Kaaterskill High Peak
Kaaterskill High Peak rises to 1,113 m in New York. Hunter Mountain stands 1,228 m to the west, 7.8 miles off. The nearest named place is Hurricane Ledge, a cliff 0.1 miles away. Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway passes 22 miles off.
The story
Kaaterskill High Peak (officially just High Peak) is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, United States. It was once believed to be the highest peak in the entire range, but its summit, at 3,655 feet (1,114 m) in elevation, places it only 23rd among the Catskill High Peaks. It is, however, the fourth most prominent peak in the range. Due to its situation as the easternmost High Peak, its summit is just outside the watersheds of New York City's reservoirs in the region. Along with Round Top to the west, its distinctive ridgeline is a visual signature of the Catskills. Even today, it dominates the view of the range from the Hudson Valley. In the early 19th century, it was a frequent subject of works by Thomas Cole and other artists of the Hudson River School. Their works helped establish the Catskill Mountain House and other hotels around North-South Lake as the fashionable summer vacation spot for wealthy Americans of the era. Despite that popularity, the mountain was admired from afar more often than it was climbed. Although it boasts the earliest recorded ascent of any Catskill peak, today it seems somewhat neglected, lacking an official trail to its summit. However, a well-used path does exist, and perhaps because of the light use the mountain gets it is very popular with the area's serious hikers, due to the views available from Hurricane Ledge south of the summit, and several other points of interest in the vicinity of the mountain.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q6343625, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1113.13 m
How to reach it
- 21.7 mi off the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- White Dot · 23 mi
- High Falls · 23 mi
- Sentinel Rock · 28 mi
- Pinnacle Rock · 28 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Roundtop Mountain: 0.8 mi
- South Mountain: 2.4 mi
- Clum Hill: 3.0 mi
- Twin Mountain: 3.6 mi
- Indian Head Mountain: 3.6 mi
- Platte Clove Preserve: 2.1 mi
- Roundtop Mountain Unit: 2.1 mi
- Twilight Park Unit: 2.3 mi
- Overlook Turnpike Primitive Bicycle Corridor: 3.3 mi
- Platte Clove Road Unit: 3.3 mi
- Rip Van Winkle Lake Park: 3.4 mi
- Mountain Top Arboretum: 4.8 mi
- Cantine Fields: 8.1 mi
- Andy Lee Field: 8.3 mi
- Cantine Complex: 8.4 mi
- Buttermilk Falls: 1.0 mi
- Wildcat Falls: 1.1 mi
- Viola Falls: 1.2 mi
- Elizabeth Falls: 1.2 mi
- Santa Cruz Falls: 1.4 mi
- Tory Fort: 0.6 mi
- Layman's Monument: 1.9 mi
- Boarding House: 2.1 mi
- cistern: 2.5 mi
- stone house: 2.5 mi
- Mountain Top Historical Society: 2.3 mi
- Piano Performance Museum: 7.9 mi
- Woodstock Artists Association & Museum: 8.6 mi
- Kiersted House: 8.8 mi
- Thomas Cole National Historic Site: 12.0 mi
- Saugerties Beach: 9.1 mi
- West Landing: 11.3 mi
- South Landing: 11.3 mi
- Ulster Landing Beach: 12.9 mi
- Oakdale Beach: 16.6 mi
- The Great Knot: 6.8 mi
- Opus 40: 8.0 mi
- The Query Family: 8.0 mi
- Flame: 8.1 mi
- Tomorrow: 8.1 mi
- Hurricane Ledge: 0.1 mi
- Devils Kitchen: 2.1 mi
- Hawks Rocks: 2.7 mi
- The "Great" Cliffs: 3.0 mi
- Ministers Face: 5.5 mi
- The Upper Garden: 9.8 mi
- The Walled Garden: 9.8 mi
- Blithewood Garden: 12.8 mi
- The Anna Jones Meditation Garden: 13.1 mi
- Rough Garden: 13.2 mi
- The Old Game Farm: 6.4 mi
- Rail Explorers: 13.0 mi
- World's Largest Kaleidoscope: 13.2 mi
- Hudson River Cruises: 17.6 mi
- Pratt Rock: 20.3 mi
- Devil's Acre spring: 7.7 mi
- Elm Ridge piped spring: 10.9 mi
- Bear Wallow: 19.5 mi
- Bear Wallow: 19.6 mi
- Keyhole Spring: 20.4 mi
- Notch Lake Picnic Area: 6.3 mi
- Hunter Mountain North Picnic Area: 8.9 mi
- Saugerties Lighthouse: 9.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 11.8 miles of Kaaterskill High Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Mountain | W 278° | 1,228.34 m | 7.8 mi |
| Black Dome | NNW 344° | 1,217.37 m | 7.8 mi |
| Thomas Cole Mountain | NNW 339° | 1,204.87 m | 8.0 mi |
| Blackhead | N 350° | 1,200.91 m | 7.4 mi |
| West Kill Mountain | W 272° | 1,186 m | 10.7 mi |
| Plateau Mountain | WSW 251° | 1,168.91 m | 5.1 mi |
| Sugarloaf Mountain | WSW 239° | 1,160 m | 4.2 mi |
| Southwest Hunter Mountain | W 270° | 1,140 m | 8.4 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:01 | 18:32 | 19:09 |
| June solstice | 05:21 | 19:54 | 20:37 |
| September equinox | 06:44 | 18:19 | 18:55 |
| December solstice | 07:22 | 15:43 | 16:28 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 22 | 24 | 31 | 43 | 54 | 63 | 68 | 66 | 60 | 48 | 38 | 28 |
| Precip in | 4.9 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 4.9 | 7.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Platte Clove, 2 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 952749 — High Peak, Greene County, New York.
OpenStreetMap element node/357564405
Day trips start here
- Kinderhook · 27 mi
Take the scenic way to Kaaterskill High Peak.
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