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 Reporter |
Summary: This hike has to be my favorite one. You traverse 3 peaks all above 3500ft. The views are the best around, you have to climb over ledges and the elevation gain over the entire rout is incredible. Once you get above 3000ft the air is thinner and you get into the Balsam/Spruce forest that are found farther North. The trail starts at Woodland Valley. The first 4 miles you gain about 200ft. Once you get on top of Wittenburg 3790ft you get views of the Ashokan Reservoir and High Point. From Wittenburg to Cornell is short compared to what you just did. From Cornell 3870ft you get views of Slide MT and the climb you are in for. The col between Cornell and Slide is long but great due to the Balsam/Spruce forest. The Climb up slide is short but brutal. You have to climb ledges and ladders on the ledges. On Slide 4180ft you get limited views. the better views are just off of slide summit. The final decent to your end point is on an old fire RD. Trailhead: From North Jersey take rt. 23 North into town of Port Jervise. Go through Port Jervis and come to rt. 42. Take rt. 42 through towns of Monticello and Woodbourn. Continue following 42 until you come to town of grahamsville. Make a left onto rt. 55. Take rt. 55 until you come to rt. 19 Claryville. Make right onto 19. Once in hamlet of Claryville make a left onto small bridge. This will be rt. 157. Take this rd past Frost Valley. It will then turn into rt. 47 once in Sullivan county. You will then pass Slide MT parking lot. Drop a car here. This is your end point. Continue onto rt. 47. Come to stop. Make right onto rt. 28. Just before you come to town of Phoenicia you will make a right onto Woodland Valley RD. Just follow signs for Woodland Valley Campground. Take rd to campground. Parking lot is on right. There is a seasonal fee to park at this one. (Lat:42.03619 Lon:-74.35521) Trail Guides for Burroughs Range Catskills NY: Catskill Mountain Guide by Pete w kick (Appalachian Mountain Club) Catskill trails map by NY-NJ trail conference (NY-NJ trail conference) Best Seasons: Fall, Spring, Summer, User Groups: Hikers, Ranger Contact: DEC Region 3 845-256-3082 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Shawn Viggiano, who has posted 44 other hikes on this site Trail Reviews Page 1 of 2 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by Kailly on 8/30/2010 Did this hike last weekend and loved it. We camped at woodland valley Fri night and drove to the slide mt. parking lot Sat morning. We hiked it backwards, from Slide to Wittenburg, but despite what some reviews said, it was not unbearably hard. It was a very exciting hike with varying terrains that included lots of rock climbing/rock descending. We love it! It took us about 7.5 hrs to do, but we stopped at every look out and I insisted of taking pictures of everything we passed! It definitely could be done in about 6. We camped again Saturday night and rode our bikes back to the parking lot to get the car Sunday morning. It was about a 24 mi. ride but beware! The last 20 mi. are uphill with the last 5 mi. being killer!
Reviewed by Bob on 7/26/2010 Hiked the Burroughs Range on July 24th, after a heavy rain the previouos night. Hiked with the intention of going to Slide and back from Woodland. The hike to the first mountain, Whittenberg is pretty tough in itself. My group never made it to Slide, turning back from Whittenberg. A very long tough hike with some pretty good elevation gain. Round trip from Woodland to Whittenberg and back to Woodland took us a little over 6 hours. Great view from the top of Whittenberg of the Ashokan. Hike was pretty much in the shade for most of the hike. Distance to the summit is very deceiving when looking at a map. Hike is a leg burner. 
Reviewed by Ryan on 11/9/2009 My Father and I did this hike with full packs on Saturday Nov.7th. We did the whole loop from woodland campground. The first half on the loop we climbed thru areas of ice and snow(1/2) inch, the remainder of the loop lots of wet mud patches. The hike is stenuous with a 40lb pack but well worth it. We ran into about 40 people mostly coming up the opposite way from Slide Mountain parking lot. We overnighted on the lookout on the way to panter mountain. The weather both day was perfect. By the 90% of leaves are off the trees. 
Reviewed by Valerie on 8/18/2009 We did this loop on Friday, thinking it would take about 6,30 hours to do the loop like the website says. So we started off at 11 am. We're not experiences hikers, but we're young and in good condition, so I figured it would work out well. But it took us 10 full hours to do the entire trail!! Being in the dark the last couple of hours, finding it very hard to stay on the trail. We had no clue it was going to be so hard and were surprised it wasn't mentioned anywhere. There's no cell reception during the entire walk and we only saw very few people on the way. Knowing there are bears around (having seen two) we just weren't at ease. Please beware if you're gonna do this loop and be fully geared and prepared!
Reviewed by Ananth on 1/15/2008 Hiked this hill October 2007... Excellent environment for Solo Hikers....A tough one though...Better to start early in the day...should start ascend before 7 to enjoy a peaceful half day at the top.... The Slide Mountain zone is tough and heart-breaking but the results worth more than the effort...Good luck to the fellow hikers....
Reviewed by wm on 7/31/2006 As a fan of loops (I hate back-trekking), I am a big fan of the taking the trail up from Woodland Valley to Wittenburg and eventually over to slide, then taking the easy road back past the Giants Ledge trailhead, which takes you back to Woodland valley. A strenuous, but rewarding, 15-mile or 8-hour trip. To avoid the crowds, I suggest a pretty early start up to Wittenburg. I made up by 9 a.m. with only one couple to keep me company on the summit. An earlier start would all but assure your own hike. Following Wittenburg, you are in solitude until the summit of Slide, since most day hikers venture this route.
Reviewed by Pete on 5/7/2006 I've climbed slide several times from the Western Face. Next winter I'm planning a 3-day expedition up the Eastern Face along Cornell-Wittenberg. Best done in winter for the snow-covered trees along what I call the "snow chapel." Great views off the north side near the summit, though view at the top is somewhat limited. My one complaint is that its a very popular place with hikers, so solitude is sometimes in short supply.
Reviewed by Alex on 3/30/2006 Hiked on Saturday in August 2005 from Woodland Valley camp site. Great trail. Wittenberg summit has best views and was crowded by a couple of dozen people. Many turn back to Woodland valley from there. Rest of the trail allows for solitude most of the hike. Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: New York Hiking, New York Trails, New York Hikes, Sullivan County Hiking, Sullivan County Trails, Sullivan County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
