Plateau , but maps from the 18th and 19th centuries consistently mark the border of the Catskill Mountains as the East Branch of the Delaware River, which is consistent with the actual topographic relief. The Pocono Mountains , to the immediate southwest in Pennsylvania , are also a part of the Allegheny Plateau. The Catskills contain more than 30 peaks above 3,500 feet (1,100 m) and parts of six important rivers. The Catskill Mountain 3500 Club
10752-403: The same point along the Esopus near Kingston and going out to the Delaware River , taking not only all of Ulster County to the west but much of today's Delaware and Sullivan counties as well. The Hardenbugh Patent, as it became known, is the source of many of the land titles in the Catskills today, although its legitimacy was contested from the beginning, a dispute which continued until after
10864-415: The sedimentary rocks to begin to erode. Today, those upper sedimentary rocks have been completely removed, exposing the Devonian and Mississippian rocks. Today's Catskills are a result of the continued erosion of these rocks, both by streams and, in the recent past, by glaciers. In successive ice ages , both valley and continental glaciers have widened the valleys and the notches of the Catskills and rounded
10976-509: The shallow channels between them to a large inland sea that corresponds to the location today of the Allegheny Plateau . A meteor impact during this time left an approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) wide crater whose walls correspond to the courses of the upper Esopus and Woodland Creek today. Geologist Yngvar Isachsen of the New York State Geological Survey discovered the traces of the meteor impact, including
11088-414: The small former village of Pine Hill to the west, opposite a large gravel bar, and then bends northward. The former channel of the Esopus cuts this corner, rejoining the main stem at the site of the two streams' former confluence a thousand feet (300 m) downstream. Through this section it widens through a valley floor with more frequent cleared areas amid forested mountains, meandering gently along
11200-472: The south, just east of the Fox Hollow Road bridge, and Peck Hollow Brook from the north 500 feet to the east, opposite another gravel bar. At this point the Esopus drops below 1,000 ft (300 m) in elevation. The creek begins to bend southward, past Shandaken's town hall, over its next mile to where the 18-mile (29 km) Shandaken Tunnel brings water from Schoharie Reservoir into
11312-496: The steep slopes of Haynes and Balsam mountains to the west, joins the Esopus from the west as the stream's main stem turns northwest, further away from the road, then curving northeast with more bars and braiding marking a wider channel. After 1.6 mi (2.6 km) of this gently curving course, Hatchery Hollow Brook flows in from the east. With the valley floor widening, the Esopus flows more northward. It receives its last Big Indian Hollow tributary, Lost Clove Creek , from
11424-514: The stream a half-mile further along. The Esopus receives Bushnellsville Creek from the north after a mile, then crosses to the south side of Route 28 at the small former hamlet of Shandaken 1.25 mi (2.01 km) to the east. Its next half-mile serves as part of the northern boundary of the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area . At Allaben, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Big Indian, it receives Fox Hollow Brook from
11536-429: The stream bends again, reaching the southernmost point along its course at a Marbletown park just above its confluence with an unnamed tributary flowing in from the south. From there the Esopus begins flowing northeast, as portions of the stream are diverted into nearby ponds for the farms that surround it and its riparian buffer on the increasingly level terrain. After the old ford 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of
11648-529: The stream flows into the town of Marbletown another thousand feet east, also crossing the Blue Line and leaving the Catskill Park . From there the creek bends to the west northwest, through a narrow gorge, with few structures breaking the forest around it. One mile into Marbletown it widens suddenly and bends to the south as a result of receiving the reservoir's other outlet stream. Gravel bars and some cleared areas on either side, still sloped steeply, mark
11760-658: The stream. After the Maben Hollow Brook confluence, it turns west and braids into several smaller channels for 1,200 feet (370 m), reuniting just before crossing under Eagle Mountain Road. It receives, another eastern tributary, the Elk Bushkill , which drains Fir and Big Indian mountains to the southeast, just south of the Burnham Hollow Road bridge. The Esopus then bends back in a northward direction. Short braided sections return during
11872-429: The tanbarking area on the slopes, and an oak–hickory forest closer to the stream's banks. The summit of 3,090-foot (940 m) Ashokan High Point , overlooking the reservoir, offers an anomalous pine-oak heath barren. Downstream of the reservoir the forests become a mix of the lower two. The floodplain forests are a mix of silver maple and elm ; river birch clusters around the banks. Another unusual community,
11984-399: The undeveloped land to their west along the creek to use as common pasture and firewood, since they were getting squeezed by Kingston to their east and Marbletown to the south. The petition was put off for several years while it was ostensibly being surveyed, and in 1706 a grant of 2 million acres (8,000 km ) was made to Johannes Hardenbergh and a group of investors starting from
12096-484: The west bank. The Esopus trends to the south southeast over its next mile and a half to the mouth of the Little Beaver Kill at Beechford, where it leaves Shandaken and enters the town of Olive . The shores get more developed over the next 0.8 miles (1.3 km) as the stream turns south and reaches Boiceville , its largest settlement since Phoenicia, where NY 28A crosses it at Five Arches Bridge. After
12208-502: The west where it drains Balsam and Bellayre mountains, just below the Lost Clove Road bridge. At the mouth of the hollow, in the small hamlet of Big Indian , 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from its source, the Esopus turns east and crosses under New York State Route 28 , which it closely parallels all the way to Ashokan Reservoir, at 1,200 feet (370 m) in elevation. At the bridge, it receives Birch Creek , which drains from
12320-495: The west. After two miles, more gravel bars and some islands in the channel mark a turn to the southeast. Another mile and a half (2.4 km) downstream, the Esopus receives the Beaver Kill at the hamlet of Mount Pleasant . It then crosses under Mount Pleasant Road and, 800 feet (240 m) downstream, Route 28, for the last time above the reservoir, near the hamlet of Mount Tremper . Here flood control measures stabilize
12432-510: Was in common use. It was believed to have been derived from seepus , meaning river, in the Delaware languages . The name was not always applied to today's Esopus. Alphonso T. Clearwater's 1907 history of Ulster County recounts that in 1677 the local Native tribes deeded to the English the land between the Esopus, which he identifies as Saugerties Creek, and the Rondout , which he calls
12544-511: Was one of three valleys that trees followed into the Catskills, as revegetation of the mountain slopes took place in the glaciers' wake. First to come were the boreal species, such as balsam fir , that today persist only on the summits of the range's higher peaks . Next were the northern hardwoods , primarily beech , birch and maple species, that dominate much of the Catskill forests today. Last were southern hardwood species, mostly oak , hickory and American chestnut , probably following
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