Friday, May 30, 2014

Catskill Park

 

New York State does things a little differently in regards to their campgrounds. There are some typical parks run directly by the State and then there are two Parks run by the Department of Environmental Conservation or DEC.

They are called Catskill Park and Adirondack Park and are a unique mixture of public and private land under control of the DEC.

I will be visiting Adirondack Park with over 30 campgrounds this August and September. The past three days were devoted to Catskill Park and it’s 7 campgrounds.

But first I enjoyed Sunday and Monday doing nothing except eating pork tacos and hanging out with Woody the Woodpecker.

Pork Tacos

Woody seemed very taken with a particular tree stump.

Woodpecker 1

He would stare at it and then stalk it. Sneaking close and then banging his little bird brain silly.

Woodpecker 2

He made quite a racket and was enjoyable to watch.

Back to work on Tuesday, however.

Catskill Sign

The nice weather that I enjoyed on Sunday and Monday continued on Tuesday as I made my first of several trips into the Park.

Mongaup Pond is the second largest campground with 163 sites.

Mongaup Pond Sign

Don’t pronounce it Mon-Gay-Oop like I did. Ignore the “a”.  Mon-Gup.

The campground is set up in seven loops that encircle the pond.

Mongaup Pond

There is a beach with a creek emptying into the pond nearby.

Mongaup Pond Beach

Mongaup Pond Creek

Boat rentals to “get your paddle on” and a small ramp with an adjacent deck to launch your own or just hang out.

Mongaup Pond Boat Rentals

Mongaup Pond Boat Ramp

What really impressed me was the stacks of firewood near each fire/cooking pit.

Mongaup Pond Firewood

Amazing. Seems that instead of just felling the dead trees from the winter the staff here cuts and splits and stacks it for you.

Every campsite looked like this and that was day after Memorial Day when the campground was full.

Probably won’t last for long but what a nice early season bonus.

A sampling of my favorite pond sites are numbers 79, 111, and 129.

Mongaup Pond_079

Mongaup Pond_111

Mongaup Pond_129

Site 46 is near a nice grassy field.

Mongaup Pond_046

Site 154 backs up to a creek.

Mongaup Pond_154

Lots of nice sites and amenities make this an extremely popular campground.

Next came Little Pond with it’s 67 campsites.

Little Pond Sign

The pond was, well, little.

Little Pond

But there was a nice picnic area along with boat rentals.

Little Pond Picnic Area

Little Pond Boat Rentals

There are a strand of sites alongside the pond. I liked numbers 25, 26, and 37 the best.

Little Pond_025

Little Pond_026

Little Pond_037

Site 60 has a creek running behind it.

Little Pond_060

Clouds were forming as I arrived at Beaverkill.

Beaverkill Sign

“Kill” is another word for river, and this one is a world famous cold water river that attracts anglers in search of wild brown trout. There is a picnic area that offers parking in a prime spot.

Beaverkill River

Beaverkill Day Use Area

It seems that half the campground was washed away several years ago with no plans to rebuild the missing 43 sites. So there are 52 here, starting at number 44, with several riverside, like numbers 73 and 75.

Beaverkill_073

Beaverkill_075

To get from the picnic area to the campground you have to cross a covered bridge.

Beaverkill Bridge

Several fly fishermen were flailing away. I wished them “bent rods and tight lines” as I left.

I made tacos in the dark back at my camp after a long day.

Taco Dinner

The good weather was gone as I visited four more campgrounds on Wednesday and Thursday.

North South Lake is the largest campground in the Park with 219 sites.

North South Lake Sign

The site numbers only go up to 218 but for some reason they started counting at zero. Hence 219.

Here are some gorgeous views of the beach area and North Lake.

North South Lake Beach View 1

North South Lake Beach View 2

North South Lake

There are 7 loops and I liked sites 11 and 13 for those wanting a small creek nearby.

North South Lake_011

North South Lake_013

Sites 145 through 147 were right on North Lake.

North South Lake_145 

North South Lake_146

North South Lake_147

Trust me. There is a lake there. Really.

The fog dissipated slightly at Devil’s Tombstone.

Devil's Tombstone Sign

This is the smallest campground in Catskill Park with only 24 sites. It reminded me of Olympic National Park in Washington in the vibrant green category.

Devil's Tombstone Bathroom

I dig mossy roofs.

And misty lakes.

Devil's Tombstone Lake

Sites 3 and 21 were typical of this delightful little campground.

Devil's Tombstone_003

Devil's Tombstone_021

The weather a little better on Thursday when I arrived at Kenneth L. Wilson.

Kenneth L. Wilson Sign

The 78 sites are spread amongst the trees. I liked numbers 9, 44, and 74.

Kenneth L. Wilson_009

Kenneth L. Wilson_044

Kenneth L. Wilson_074

If you don’t mind being near the pump station, site 76 is huge with a great play area for the kids.

Kenneth L. Wilson_076

There is also a picnic area near the Upper Pond.

Kenneth L. Wilson Picnic Area

Kenneth L. Wilson Pond

I finished up my tour of Catskill Park at Woodland Valley.

Woodland Valley Sign

It’s located near the interesting town of Phoenicia and has 72 sites.

According to the campground director this is a very popular spot for hikers. A 15 mile loop trail takes you to to the highest peaks of the Catskill Mountains.

A river flows by the south side of the campground.

Woodland Valley River

Being a water lover, my favorite sites were adjacent.

Numbers 7, 16, 25, and 29.

Woodland Valley_007

Woodland Valley_016

Woodland Valley_025

Woodland Valley_029

I really enjoyed walking through the campgrounds in the Park and the 250 miles I drove through a mixture of forest roads and quaint towns.

But I needed a temporary mailing address which is why I spent the week at a Thousand Trails campground just outside the Park.

See, my driver’s license expires on my birthday, June 8th. I was able to renew it online and have it sent to Brother Mike’s house in CA.

So he sent it here. Along with a surprise.

My friends Danny and Dave gave him some hot sauce to include with the license mailing. Brother Mike’s only responsibility was to safely ship it.

11 of the 12 bottles made the journey across the country intact.

Birthday Salsa

My license, well, let’s just say it survived as well. I found it fittingly ironic that it was covered in hot sauce.

Drivers License

Thanks Guys!

Regards,

Greg