New York – The Empire State
New York

New York – The Empire State
If you are looking for a nice day trip for sightseeing, hiking, and exploring new things in the Catskills, NY area, then Minnewaska State Park is definitely the one. The Minnewaska state park is one of the most unique, popular, and beautiful state parks in New York. The park is located in Shawangunk Mountain ridge in Ulster County of New York state. It is approximately a 1 and ½ hour drive from New York City and just off of Route 44-55.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve has two sections, the main area and Sam’s Point area. It takes 30 mins to drive from one section to the other. The main area features the stunning Awosting Falls and the pristine Minnewaska Lake. The Sam’s Point area, which is the southernmost point of the park, is located on the highest part of the Shawangunk Mountains. Unlike the main area, a reservation is required to visit Sam’s Point area. This recreation area features pristine mountain lakes carved by glaciers during the last ice age and offers a wide range of activities from hiking to stunning waterfalls, biking on the carriageway trails, rock climbing up epic cliffs, swimming, scuba-diving and boating in the sparkling lakes, horseback riding, and of course: picnicking with stunning views.
Lake Minnewaska is located in the main area of Minnewaska State Park Preserve. This natural glacier carved lake is one of the five lakes on the Shawangunk Ridge. The lake is half a mile long with a two mile easy loop trail encircling it. The Lake Minnewaska Loop trail is a gravel path and offers many scenic vistas with spectacular views of the pristine lake, the forested area, hanging cliffs, streams, and beautiful wildflowers. The Lake Minnewaska Trail is also used to access the other trails and is one of the park’s carriage roads too.
These photos are from a day trip to Minnewaska State Park on June 11th, 2022.
Quick Facts and Tips
If you are looking for a nice day trip for sightseeing, hiking and exploring new things in the Catskills, NY area, then Minnewaska State Park is definitely the one. Minnewaska state park is one of the most unique and beautiful state parks in New York and is located in Ulster County of New York state. It is approximately a 1 and ½ hour drive from New York City and just off of Route 44-55.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve has two sections, the main area and Sam’s Point area. It takes 30 mins to drive from one section to the other. The main area features the stunning Awosting Falls and pristine Minnewaska Lake. The Sam’s Point area, which is the most southern point of the park, is located on the highest part of the Shawangunk Mountains. Unlike the main area, a reservation is required to visit Sam’s Point.
Awosting Falls is the most popular sightseeing destination on the main section of the Minnewaska State Park. The Awosting falls look gorgeous in every season and is most busiest from spring to fall. The spring offers an immense flow of water whereas the fall offers a colorful backdrop. Awosting Falls is 60 feet tall and tumbles off an impressive rock wall into a large pool at its base. Awosting falls is one of the must visit waterfalls in the Catskill Mountains region.
These photos are from a day trip to Minnewaska State Park on June 11th, 2022.
Quick Facts and Tips