NY - Catskills where to go

[Gunx]

Hello,

My first Jeep won't be in my hands for another three weeks. Killing time isn't any fun.
Can someone point me to any online resources for places to go in the Catskills?

Thanks

[Jim v]

I agree with, I am dieing to do some local off Roading also, but it needs to be legal.

Any ideas.

[KingOfThePines]

Nice trails around yankee lake near wurtsboro. Not exactly legal but I've never seen anyone out there.

[smithbuiltYJ]

Hey,
did any of you guys find anywhere in the Hudson Valley/Catskill region to wheel in? I know the Hudson Valley 4 wheelers club goes up mount Beacon on a regular basis.

Marshall

[Gunx]

I've found one place with some small rock crawling. It's an old fireroad up the back side of the gunks (Ellenville side). Definately too narrow for my big bronco, bridges across crevices are made from stacked boulders, kind of fun, very peaceful.

The Jeep is here and broken in. I contacted the local Jeep club and they disuaded me from attending their meetings with a stock Jeep. Well, they wanted me to be sure that I knew I would definately break a stock Jeep if I went with them. Mixed feelings about that.

The post above that mentions Wurtsburo.... still checking, heard about some "lead mines" out there but haven't been to it yet. Supposed to be an interesting climb to get into the mines.

I have a few farmer friends that let me play rock crawling on their land near Gardiner. Nothing extreme but fun anyway.

That's all I've found so far....

[smithbuiltYJ]

Hey Gunk,

Glad your breakin' in the Jeep. I'm only 'bout 30 minutes fro Gardiner, let me know when your truckin around the farms, and if its ok for me to tag along for some light duty wheelin'. Send me an e-mail, mesmith60@msn.com, or reach me on AIM at mesmith41. I did find a snowmobile trail on state forest lands, (hey, the gate was open. I also see a lot of tracks headin' up into the power lines in my area, but not sure how safe it is to go there.

Check out this site, not real active but I'm waitin for a reply.
http://bwtb.cjb.net/

We should check with Jim v, also. I'm not quite stock anymore, but I'm not sure I want to go anywhere a stock Jeep will "definitely" get broken either.

Marshall

[Obiwon84]

checkin out posts here.

ms784 @ myself live down in Rockland and we go wheeling on a regular basis. Sometimes on the spur of the moment for like 15minutes or so. We have decent amount of local trails around here that we try to maintain to our best ability (trimming and cleaning garbage up) check out our site in my sig. I know smithbuilt as been there.

[Obiwon84]

BTT

[Steelhead]

Do a search there is a 4x4 club in Albany, but I just can't recall the name of the club they should be able to help you out.

[Andrew98TJ]

To fellow Hudson Valley off-roaders -

I live in East Fishkill, east of Beacon and Fishkill. The best off-roading I've done in this area is in the Beacon range. There are many entrances, most of them in the town of Beacon, and several miles of dirt roads and trails. The reservoir dammed up between mountains is officially off-limits (although I've seen people out on the ice on their snowmobiles every time I've gone), but the rest of the trails are owned by scenic hudson and open to the public.
On North Mt. Beacon are the ruins of an old restaurant/casino as well as the remaains of the old railroad that used to bring people up to the restaurant. The views of Beacon, the River, the bridge, and across to Newburgh are great.
On South Mt. Beacon is a seven story fire tower with awesome views up and down river. A jeep with bigger tires and a lift can drive right to the base of the tower. With my stock TJ, I can make it about 3/4 of the way to the tower and have to walk the rest.
The only downside to the area is that since it is one of the only good off-roading places nearby, there is a lot of traffic : jeeps, quads, dirtbikes, snowmobiles, dune buggies, and day hikers. If you want some solitude, once you near the reservoir there are numerous hiking trails leading off to the surrounding mts. The off-roaders never seem to venture onto them. This leaves some great views, as well as a bald eagle nesting site, to the true solace seeker.
Anyone with interest in exploring here, feel free to drop me a note at gracias420@aol.com. I am also curious to find some new places around the gunks and the catskills so reccommendations would be appreciated (both for jeeping and hiking). Take care

Andrew

[mygoodness2]

Are you still around Andrew? I sent you a email but it bounced back.
I would be intrested in checking out the trails around beacon. Any info would be great.

Thanks