Chapter 18, Rondout Valley Thousand Trails & Catskill Mountains, New York
- traci wilson
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
We pulled into Rondout Valley Thousand Trails campground mid afternoon under high overcast skies. We had an assigned back-in site with full hookups. The site wasn’t too difficult to get into with a little maneuvering, and we were set up fairly quickly. We certainly are getting this down to a fine science, but we’ve had lots of practice!
The first day we walked the campground to check it out, then had dinner outside on our picnic table which we haven’t done in a while. It’s a beautiful campground with many large trees for shade when the sun shines, and hanging baskets filled with colorful flowers attached to utility poles throughout. There is a pond with benches facing it and a pretty creek that runs through the park. The creak borders the back of our site which we haven’t had since Hot Springs Arkansas where the tornado warnings had us running for shelter not once, but twice, and the large tree crashed into the creek. It’s a very different experience here, with mild temps, clouds, and a little rain. After dinner, we sat out with a fire and watched the water dance by in the little creak. So pleasant!
Upstate New York is absolutely beautiful, green and lush, as is much of the country we’ve traveled so far. We went on a hike in the Catskill Mountains on day two. We chose a rails to trails hike because it promised a wide graveled path. We are still paranoid about ticks, and we read that New York State is number one in the nation for the nasty buggers. We never want a repeat of the nightmare we experienced in Virginia after hiking in Shenandoah NP! The scenery leading up to the hike was enchanting—old houses with their stone foundations and stone walls, rolling green grassy areas, streams, an abundance of evergreen and deciduous trees, and wildflowers lining the narrow winding country roads.
It’s a different kind of beauty than Oregon. The architecture is much older, and many of the styles we’re seeing are reminiscent of old English cottages. It’s funny, before this trip when I’d think of New York, I always pictured a huge urban landscape with towering buildings, people rushing everywhere, the blare of horns on crowded city streets, and smog choking out the blue sky, but it’s not so for much of the state. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to go on this amazing trip and see all of these places. We’ve learned so much about this vast and varied country we call home, and I know we will never be the same after it’s over.
The hike itself was on the Ashokan Rail Trail that borders the Ashokan Reservoir for two or three miles then goes off into the forest. As promised, the trail was wide and graveled, with even wider spots ever so often that had benches looking out over the water. We went over a couple of high bridges that crossed Butternut Creek as it wove lazily through the trees and outcroppings of rocks. Another much smaller lake (Kenozia Lake) bordered the trail opposite the reservoir. We heard (but couldn’t see) some very large fish splashing around in it as we passed by. We also saw deer, a snake, a baby toad, and more chipmunks than I could keep track of. We had nice views of the Catskill Mountains across the reservoir which were reflected in the still, mirror-like water at the beginning of the hike. The water wasn’t as calm on the way back with the wind picking up, but still very pretty. We stopped at one of the benches overlooking the lake and had our lunch, which would have been more pleasant if it hadn’t been for all the bothersome flies. We walked just over eight miles on this out and back hike and tired but content, we headed back to the trailer.
The next day we spent hanging out at camp after a wet morning run. It had rained just enough to make everything muddy, and the dogs were filthy, especially Maggie, who no longer looked white at the end of four miles! Our last full day we went on another hike on the Kerhonkson trail, another rails to trails location. This was at a much lower elevation, so the vegetation was different than the first location. Here we encountered mostly deciduous forests and an abundance of wildflowers. It was green and lush with a pretty creek that followed along the trail. It was so pretty with all the large leafy trees that offered welcomed shade from the warmth of the bright sun that shone down on us that day, so much warmer than the previous days here.
It was beautiful seeing the sunshine light everything up, and when we got back to the trailer we spent some more time sitting by the little creek. The forecast was fixing to change, with rain expected that night, so we wanted to get as much time as possible outside. We got new neighbors right after we returned from our hike who had two large Pitbull mix dogs that kept barking at everyone who passed. The people had them on long lines tied to their picnic table which reached to our trailer. Dave was outside messing with our water hose and one of the dogs bit him! Luckily, it wasn’t hard enough to break the skin, but it was unnerving just the same.
It poured all night and by the next morning, the rain showed no signs of letting up. I had to weave around the small lakes that had formed in our campsite overnight while I took the dogs out for their morning potty. It was moving day, so we got hooked up (before the water rose anymore) and headed out to our next location, Watkins Glen, New York. All in all, we really enjoyed this location and if we ever decide to take a big-ass trip like this again, we would definitely enjoy coming back and spending more time here.
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