Catskill 3500 Club
Section: Northern Peaks | Central Peaks | Southern Peaks | Off Trail & Winter | Hiking Resources
Slide Mountain (4180')
The upper reaches comprise a beautiful walk through thick conifers...The vistas are magnificent.”
Slide Mountain and Giant Ledge
USGS Map: Peekamoose Mountain
NY-NJ Trail Conference Map: #43/143
Order of Height: 1st at 4180'
Access: From Slide Mountain Road in west....From Woodland Valley in east.
Description: Slide Mountain is the highest mountain in the Catskills. From the summit of Slide you can see 33 of the other 34 high peaks. Only Thomas Cole, which is behind Hunter, is not visible. The climb from the west via the yellow trail from Slide Mountain Road and the red-blazed Slide Mountain Trail is one of the easier climbs in the Catskills.
Log Steps up North Face of Slide Mountain
The climb from the east is one of the most challenging in the Catskills, as the red-blazed Slide Mountain Trail climbs over 3000 feet from Woodland Valley, passing over the summits of Wittenberg Mountain and Cornell Mountain.
Red tape: A parking fee is charged at the trail head parking area at Woodland Valley State Campground during the campgrounds camping season.
Another approach is the Curtis - Ormsbee Trail. Just below the summit view ledge is a plaque memorializing John Burroughs.
Slide Mtn Wilderness Map (opens in new window)
Naming of Slide
Slide's name is owed to a land slide that occurred sometime in the 1820s or 1830s.
Past Lean-tos on Slide
The summit was home to two lean-tos. The first built in 1927 and the second constructed sometime after 1954. Both were removed after 1975 when the state introduced a regulation prohibiting camping above 3,500' (except in winter). See state camping guidelines
Past Towers on Slide
First
Tower on Slide Mountain
A wooden tower was constructed in 1880 by James Dutcher a local guide who would take parties from his Panther Mountain House on tours of Slide up a personally constructed trail which became known as the Dutcher Steps Trail.
A second wooden tower was constructed by the state in 1911 with an
observers cabin it was only in service for a year. Finally the state constructed a
metal tower possibly in 1936 which was dismantled in 1968. The footing can
still be see today.
Links for Slide Mountain
NYSDEC Interactive Locator Map
Slide Mountain Wilderness - NYSDEC
Slide Mountain Wilderness - Wikipedia
Report in NY Times of the deaths of Curtis & Ormsbee on MT Washington, NH (PDF)
The Heart Of The Southern Catskills
Photo credit: Top: Scott Larson | Middle: Kevin Morgan | Bottom: Wikipedia (Tim Mallory)