Kaaterskill High Peak

Until the late 19th century, Kaaterskill High Peak was considered to be the highest in the Catskills until Slide Mountain was found to possess that honor. In fact, Kaaterskill High Peak is only 23rd highest in the range. It does have 4th most prominence.

Routes

Snowmobile Trail from Platte Clove Rd., Kaaterskill High Peak Trailil

22 summits • 9.2 mi • 47,106 ft gain • 4 hr 47 min

Long Path, Snowmobile trail, bushwhack

5 summits • 11.5 mi • 2,572 ft gain • 5 hr 40 min

Kaaterskill High Peak 0.4 mi route (1-way)

2 summits • 0.4 mi • 618 ft gain • 29 min

Kaaterskill High Peak 11.2 mi route

1 summit • 11.2 mi • 2,146 ft gain • 4 hr 37 min

Kaaterskill High Peak 9.2 mi route

1 summit • 9.2 mi • 1,817 ft gain • 5 hr 38 min

Latest summits

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"Out and back of Roundtop and KHP from end of Gillespie road followed by a scoot up to the tower on Overlook. The usual PA on Meads road, across from the Monastery, was totally full so I headed on to drop down to the new larger lot adding 1.4 miles to the hike. Overlook was one hot hike in the afternoon. " — Nimblefoot • Apr 14, 2023

"Peter, Francine, Donna, Mimi and I did a loop of RT and KHP from the end of Gillespie road. Warmed up nicely today and was much clearer sky so we actually see where we were going compared to yesterday’s cold overcast windy day with minimal visibility. We all stayed upright wearing just micro spikes as the snow and ice were more forgiving. No unplanned slides today. After lunch I did a solo hike of WHP to finish up the day. A fair amount of ice on the trail that was covered by a thin layer of snow but I managed to do most of the round trip bare booting." — Nimblefoot • Feb 26, 2023

"Another balmy day in the Catskills with temps in the upper 30’s. Bit of a breeze on the summits made it feel a bit more like winter despite the bare ground. Up over Roundtop then onto the canister on KHP from Gillespie road for a 3 hr round trip stroll. Found more old blue paint blazes on my ascent of RT than I’ve found in the past." — Nimblefoot • Jan 18, 2023

"First up was a saunter up to Roundtop from Gillespie road via woods road and bushwhack. Then an out and back to the canister on KHP via herdpath after dropping straight down from Roundtop. Back to the car and off to Moonhaw road PA for a quick climb of Friday where I encountered numerous hikers descending as I was attempting to motor uphill to the turnoff at the pregnant tree. Quick visit to the canister then descend with urgency." — Nimblefoot • Oct 27, 2022

"Back to KHP with Itty Bitty in tow for her to close out the month of August for her grid. She said she wouldn’t mind adding Roundtop to the hike so we strolled over the little bump on our way to the taller one. The woods were quiet today except for a stray airplane in the distance and the noon whistle from the local fire house." — Nimblefoot • Aug 25, 2022

"Getting these two peaks for Itty Bitty at 80 yrs young and 90#s of let’s git er done. Took the long rocky slog all the way out to the sno-mo loop trail then onto the old blue-blazed twilight trail to reach the can on KHP. Herd path out and back to Roundtop then returned via the shortcut down the ridge from KHP and herd path out to the LP. She is recovering well from various heart issues though age has slowed the French midget(her words) down quite a bit but at least the tenacity is still burning." — Nimblefoot • Jun 6, 2022

"Getting BP, Vly and KHP for the month of May of my 4th grid. BP and Vly in the AM where I didn’t see a soul then relocated over to Platte Clove road to do KHP in the afternoon. As expected I met other hikers doing either KHP or Huckleberry Point though they were heading out while I was just heading in. Nice day in the Cats with comfortable temps do to cloud cover causing the sun to play hide and seek and no annoying bugs flying around my head." — Nimblefoot • May 25, 2022

"Did an out and back of KHP and it’s little buddy Roundtop from the TH off of Platte Clove road. The profile of the two is seen from numerous points in the Catskills. The trail portion had some wet spots especially on my way back as the day warmed up. Took the herd path over to sno-mo loop trail, crossed it then up the SE ridge as usual. More folks are doing Roundtop for the Cat100 or the Grid as there are more obvious herd paths between the peaks. Completed the day with a hike up Plateau as it’s right nearby and needed for my 4-season grid(round #10)." — Nimblefoot • Apr 29, 2022

"Microspikes all day. Barely any snow in the PA and the snow up high is compressed with a heavy crust so the snowshoes stayed in the car. Quick saunter over to Roundtop after topping out on KHP via the south ridge with ice in the ramp. On my way back to KHP I decide to descend via the old twilight trail as I didn’t bring my webbing for the ramp. Some serious ice in spots that I bushwhacked around as my sacrificial Hillsounds are a bit dull. Hopped onto the sno-mo trail to pickup the herd path short cut and back out to the trail." — Nimblefoot • Feb 20, 2022

"Around 20 degrees, light wind, partly cloudy. Embarked out of Huckleberry Point Trailhead, packed down trail but spikes needed. Steady incline for the first couple miles (follow the right way on the forks to stay off private land), then hit a flat trail on the outer loop for a mile before steep ascent / scrambling to the summit. East of the summit is a nice lookout and a plane crash 100 ft off the trail to the north. South of the summit are even better views at Hurricane Ledge. Turned around and went back the way we came up, except circled part of the inner loop to the East, where I wish we had snowshoes. Didn't bother looking for the second plane crash on the inner loop, met back up with the main trail with 2 miles to go. Overall great hike, amazing views in all directions, technical final ascent. 8.85 miles in 4 hours, 2,480 ft total elevation gain." — gregoryskiba • Jan 23, 2022