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

20 summits • 9.2 mi • 47,106 ft gain • 5 hr 19 min

Long Path, Snowmobile trail, bushwhack

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

Latest summits

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"Eight of us enjoyed a hike of KHP on a sunny Black Friday. Snow flurries in the air as we arrived at the PA putting a dusting of snow on the bare ground. From the PA to the snowmobile loop and up the south ridge the ground was nearly bare after last Sunday’s snow melted away earlier this week. As we approached the ramp leading to the unmarked trail the crusty snow accumulated enough to encourage us to put on our a Hillsounds. Once we reach the summit and leave our mark in the canister notebook it was time for our catered lunch thanks to Yong Ae and Mimi. Two varieties of Korean pancakes, Kimchi, ginger tea and holiday pastries fueled us for our return to the PA. The icy patches between all the rocks on the long path were harder to avoid on our descent leading to plenty of slips and slides along with a few good falls. " — Nimblefoot • Nov 29, 2019

"Another fine Fall day though a bit cooler than yesterday for part two of our Devils Path 4-peak traverse. The west side of Twin mountain is still closed do to vandalism of newly installed iron rungs in a section often found challenging for some hikers. An O & B of Indian Head and Twin via the ever popular Jimmy Dolan Notch trail. Today Yong Ae treated us to a lunch of dumplings with dipping sauce and her wonderful ginger tea. Once back to Prediger road only Tom and I were willing to do a late afternoon hike of KHP, to finish the day, before rendezvousing with Tom’s wife Anna in Kingston for some burgers at Five Guys." — Nimblefoot • Oct 15, 2019

"Another late start so by the time I get to the Platte Clove PA I found the lot already full. On the upside I see the cars of three friends so it will be interesting to see if we bump into each other. About a half hour in I run into Christy returning from KHP after starting three hours before me. Then after signing into the new canister I bump into Tim who is in a group of 14 with the Hudson Valley Hikers. Once back to the PA it’s time for a quick lunch then relocate the car to the Peck road PA to tag Windham HP. Only saw a single mountain biker on my way up and a woman walking her dog on my way back. A nice comfortable summer day, certainly not too hot, for getting in a few peaks to start the weekend." — Nimblefoot • Aug 9, 2019

"Bopped up to KHP for the month of July then wandered over to the East peak before heading down to the car. Finished the day with a jaunt up Halcott putting me at 21 peaks toward the Summer Triangle patch." — Nimblefoot • Jul 15, 2019

"Tom, Christy and I did a challenging hike of the eastern half of the Devils Path over to Kaaterskill High Peak using the Platte Clove Preserve trail to connect the two. We started with a bushwhack out of a Mink Hollow up to the DP on Plateau and finished with a bushwhack off of KHP down to Bryne road on new DEP land. Christys car was our rehydration vehicle parked at the KHP/Huckleberry Point PA and while we reloaded water in our packs and enjoyed a chilled beverage she decided to opt out of doing KHP as her knee was bothering her after hitting it hard on the ascent of Twin. Good decision since she has the 50 mile Rock the Ridge relay in Mohonk coming up soon." — Nimblefoot • Apr 22, 2019

"We climbed Kaaterskill High Peak , our final peak to earn our Catskill 3500. The day was perfect - mid 30s with a few flurries that turned into blue skies. Its been a fun journey exploring the mountains!" — deb-and-rob • Mar 16, 2019

"Tom and I out to do KHP via a new route, for us, using new DEP land but the “no parking” signs deterred us. So back to the usual way of the LP, herd path then up the ridge to the ramp that provides access to the unmarked trail. Before we left the PA we talked to a guy from the highway dept. about the road we wanted to leave from and he indicated it wouldn’t be a problem despite the signage. Something to look forward to next time...next month?? Another nice day to out playing in the snow while it’s still here. We bare booted up the LP to the beginning of the herd path which we found unbroken so we put on the ‘shoes and broke a track the rest of the way. Along the way we did find some tracks so we followed them to the plane crash then headed up the ridge. Snow was good, except for patches of bare ground, until the ramp where it turned to sticky mashed potatoes. The ramp itself was tricky as there was about 6-8 inches of snow on top of a hard crust which led to a lot of slips and slides. Once up it was an easy walk to the summit following some boots prints wandering on and off the unmarked trail. On our descent we deployed Tom’s 60’ webbing for a bit of safety with the loose snow. Dow..." — Nimblefoot • Mar 14, 2019

"Fifteen of us rendezvoused at the Plate Clove PA to climb KHP for Yong Ae’s finale of her W35 quest. The Long Path was packed down so we could just use microspikes but then we had to switch to snowshoes to break a track over to the snowmobile loop trail. We continued to break a track up the ridge and over to the ramp to access the summit. The ramp itself was a bit tricky with loose snow on top of ice. Once at the summit we celebrated with champagne, ginger tea and all sorts of tasty foods including sushi, kimchi pancakes,dumplings, chicken sliders and Stromboli. Back at the parking lot George treated us to his home made scrumpy before we headed to Brio’s where Yong Ae treated us to pizza and beer. A nice wintry day with snow in the morning then some patches of blue and sun peeking through the overcast sky in the afternoon." — Nimblefoot • Feb 18, 2019

"Climbed Kaaterskill High Peak on a beautiful fall day. It was chilly in the shade but nice and warm in the sun. The fall colors were pretty bust in the area. A lot of bare trees and brown leaves, but this did not take anything away from another enjoyable outing in the Catskills." — Right-On • Oct 16, 2018

"Solid hike with Taryn and Riley with a wonderfully pleasant lunch at Hurricane Ledge. Some really beautiful sections of the trail as you get towards the summit. The entire trail after leaving the snowmobile trail was gorgeous. The temperature was perfect, too. We ended up making it an out and back rather than forming a loop. " — SR-Shilling • Jul 21, 2018

"Peak 5 of our grand hike from Mink Hollow road to Gillespie road visiting the four eastern peaks of the DP plus KHP and Round Top. After walking through the Platte Clove Preserve and Platte Clove road to the PA, for KHP and Huckleberry point, we took a half hour break to reload water and beverages in our packs and fill our belly’s with a variety of beverages and snack foods. One person dropped out do to knee issues so now we are a group of eight for the second half of our hike that includes a hike/whack to KHP then a whack over to Round Top. Most folks had no idea how late we would finish the hike which was a good thing at this point." — Nimblefoot • Jun 16, 2018

"Out on a lovely blue sky day with plenty of sunshine visiting Kaaterskill High Peak and Plateau. We did our usual straight forward ascent of KHP clearing limbs and blow downs off the Long Path section on our trip up and back. I was a bit too casual with the navigation on our descent down the ridge so we ended up drifting over to the old plane crash next to the snowmobile trail on our way back to the herd path. The bugs, black flies, were out in large enough numbers to notice them but fortunately they were not biting yet. " — Nimblefoot • May 8, 2018

"Hiked Plateau and Sugarloaf with Laura in the morning. She refueled us with homemade muffins before she headed home and Ed, Steve and I headed over to the Platte Clove PA to hike KHP. We managed to bare boot the trail, herd path shortcut and up the east ridge to the summit. The spikes went on for the descent down to the trail portion. Looks like the crusty snow and ice will last into the month of May." — Nimblefoot • Apr 23, 2018

"Snowshoeing on a warm early spring day. Initially we had a nice stroll bare booting on the hiking/snowmobile trail that was packed down by snowmobiles creating a sidewalk over the usual rocks and roots. Then the winter flip flops went on to break out the short cut herd path over to the sno-mo trail that circles the peak. Next we whacked right up onto the east ridge and up to the summit. Fortunately the snow has settled and compacted nicely so we are only sinking in 6” rather than 1-2 feet on recent bushwhacks. An overcast morning with a peeking sun improved to a clearing sky with plenty of sunshine pushing the temperature toward the upper 40’s. " — Nimblefoot • Mar 22, 2018

"Laura, Steve and I did a quick hike up to KHP on a nice sunny day. Another melt-out and rain combo wiped out most of the snow cover so the snowshoes stayed in the car again. Icy up the trail then a firm broken track over to the sno-mo trail then down to the old plane wreck before heading up to the summit. It was like walking up a sidewalk today but the incoming warmer temperatures may change it to mush." — Nimblefoot • Feb 13, 2018

"Out tagging KHP for winter round #9. Big difference from the last time I did this peak only a little over a week ago. In December it was 0* in the parking lot today it was 28*. Today my car thermometer read 37* as I drove by Tannersville, in December it read -1*. In the afternoon the snow got progessively stickier on my descent making the snowshoes twice as heavy and felt like I was walking on balls. Fortunately I re-broke the track in the bushwhack sections while the snow was more fluffy in the AM. Snow flurries and wind on the summit changed to rain then back to wet snow on my return." — Nimblefoot • Jan 8, 2018

"Ed needed KHP for December so off we went on a rather brisk but beautiful sunny day. On Platte Clove road the car thermometer dropped to -1* then when we reached the parking lot it rose to an even 0*. Before we headed up three ice climbers parked next to us then prepped for crossing the road and dropping into the Clove to find some ice. They thought we were crazy for hiking up a mountain in the cool temps, a first for me to hear that, at least we were moving constantly. I broke out the herd path leading to the sno-mo trail then Ed broke a track up onto the east ridge until we came upon an old track. The makers of the old track took a creative route taking bushwhacking a little too literally so we made some deviations to stay in the open. They did get to the chute through the rock band then once up on the lookout it was a quick run up to the top. Nice shush back down to the trail though more snow would add to the fun particularly on the rocky/rooty trail to the parking lot." — Nimblefoot • Dec 28, 2017

"Tom and Anna joined Laura, Steve and I for a casual hike up KHP on a nice breezy day with a clear blue sky. We opted to skip the view from Hurricane Ledge and head straight back as we had two more peaks to visit. On our descent down the east ridge Tom slipped on leaves and fell losing his glasses in the process. A quick search for them ensued but to no avail. Tom and Anna headed home while we drove over to Prediger road to hike up Twin and Indian Head." — Nimblefoot • Oct 19, 2017

"Last peak of my vacation. So I was in a hurry. Found out just before hiking it that there was a herd path and not a maintained trail to the summit. The herd path was steep. Also stopped at Huckleberry Point on the way out, which was so worth it. " — newenglandwarrior • Aug 26, 2017

"Laura, Steve and I got together to hike up Kaaterskill High Peak and Rusk for the month of August. Solid sky of clouds in the morning with a forecast of nice weather in the afternoon. On the summit we decided to skip going down to Hurricane Ledge since the view was totally etch-a-sketch....just a cloud bank. On our descent we ran into my old hiking partner, Itty Bitty, and a friend out for an easy hike." — Nimblefoot • Aug 5, 2017