What an amazing experience we had this weekend at this campground! We visited during Father's Day…read moreweekend, which also happens to be bear mating season, so just know, you will see bears. From what we heard, bear sightings are common throughout the season. This is an off-grid campground, although there are water pumps in some areas and plenty of pit toilets throughout the campground. Park Rangers drive through every couple of hours until around 9 PM. The location is absolutely beautiful, check-in was easy, and firewood was available for $7 per bundle. Each campsite comes with its own fire ring. We stayed at site #38 and had gorgeous views. It was shady, peaceful, and in a great location. We also noticed that sites #11 and #12 looked very nice. We didn't get a chance to explore the entire park because we mainly wanted to relax, but you can easily walk the campground roads and explore the different camping areas. Around our site there was plenty of space for kids to play, and site #42 looked like it had a whole area to itself. We will definitely be coming back! Don't forget your bear spray. At night, especially the first night, the sounds of nature made it feel like you were in the middle of a jungle! The second night was much quieter. Highly recommended for anyone looking to unplug, relax, and enjoy the outdoors.

This is a beautiful state park with 2300 acres of land. Parking is free. There are 10 miles of…read morehiking trails, including the Macedonia Ridge Trail, 51 campsites, and you can fish. Sone of the trails get you to views of the Catskills and Taconic mountains. There are a lot of streams, and lots of places for grills and cooking. The land once belonged to the Scatacook Tribe.

Love love love love You don't even have to climb anything…read morelol The walk is paved so that's great Lots of old people and people with very new children!! lol It's easy It's beautiful Bring a ball Bring a kite Bring burgers they have tables and grills Bri g blankets Not crowded Bathroom was not open

This place is so beautiful. It's a short hike around the falls but if you take a right can go on…read morefor a long time I'm not sure how long because I have never went that full way. On the way up there are stairs and lookouts over the falls. They were recently redone and looks so nice. I love going here. Right now the bathrooms are locked so if you go have a picnic at the tables below you might have to leave to find a bathroom about 8 mins up the road in a store or restaurant. I think the bathrooms open on memorial day but I'm not sure. There are picnic tables in the grassy area and benches along the right side of the falls.

Beautiful place to find peace and tranquility. No matter what time you visit Dover stone Churchread more

Beautiful, short and easy hike to an incredible natural wonder. It tends to be crowded in Spring,…read moreSummer and early Fall. It's icy in the Winter, but you will avoid the crowds during this season.

The falls are truly incredible…read more The trail down to the bottom of the falls, is a bit tricky. But so incredibly worth it. I would suggest not to believe the sign saying 189 steps.... it is definitely more! Take drinking water because you'll need that for sure. We went back in August and the heat was definitely there. The parking lot was pretty packed but throughout the trails people were pretty evenly spaced out. Not so much at the base of the falls themselves but there was still plenty of room to move around freely.

A very mild and easy hike with a beautiful payoff! Definitely bring your bathing suits because you…read morecan take a dip in the water--it's cool, refreshing, and perfect for cooling off after the walk. The waterfall and surrounding scenery are absolutely beautiful, and you can easily spend some time relaxing on the rocks and taking in the view. You don't have to get in the water if that's not your thing; there are plenty of rocks around the area where you can sit and enjoy the scenery. There are both upper and lower sections of the waterfall, so depending on how much walking you want to do, you can choose which area to explore. We walked to the lookout point first, which gives you a view of the waterfall from above. From up there, everyone below looks like little ants! Before reaching the bridge, there are stairs that lead down to the actual waterfall, which I definitely recommend checking out. Overall, it's a beautiful spot, and the hike is very manageable!

It took me three attempts over three days to make it all the way to the waterfall, but it was so…read moreworth it! I took this journey at the start of February, and there was tons of snow on the ground. On the first day, I arrived at the Massachusetts parking lot around 3 PM I figured I had a good two hours before sundown. I turned back after walking a short way down the trail because it was so steep, I thought I was going to tumble into the river. When I got back, I watched a video of someone hiking on the Massachusetts side, and I realized that the trail is normally full of stairs This makes sense because it's very steep and that's why it's so short but because of the snow, the stairs are covered up I would definitely not recommend using the Massachusetts side in the winter On the second day, I got to the New York parking lot around 2 PM. I made it about halfway down the much more gradual and scenic trail before I turned back. I turned back because the sun disappeared behind the mountain, and it was dark and windy On the third day, I got to the New York side at 11 AM. This time I realized that the top of the trail is just always dark and windy because it's in a corridor between two mountain peaks. So I pressed on. It took me about one hour to get to the end of the trail. I walked pretty slowly and stopped to look at nature a lot. If you are not someone who is super confident staying on the path in the forest, these are fairly easy trails because it's just a straight line the whole way there and you are following the river the whole time. I'm so glad I didn't give up because the falls are one of the most beautiful magical things I've ever seen Instead of water flowing down through the ice, it was snow and slush bursting through the sections of the frozen waterfall the water exploding into 1 million tiny snowflakes from the top to the bottom I plan to come back here in the summer with my kids and I think they will really love it.

Bash Bish Falls was just as beautiful as everyone says it is! The hike was worth every step, and…read moreseeing the waterfall in person was amazing. There's just something about being surrounded by nature that fills my cup. I LOVE to hike so this was my happy place. Even better, we got to share the experience with friends we've had for 24 years after meeting on a cruise. Good friends, beautiful scenery, and another memory made together. That's my kind of day. You can go I on the MA side which has lots of stairs but is a shorter walk or do the NY side with a short 3/4 mile hike to the falls.

A peaceful, pristine, little bit of paradise on a hot summer's day. The water is so crisp and cool…read more Parking is limited and the walk down can be a bit for some, .20 miles down a rocky incline, but once you get here it's worth it. This is a take in/take out facility-please take your trash with you. No public facilities so plan accordingly. This is NATURE, enjoy

Whether it's a full swim, wet our toes or be near water (even in winter), hubs is forever finding…read moreany body of water to explore. I had read about Big Deep- but we never found it in all the years we've visited Woodstock, NY until the Summer of '22. Big Deep reminded me of the movie, 'The Beach'. Wait up though- this is a much smaller, smaller, smaller, smaller, smaller and rugged version of the movie and a farrrrrrrrrr stretch from that lush and tropical beach setting. So paradise, is not. At its best, Big Deep is only (and I mean only) a patch of some water (a lot of it has receded), lots of trees blocking the Sun and a bunch of rocks. Get some legit water sandals to avoid walking bare feet on rocks, scraping your skin- otherwise, pray you don't break a toe. Don't drive too fast or you'll miss it. Big Deep has designated paved drivable entrance and exit paths. After you're parked, it's a trek on more paved paths to get to 'the beach', lake or whatever you wanna call it. I'm not glorifying Big Deep- but it is secluded in its own bizarre way. Some blogs have mentioned this may be/will be closed off. If you feel like you want to put up with this scene, by all means. It's $0 to get in (from the last time we were here).

BLUF: Beautiful, timeless garden; use restrooms elsewhere…read more Innisfree Garden is open to the public between late April and mid-November every year. We visited in late October last year, and more than ten years ago before that. The garden has a timeless beauty, and many of the details looked identical or nearly the same as in our prior visit. The visit experience is essentially a counter-clockwise loop around Tyrrel Lake that can be slowly walked in about 60 to 90 minutes. Per Innisfree Garden's website, the garden is divided into miniature "cup gardens" -- sets of different features / "focal points" that all connect to the lake and the path around it. For both for our visits, I think we were most attentive for about the first 60% of the path, as "feature fatigue" started to set in just past the bridge over the lake. We quickly walked through / past the wood cabin during of our visits. Logistics: The Garden is about 90 minutes from New York City by car. Do consider bathroom breaks before or after visiting the Garden, as the restrooms here consist only of porta-potties. Cellular coverage at the Garden is weak, so it may be difficult to retrieve digital tickets from your phone if you haven't already downloaded them. Fortunately, one workaround is to tell them your name, if you are the person who booked the tickets in advance. Bring your own food and water as necessary, as these are not sold in the Garden. Wear sturdy shoes with grip and ankle support, as there are some steep angles along the initial part of the path and by some features.

185 acre park which encompasses a 40 acre lake (Tyrrel Lake). The garden park borrows from Chinese,…read moreJapanese, Modern, and ecological principles. I think the majority of reviews have hit the nail on the head. This place is a not so hidden gem of the Hudson Valley. It's so beautiful, it's a challenge to take a bad image because it is so picturesque. There are undulating scenes which can be framed in your mind's eye and pops of interesting subjects (a sculpture, rock formation, hills, etc.) to see. It's a splendor visually and changes with the seasons. It's not as manicured as a Japanese garden...it's more expansive. I think the beauty of this place can haunt you. General admission is $10. Membership also starts at $50/season.

This is an extremely good walk/hike. "Easy" in terms of difficulty, this trail starts off on an…read moreeasy 1/4-mile walk down a meandering crushed-gravel path to a wooden gazebo, then down some grassy hills to the Hudson River "lookout" point. From there, you can venture into the woods for a 3/4 to a mile "easy hike" surrounded by trees, trickling stream & a few furry animals, like squirrels & chipmunks, collecting acorns. Kid friendly, this is a great walk/hike for the whole family.

Dreamy any walk you choose to start on during any season. Beginner's level. Nice view of the Hudson.read more

If you're coming to the River Walk through Kent, be prepared to drive for a while to reach the…read moreentrance. Don't worry, you haven't missed it, just keep driving until you see a gate. The parking lot can fit about six, eight cars and is accessible to the water. We walked about forty five minutes down the trail, until the humans decided it had been enough for the little paws accompanying us (even though he would have gone until he collapsed). The trail is gentle, not too many inclines and they're not very steep. It seems mostly shaded by trees on each side, but don't let that stop you from using sunscreen. It's a narrow path so if someone is coming, the polite (and in the case of my hiking companions, the dumb) will walk on the side in the taller, tick inhabited grass. I wish it had points of interest signed, like the foundation we passed about five minutes from the entrance. What was there, and where did it go? Other than great, a great place to bring the dog and walk in peace!

Wonderful hike! Not too tough. Right by the water for most of it…read more Drive to the END of the road. (Ignore your GPS. Ignore small paths on the right of the main road. Drive to the end, a small parking lot with a gate.) It's not a loop, so there's a bit of repetition when you turn around walk back to your car.

This place is absolutely amazing! I've hiked all the Catskills mountains three times over through…read morethe years and I had never been to overlook because there was no reason to but I had heard so much about this location I just had to visit and satisfy my curiosity on why this place is so popular. First off the parking lot is medium sized and parking on the road (even off the road) is risky because certain spots you are not allowed to park so arrive early, get a legit parking spot and save yourself the wasted trip or the hassle of returning to your vehicle to a ticket or it completely gone (towed). The hike up and back for Overlook is approximately 5 miles so everyone is spot on mentioning the distance. It's fairly steep all the way up and while you don't have any views on the way up, you do encounter some old ruins which is a neat break along the way. Once you do make it to the top you are met with a small shed that has some very minor historical information inside and on peak weekends you'll find stewards that can assist with information about the area and hiking tips. The fire tower can't be missed to the left after the small shed and the view is to the right of the shed. I have to say, I've been atop many mountains and it's been a long while since I've had my breath taken away but when I saw the view at Overlook it was breath taking. What made the view so beautiful and different than other mountains I've hiked is that the view is expansive with no mountains obstructing so you can see as far as the eyes can see. It's truly a remarkable view being so high up and seeing so far out. This mountain is known for its rattlesnake population. Sadly I never got to see one because I always hike in the early morning hours and they normally come out at around high noon when the sun is the hottest.

Hiking is definitely a love-hate relationship! This mountain goes UP--and I mean all the way up…read more There are barely any flat or straight sections, so you're constantly climbing, weaving around corners, and then going back down just to do it all over again. I had to take frequent breaks to catch my breath because the climb was no joke. And honestly, the tower was probably the scariest part for me. The views from the top were absolutely beautiful, but I had to go up quickly and come back down just as fast because my fear was kicking in! Before tackling the mountain, we also walked a different trail, which was already exhausting. So by the time we started the climb, my legs were definitely feeling it. But once you finally reach the ruins and the tower, it all feels worth it. The scenery and views are honestly incredible, and it's such a beautiful place to see. Just be prepared: before you reach the top, you may question every life decision that brought you there!