yes. If you go all the way to the fifth ledge, it’ll be a 4.0-mile roundtrip. You were right. Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. October, 2015. We only saw frogs, all sort of frogs, and crows and hawks circling in the sky. A panoramic view of the central and northern Catskills opens up all along the trail that parallels the ledge. To climb Panther, keep heading straight along the Blue Trail, passing all five ledges at Giant Ledge, as well as the turnoff to the second DEC campsite. Let ye know how it goes. Beatles songs were playing on someone’s boombox. Let’s just say we never ate this much or this good on a hike before. Copyright © 2019 HBTrails.com. The hike continues to Panther Mountain, one of the 35 high peaks in the Catskills over 3,500feet in elevation. If the Parther part is even difficult than that two, we will definitely reconsider about hiking it this time. Here’s the address for the Slide Mountain Forest House: GPS coordinates of parking area: 42.02662, -74.40383 (Clicking will open in Google Maps or the Apple Maps app, depending on your browser/device.). At approximately 3,720 feet (1,130 m) in elevation, it is the 18th highest in the range. Hi – Can anyone confirm whether there is spring water coming out of the pipe? Lots of bang for your hiking buck! You’ll know you’re at the right spot when you reach a nice flat rock, right beside the trail, where you can sit and take in the wide-open view before you. If you’re going to drop a phone somewhere in the Hudson Valley, over the edge of Giant Ledge has to be somewhere near to top of the list of most unfortunate places. The eighteenth highest peak in the Adirondacks Panther is the second highest summit in the Santanoni Mountains and is the easiest to climb. We are not avid hikers but were able to view all 5 great ledges, summit Panther Mountain, hike the woodland valley trail, and explore an unmarked trail with your help! From here you will need to hike 2 miles on the road back to the Panther Mountain parking area at the hairpin turn passed Winisook Lake. See you there! We continued with him, just to find he was wrong. The article and comments are awesome and super helpful. I gave Wittenberg a 10/10 for difficulty, and Panther a 9/10. 1. Soon after this rock formation, you will reach a junction with the blue trail. 13. Trail Stats: Distance: 12.5 miles (if only hiking Panther) Elevation: 4,442 ft. We welcome hikers after a well-spent day in our mountains! Just wanted to make sure we’re clear on that point. Like, ever. planning on taking a hike next week possibly nov 23. how are the foliage this time of year? I’m certain your write up is incorrect concerning which sections are difficult. Lastly- the Peekamoose ROCKS! PAN002 Location: 42.02798, -74.39187 At this point on the trail, there is a large rock formation that appears like a ledge facing you. The trail starts just to the right of the guardrail directly uphill from the parking lot. What an incredible hike! Good luck out there! panther mountain trail. Its proximity to Slide Mountain, the highest Catskill peak, the relatively short distance required to climb the … Must have been a very scary experience. Well worth the trip and I recommend it for anyone looking for a short hike with a great payoff! Trail Markers to Follow: Yellow to Blue (Panther Summit) Trail map from the New York New Jersey Trail Conference. My initial thoughts are that the phone is lost forever. Don’t let that happen to you! Hope that’s helpful – happy adventuring to you and your friends! Nice work! to Giant Ledge, then turn right on the Yellow Trail for the last .75 miles back to your car. Hiking Trail Description. However, we did have one unfortunate circumstance. There is plenty of climbing up rocks and the incline is steep overall causing us to lose our breath just a little bit. This is a 10.9 mile loop hike with 1600 cumulative feet of elevation gain that takes about 4-6 hours to complete. That's cool, too. Hope that helps cut down on the number of unhappy hikers out there! The line “if you see the Peekamoose Restaurant – that’s bad news….” although meant as a directional indicator, ……our restaurant is never bad news. Hike Length: 6.9 miles (11.10 km) Total Ascent: 1,700ft (518m) … The hike is popular, and the trail is worn and trampled. Did a quick gear shakedown, the drive up was long and relatively icy when we got closer to the trailhead… Thanks for your input and follow-up, Jay! Panther Mountain Piseco, New York You will find the Panther Mountain trailhead just off route 8 on Old Piseco Rd. with you on this hike. Distance: 6.5 miles. Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. It’s not a long distance to Giant Ledge but there are steep sections which make it more on the difficult side of moderate. The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference offers concise, excellent advice on hiking during this crisis here: The New Hiking How-tos. The views were incredibly worth it. SUMMIT. As long as you’re 150 feet from the trail, stream, and road, you should be okay. Thanks for taking the time to help us out. Hi Sienna! https://hikethehudsonvalley.com/hikes/giant-ledge-and-panther-mountain Submit one here. Please leave a comment! . There’s a bigger campsite a few minutes down the trail, too. Click the GPS coordinates there using your device of choice, and a mapping app (either Google Maps or Apple Maps) should drop a pin on the exact spot. 2. The hike up to Panther is fairly easy, the hardest part of the hike is to Giants Ledge. From there we had to walk another mile on the main road to our car. Besides taking in all the awesome views, maybe you’ll make some new friends up there. (I gave Wittenberg a 10/10, so my scale is just slightly wimpier than yours.) Your comment seals the deal for me. The idea of an “out of 10” difficulty rating scale is a wee subjective no matter how you slice it (even though I used science!). The trail is super easy to follow, but challenging. I'll do my best to keep that page as up-to-date as possible. Details. Sign in at the register to make sure this trail gets credit for your visit. I could see the argument for knocking Panther down to an 8 (since we’d have to move to the Spinal Tap scale to make Wittenberg more difficult), but it really just felt more like a 9 to me. If you are planning on going to any of the hiking trails in this area, make sure to come early. Your email address will not be published. Boy! Trailhead Location: Old Piseco Rd Piseco, NY 12139. We had to park below it in the grass. I wish I had read this first…lol. Excellent, Lou — glad you had a great day out there! Hoping it’s not too crowded this late in September…? We love Peekamoose!! Was one of those days, you know you head out early to do Anthony’s nose, only to find out still closed ( FYI mental note) thought NY was unpaused!! Thanks for livening up the comments section, Jay! One step out onto that first ledge, though, and it’s easy to see why this place draws crowds. It has a rocky terrain which makes it easier to climb. Glad you had a great day out there! This page gives some good tips, and links to some camping maps for the area: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/41282.html. When it becomes full, people do park on the side of the road. But your review makes it appear that Panther has steeper, rockier traverses than does Giant Ledge, not true. On the plus side, if you ever come back here, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a better experience than you did the first time. It begins with a switchback trail through tall pines and soft soil, then gradually steepens as you near the top. … Park at the trailhead on the Frost Valley Road just after Winisook Lake on the hairpin turn. 6. From that rock, it’s a flat .3 miles to the summit of Panther. Not sure if we just manged to hit a particularly bad day (we did go just after a few days of rain) but we definitely could have planned for that a bit better! Hope you’re feeling better and all is well! (And thanks to James W for providing a good answer, too! I've always been intrigued by the two viewpoint "stars" on the NYNJTC map for Southern Harriman on a hill called Panther Mountain. I too hate losing altitude just to climb back up…Some of those rock scrambles were quite fun as well. After about 1.5 miles from the start, there is a short spur trail to the right, that leads to the first ledge and a magnificent view. Not crowded at all. A panoramic view of the central and northern Catskills opens up all along the trail that parallels the ledge. Hang in there and stay safe, everyone! My wife and I like to hike but prefer not to clamber up and down rock quarries where we spend all our time looking at our feet rather than out at the view. The 6 makes me feel a little less tired this morning. I’m just trying to make the Panther people feel cool, since they’re about to burn at least 1,000 calories to see basically the same view they’re already looking at. If you’re interested only in... 0 From my research it doesn’t look like a trail runs close enough to search for them. Still, really, the view on Giant Ledge is pretty much equally awesome, and the hike to that point has some steep sections. … Difficulty: Mostly easy from trailhead to the Giant Ledge, but will transition to moderate as you head up … The route crosses the entire ridge of Panther Mountain, from south to north. About 15 minutes after entering the alpine forest, you’ll see a short little unmarked side trail to your right, heading toward some big rocks. Thanks again for everything you do!! After following the easy and sometimes steep rock path you’ll find yourself on a ledge taking in this wonderfull scenery. Didn’t want To waste time….. so we decided to head to great ledge was on the hit list. Hope you enjoyed a well-earned, larger-than-usual dinner tonight. Was this trail guide useful to you? However, the trail to Panther was wonderful! Good to know that you have other options, though, in case you’d like a ledge to yourself and some of them are occupied, as they likely will be. From the New York Thruway (I-87) headed north from Poughkeepsie/New Paltz, take exit 19 for the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, then head west (away from the bridge) on Route 28. It’s a short hike between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. We camped in the area last summer, but didn’t manage to get any hiking in. Oct 24, 2016 - This Pin was discovered by Erika Eklund. The saddle between the Ledges and Panther was fairly deep and you definitely paid for it on the way back. The hike starts off along the yellow marked Phoenicia-East Branch Trail. Though the yellow section is less than a mile, it’s pretty dang rocky and has several steep sections. Follow the blue trail from the junction towards Panther. Hope that’s helpful – happy adventuring! Slide Mountain Trailhead to Woodland Valley Campground. The hike to the Ledges and back probably would have been too short for the amount of time it took to get out to this spot, but luckily since it was late in the fall and a little cold, we had the place pretty much to our selves until we started heading back from Panther Mt. The GPS coordinates are N42 01.587 W74 24.213. I’ll point them out in the trail guide below, in case you’d like to join the carnival up there one night. We’ve used it several times, and have pledged to use it more! I can’t seem to find it on a map. 6 summits • 1.7 mi • 613 ft gain • 1 hr 30 min. Mike, great work! Please read it before heading out into the wild green yonder, and let's hope that everyone will adhere to that guidance so that we can keep heading in the right direction in the Hudson Valley. 1.2 Miles RT – 780 ft. Elevation Gain. Still beautiful, but the foliage is all down. Ascent: 3,762 ft. Hey — I went a few weeks ago, and most of the leaves are down at this point. Just past that campsite marker, keep an eye out on your right for the first ledge. Advanced features of this website require that you enable JavaScript in your browser. That’s worth the price of admission right there, even without the very nice views you’re approaching. More great content is on the way. It can quickly be done on a simple day trip but one must always remember that the peaks in this area are remote and seldom visited so one should be well prepared for a change in weather as it can be raining here while it is sunny everywhere else in the Adirondacks. (And thanks for the heads-up in the comments, Stav! Parking for Giant Ledge is on the huge shoulder on the right side of the road, just before that hairpin turn. October, 2015. The hike starts from the Giant Ledge Trailhead located at the hairpin curve along County Route 47. You will see a DEC sign for Panther Mountain on the left. I hope you had a great visit! From the Slide Mountain trailhead on Route 47 cross the West Branch of the Neversink River. Here’s one great way: Visit the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference homepage and click on Volunteer, Donate, or Shop! It was well worth it, spectacular views from the ledges. The hike documented above is a 3.2-mile roundtrip, or 6.9 miles if you add Panther to the mix. Is it worth it? You’ve seen the view at Giant Ledge – it’s really only very slightly different from the next four ledges. If you can visit on a weekday, or off-season, or both, you might just luck out and have the place to yourself. Follow the detour and you end up ON 47…so no need to look fr the turn, you’re already there. I train and exercise regularly and I felt challenged physically with some parts of the climb. The trails around Saranac Lake really do not disappoint when it comes to the amount of work you have to put in to get a great view, and Panther was no exception! At .6 miles long, this hike is easily done round trip in under an hour. The trail is most easily and frequently accessed from Bradley Pond via the old Tahawus Club Road, and be prepared with a map and GPS if you have one – the Santanonis are out there! Just keep following Oliverea Rd to the Southeast on a map or click on the GPS coordinates he posted in the directions and it brings you right to it. Not a High Peak and not even a very high elevation, this small mountain makes for a nice little break and has some nice views. It is in close proximity to both Piesco Lake, NY and Speculator, NY. YouTube video from our hike at Panther Mountain, I think at this point we have done the O & W Rails to Trails from Stone Ridge NY to Kingston NY at least a, I love the Neversink Gorge Trails. Only .75 miles to go! The stop at the spring is worth it too for some ice cold spring water on a hot day. Now that we know, we plan on doing it again during another season. It’ll be a 3.2-mile roundtrip if you just visit the first ledge and then return to your car. Catskills Valley Lookout - Giant Ledge Trail. On average it takes 10 minutes to complete this trail. What a great day especially in November! Good thing you paid the extra twenty bucks for the Gore-tex shoes, right? We’re within two points of each other, so I’m comfortable calling it a day. Your email address will not be published. One step too far, and this really will be your final destination. 5. Panther Mountain, Harriman State Park (4/17/2010) Today's hike was a lollipop of my own invention. More Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain Trail is a 7.1 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Big Indian, New York that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. One thing I cannot stress enough: bring some form of bug repellent. After about 1.5 miles from the start, there is a short spur trail to the right, that leads to the first ledge and a magnificent view. Panther Mountain was a great little hike! Thanks! Dogs are also able to use this trail. What a view. You may also find some wet sections here, where you’ll have to hop around the puddles. One thing is for sure, this area has a lot of trails and was busy by seven am. This was one of the first group hikes I went on. It was a perfectly challenging hike for a couple of people who are in moderate shape. A friend and I did this most awesome trail a few weeks ago. Panther Mountain is the perfect addition to a multi-adventure day in the Tupper Lake region. To reach the trail head turn onto West Shore Road from Route 8. It’s close to our home and every time you notice something different. Be sure to eat some pizza tonight – you’ve earned it! I definitely agree that heading all the way up to Panther is worth it, but it also 100% makes this hike a 9 out of 10 difficulty. Retrace your steps back to your car – the only junction you have to worry about is the right turn onto the Yellow Trail about halfway down. Parking for Panther Mountain Trail is a couple hundred feed down and across the road from the trailhead. It seemed long to me because we kept stopping. 12. Oh no, Monica — I’m so sorry to hear that! Still worth it, but not quite as wide-open as we’d like it to be, right? Awesome, Mike – thanks for your responsiveness. I love your idea of a zipline over the col!!! Good luck! We had a great time, saw a LOT of butterflies enjoying the views and had lunch on the rocks at Panther’s summit before heading down. From the parking area on County Road 47 (see “Directions to the trailhead” below), turn to face uphill. Did Giant Ledge today with our dog. Have a great hike! Absolutely incredible views from Giant and Panther. If you find this free trail guide useful, please provide payment by picking up at least one piece of litter on your hike. Thanks so much for this write up! If you want to "bag" a 3500' peak, continue on the trail past Giant Ledge to the summit of Panther Mountain, but the real payoff views are at Giant Ledge. If you’re interested in taking a more strenuous hike and bagging one of the Catskill 3500’ summits in the process, you can continue along the trail straight up Panther Mountain, about two miles (and 1,000 vertical feet) one-way from the first ledge. This ascent is rather gradual with a few short, steep areas thrown in. Thank you! I was glad I went up to Panther, even though the view there plays second fiddle to the ledges, just a bit too many trees for that classic wide open view. 3/4 mile and takes an average hiker aboout 45 minutes to reach the summit that offers a beautiful view of Piseco Lake with hints of several smaller surrounding lakes. Notice the sign telling you that you only have 1.5 miles left until Giant Ledge? . Overall, the Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain trail was beautiful and worth the drive. I noticed you had a dog (labbie?) If you happen to be a geology geek, this may be of interest to you…, http://hudsonvalleygeologist.blogspot.com/2013/05/panther-mountain-impact-structure.html. At a junction turn left onto the blue marked Giant Ledge-Panther Mountain-Fox Hollow Trail. to the right onto the trail. In that case, you’d probably want to check out the spring. Directions to the trailhead:  Beautiful day!!! just wondering how many miles the hike is round trip? While we liked the Giant Ledge views, the rock scrambling made it barely worth the effort. A few friends and I are planning to get up to this area in the evening, camp overnight, and then hit the trail first thing in the morning. Oct 24, 2016 - This Pin was discovered by Erika Eklund. Panther should be 5/10 where as Giant Ledge should be 7/10 for the steep rocky sections that might hinder some older or less fit folks. After walking that path for about 15 minutes, we noticed there aren’t any yellow trails marks around and that the trail looks different than what we remmembered walking. I am not sure how it happened, we felt it was the only possible option, but we were wrong. Panther Mountain (Not one of the 46 high peaks) Topographic map courtesy of Topozone. No description for Panther trail has been added yet! Panther Mountain is one of the Catskill High Peaks, located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York. It was absolutely freezing, and after some filtering with my Sawyer Mini to lose the potential cryptosporidium and giardia beasts….the BEST water I’ve had yet out in the woods. It is Catskill Easy, but not regular-world easy. This hike is called Giant Ledge, but there are actually five distinct ledges where you can walk out and have the whole world (or at least a really large, Catskilly slice of the world) open up before you. Overview The eighteenth highest peak in the Adirondacks Panther is the second highest summit in … Enjoy the hike! Thankfully, our family was on their way there as well. 9. For the best maps of the area, you can’t beat the official New York-New Jersey Trail Conference maps for the Catskills: https://www.nynjtc.org/maps/catskill-trails-map. 28 for another 30 miles. We thought so, but you helped us be sure! Please be careful if you try anything like that — I’d hate for anything worse to happen from here. Hike the Hudson, Thanks so much, Cara and Steven! It was like Woodstock up there. I must say the write up oddly encouraged me to take up this hike Use caution when crossing the road to the trailhead as the speed limit on the road is 55 mph. TRAILHEAD. You can follow the yellow trail to the Panther Mountain / Giant Ledge Trail Head. Panther Mountain is located in the Saranac Lakes region of the Adirondack Park in NY. If you got close to the “Ledge three” pin, then maybe you could call your phone, or use Find My iPhone or something similar, to make it ring, assuming it’s still functional (and you have cell service, and the phone is somewhere that can be reached from the ground), which seems like a dicey proposition, since I’ve shattered a phone by dropping it from pants-pocket height. Oh no! Park at the trailhead on the Frost Valley Road just after Winisook Lake on the hairpin turn. When we heard that we are going to reach 3,700 feet in elevation we figured it would be a steep hill. Sorta nearby address for your GPS:  The Slide Mountain Forest House is 3.7 miles northwest of the trailhead, on the same road. Next stop: junction with the blue-blazed Giant Ledge-Panther Mountain-Fox Hollow Trail. I’m looking for a good hike with my labbie in the Catskills, but from my experience many of the peaks have rock scrambles that present a challenge for dogs. The parking lot has space for maybe 4-5 cars. Awww… Thanks for the guide! When we started walking back we met another traveler who also took this path, and was convinced it’s the right trail. I’d rate it higher than a 5 (especially if you have non hiker types with you), maybe if I had gone solo I’d feel different. For anyone who wants to know the truth. A short way down that trail, there’s a nice, spacious campsite. At the top of a steep section, the trail makes a sharp left, and then, right in front of you, you’ll see the trail junction with the blue-blazed Giant Ledge-Panther Mountain-Fox Hollow Trail. Panther Creek Falls: the hike. This requires a 1.95-mile road walk and a large descent. THE TRAILHEAD: From NY 8 at the south end of Piseco Lake, go north on West Shore Rd for 2.6 miles. Maybe it was climbing the saddle on the way back that did it. Panther Mountain Hike ~ Most rewarding hike! Background you can feel free to skip:  The hike to Giant Ledge is so popular, you can go to Google Maps and start typing “Giant Led…” and it will complete your thought with “Giant Ledge trailhead, Phoenicia, NY, United States.”  Most trailheads are tough to search for on Google Maps, if you can find them at all, but the Giant Ledge trailhead is easier to find online than your nearest IKEA. You’re going to be so glad you did this.). If you’re doing that, see you at the next step, crazy person! 16. That classic route is super fun but much shorter and it offers far less elevation gain. The trail starts on the LEFT side of the telephone pole on the very left side of the picture. The portion of the hike from The Giant Ledges up to Panther was definitely a tough climb and I felt like it had steeper areas than the way up to the ledges. If you are newer to hiking, I wouldn’t recommend heading up Panther Mountain alone – consider joining along with a guided hike! We go every year when we visit the area. My phone fell out of my bag on the third ledge and managed to bounce just right and tumble over the edge. Jim, I agree with Dave — the trail is quite steep and rocky, and will be extremely slippery in the rain. The trails around Saranac Lake really do not disappoint when it comes to the amount of work you have to put in to get a great view, and Panther was no exception! I was gonna do this hike with a couple friends. Photo Gallery of the beautiful views the Panther Mountain and the Giant Ledge trail have to offer, its worth the uphill climb and you get to hit elevation of 3750! The trail is located entirely on the public Forest Preserve, on the southern edge of the West The views on this hiking trail are some of the best in the Catskills. **WARNING** While most Hudson Valley parks and trails have reopened, there are still a few notable closures and parking restrictions to be aware of. Climb up and over these rocks and the trail begins to curve to the left. (Just kidding, Giant Ledge people. Tents were pitched all over the place. Would be great if we didn’t have to do too much routefinding/hiking in the dark. The hike starts from the Giant Ledge Trailhead located at the hairpin curve along County Route 47. After you’ve had time to enjoy the view, if you decide you’d like to head back now, by all means, do it. A combination of factors has led geologists to believe the mountain is on the site of an ancient meteorite impact crater. **UPDATE September 2018** Take a moment to pay special attention to this junction, locking it into your memory for your return trip to your car. If you want to "bag" a 3500' peak, continue on the trail past Giant Ledge to the summit of Panther Mountain, but the real payoff views are at Giant Ledge. After about .75 miles, you reach Giant Ledge. If you do climb Panther, though, you’ll be rewarded with some pretty awesome views – similar to Giant Ledge, but with a little more of that “I’m on top of the world” vibe. Panther Mountain is one of the Catskill High Peaks, located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York. I had a glass of wine on the hike and it was delicious. Beautiful views and fun to push through. During this section of the loop, you will have some choices. Dawn, your comment cracked me up (cracked me up eight months ago, too, when I should have replied). Hiking trip report, map, and photos for Panther Mountain and Pine Meadow Loop, located in Harriman State Park, New York. TRAILHEAD. At Big Indian, turn left onto County Road 47 (Oliverea Road – sometimes also marked as Fire House Road). The parking lot has space for maybe 4-5 cars. Have a good day. Apparently, it’s a common mistake for hikers to accidentally take the Blue Trail from here when they’re coming back down the mountain, rather than retracing their steps on the Yellow Trail back to their car at Giant Ledge Parking Area. Before heading out for your next adventure, please check my Hudson Valley trail closures and parking restrictions due to COVID-19 page to make sure that your intended destination is open. From local bike rides to driving over an, Sunset Pictures at the Roosa Gap State Forest Facebook Comments, If you are in need of a nice bike trail, this one is a great option. We found it very useful when hiking Giant Ledge this week. Panther Mountain is one of the Catskill High Peaks, located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York.