Guide
Catskills Cabin Rentals by Town: Where to Base Your Stay
The Catskills rise west of the Hudson in a wall. At the old Catskill Mountain House site the escarpment stands 1,600 feet above the valley, and behind it the high country breaks into steep hollows cut by the Esopus, the Schoharie, the Beaver Kill, and their creeks. Two valleys that look close on a map can have a mountain between them. Catskills cabin rentals are best chosen by valley first, by the road that serves it, and by the trailhead you want in the morning.
The Land
New York drew the Catskill Park in 1904. Inside its boundary, the Blue Line, the state holds about 288,000 acres of Forest Preserve, kept “forever wild” by Article XIV of the state constitution, with more than 300 miles of trail. The rest is private land: farms, hamlets, and the houses that make up most of the rentals. Slide Mountain is the highest summit at 4,180 feet, according to the Catskill 3500 Club, whose list counts 33 peaks on public land above 3,500 feet. Hunter Mountain is second.
Roads follow the valleys. Route 28 climbs west past the Ashokan Reservoir to Mount Tremper, Phoenicia, and Highmount. Route 23A drops through Kaaterskill Clove between Palenville and Tannersville. Route 214 reaches the Becker Hollow trailhead below Hunter. Route 17, the Quickway, crosses the southwest corner at Roscoe. Most trips begin on one of the four.
Kaaterskill Clove
The route starts at the east wall. Kaaterskill Falls drops in two tiers, 260 feet combined, according to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. Cole painted it in 1826. His landscapes launched the Hudson River School, and his house, Cedar Grove, still stands in Catskill below.
The easy way in is the Laurel House Road trail off North Lake Road, 0.3 mile of firm crushed stone to a viewing platform. From there a steeper 0.7 mile leads down to the pools at the base. DEC also lists access from Scutt Road and from the South Lake lot at the end of North Lake Road. The clove has its own rules. It is open only from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset, and alcohol, fires, grills, speakers, and glass are banned. Stay out of the water within 150 feet above the brink. The creek can flood fast after rain.
The Town of Hunter bans parking anywhere along Route 23A in the clove from May through October, pull-offs included, and towed cars go to the town impound lot in Tannersville. Use the designated lots or the trolley the town recommends. If a lot is full, the town’s advice is to move on.
From Scutt Road the Escarpment Trail heads north along the edge: Layman’s Monument at 1.2 miles, Sunset Rock at 1.75, and the Mountain House site at 4.5. The whole trail is 23.9 miles, ending at a lot on Route 23. DEC lists timber rattlesnakes, a threatened species, in isolated populations along the edges of the eastern Catskills. They are active from late April to mid-October. Give one at least 6 feet and let it move off.
Hunter and the Blackhead Range
West of the clove, Hunter Mountain carries a refurbished fire tower and observer’s cabin on its summit, with a 360-degree view. The Spruceton Trail is the gentle route, 3.4 miles from a lot 6.7 miles up Spruceton Road from Route 42. The Becker Hollow Trail, from a lot on Route 214, is the shortest at 2.2 miles and very steep near the top.
North of Route 23A, the Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness covers 18,000 acres with 13 peaks over 3,000 feet. Blackhead reaches 3,940 feet and Black Dome 3,980. Its trails are not groomed, though snowshoes and skis are allowed on all of them. DEC lists food and gas in Cairo, Windham, and Palenville, with lodging in Windham and Palenville. Hunter and Tannersville serve the mountain itself.
Woodstock and Overlook
South of the high peaks, Woodstock is the base for Overlook Mountain. From the village green, Rock City Road leads to Meads Mountain Road and a lot about 2 miles up. The Overlook Spur Trail climbs 1,370 feet in 2.4 miles. At 1.6 miles it passes the ruins of the Overlook Mountain House, at 2,900 feet, and the fire tower stands at 3,140. DEC asks hikers to stay on the path because snakes have been seen there, and to view the ruins from outside.
The Ashokan
New York City built the Ashokan Reservoir between 1908 and 1915, the first of its six Catskill reservoirs, and began drawing water from it in 1917. On a typical day it supplies about 40 percent of the city’s drinking water. The Ashokan Rail Trail follows the north shore for 11.5 miles on compacted crushed stone 12 feet wide, from the Woodstock Dike trailhead on Route 28 to the Boiceville Bridge trailhead on Route 28A, with Ashokan Station between. It opened in 2019, the first permit-free public access to that shore in more than 100 years.
The trail is open sunrise to sunset all year, for walkers, cyclists, and leashed dogs. Swimming and wading are banned, and the city’s DEP Police write tickets. In winter the trailheads are plowed and the trail is left for skis and snowshoes. Toilets are at the trailheads only.
Paddlers go farther west. DEP opens the Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton, and Schoharie reservoirs to recreational boating, and every boat must be steam cleaned and tagged before it touches the water. Local businesses keep cleaned canoes and kayaks at the reservoirs for rent, the easier path for a weekend guest.
Phoenicia and Slide Mountain
Route 28 follows the Esopus Creek upstream to Mount Tremper, where the state’s Catskills Visitor Center opened in 2015 at 5096 Route 28. It posts current trail conditions, and a half-mile trail climbs to a fire tower on the grounds. Stop there first.
Phoenicia is the base for the Slide Mountain Wilderness, more than 47,500 acres with 35 miles of trail for foot travel only. The summit route from Oliverea Road South is 2.7 miles one way with 1,780 feet of climbing. Giant Ledge, from Oliverea Road North, is 1.6 miles with 1,100 feet. The Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide route through the Burroughs Range covers 9.75 miles and 3,620 feet, and a piece of the Long Path, about 350 miles long, crosses the unit. DEC lists food and gas in Phoenicia and Boiceville and lodging in Mount Tremper, Oliverea, Phoenicia, and Shandaken.
Below Phoenicia, DEC classes the Esopus from Lost Clove Creek down to the Ashokan as wild trout water, and the creek hosts whitewater and slalom events each year. South of Slide, the Peekamoose Blue Hole needs a permit from May 15 to September 15, with parking only in marked areas. Farther west on Route 28, Belleayre at Highmount is the state’s ski center, managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority.
The Beaver Kill
The last leg leaves the park’s high ground for the southwest corner, where DEC calls the Catskills the birthplace of American fly fishing. The Willowemoc Creek comes down past Livingston Manor and joins the Beaver Kill at Roscoe, both reached from Route 17. The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum keeps 50 acres on the Willowemoc near Livingston Manor, home to the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame.
The water is closely ruled. On the Beaver Kill, DEC sets a catch-and-release reach from the Sullivan County line below Roscoe for 2.5 miles downstream, artificial lures only, open all year. On the Willowemoc, a 3.5-mile reach above the second Quickway bridge east of Roscoe carries the same rule. Farther down at Horton, one stretch closes to fishing from July 1 through August 31 to protect trout stressed by warm water. Anglers who want the lower river should plan for May, June, or September.
Seasons
Color comes first to the summits. New York’s tourism office says it starts high in the Catskills in early September, and peak has historically come in early to mid-October, lasting only a few days in any one place. The first half of October is the month to come, on a weekday if the plan includes Kaaterskill Falls.
Summer brings the rules: the Route 23A parking ban from May through October and the Blue Hole permit from mid-May to mid-September. Do not come for the falls on a July Saturday without a parking plan. Spring brings high creeks and wet trails, and DEC asks hikers to walk the middle of a muddy trail to keep it from widening. Once nights drop below freezing, DEC recommends traction devices on icy trails.
From March 16 to May 14, New York bans brush burning. A fire pit under 3 feet high and 4 feet across is still allowed with clean, dry wood or charcoal, as long as someone watches it.
Choosing a Town
- Palenville and Tannersville: Kaaterskill Falls, the Escarpment Trail, and Route 23A, with the clove parking ban from May through October.
- Hunter, Windham, and Cairo: Hunter’s fire tower, the Blackhead Range, and Route 23 and Route 214.
- Woodstock: Overlook Mountain and the Woodstock Dike end of the rail trail.
- Phoenicia, Mount Tremper, and Shandaken: Slide, Giant Ledge, the Esopus, and the visitor center on Route 28.
- Livingston Manor and Roscoe: the Beaver Kill, the Willowemoc, and Route 17.
Rental Rules
Rules are set town by town and village by village. The Town of Hunter adopted its short-term rental law in July 2023, and every rental in the town now needs a permit and a fire and safety inspection. The text the town posted before adoption applied outside the villages of Hunter and Tannersville and limited overnight guests to two per bedroom plus two, one car per bedroom, and quiet from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., with the permit and occupancy limit posted near the front door. In the Village of Catskill, code enforcement is reviewing every filed rental permit and warns that unpermitted rentals face penalties.
Taxes add to the price. Ulster County charges guests a 4% occupancy tax, collected by the booking services on their bookings. New York added state sales tax on short-term rentals on March 1, 2025. Compare stays on the final total.
Before you book, ask the host:
- Which town or village the house is in, and its permit number if that town requires one.
- How many guests and cars the permit allows, and where the cars park.
- How steep the driveway is and who plows it, if you are coming between November and April.
- Whether the fire pit meets the spring size rule.
- What phone signal and internet reach the house, since valleys vary.
The questions to ask a host cover the rest, and anyone bringing a dog should read pet fees and rules at cabin rentals. The Adirondack Park follows the same Blue Line model on a larger scale, covered in the Adirondacks guide.
Two more regions of the Northeast are in the guides to Poconos cabin rentals in northeastern Pennsylvania and Lake George rentals in the southeastern Adirondacks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you park for Kaaterskill Falls?
In the designated lots, or take the trolley the Town of Hunter recommends. Parking anywhere along Route 23A in the clove is banned from May through October, pull-offs included. Towed cars go to the town impound lot in Tannersville.
How long is the hike to Kaaterskill Falls?
The Laurel House Road trail is 0.3 mile of firm crushed stone to a viewing platform. From there a steeper 0.7 mile leads down to the pools at the base.
When is peak fall foliage in the Catskills?
Peak has historically come in early to mid-October and lasts only a few days in any one place. Color starts high in the Catskills in early September.
What is the highest peak in the Catskills?
Slide Mountain, at 4,180 feet, according to the Catskill 3500 Club. The summit route from Oliverea Road South is 2.7 miles one way with 1,780 feet of climbing.
Do you need a permit for the Peekamoose Blue Hole?
Yes, from May 15 to September 15. Parking is allowed only in marked areas.