This year we did Overlook Mt. Panther Mountain is located in the Saranac Lakes region of the Adirondack Park in NY. If I was bringing friends on this hike who weren’t super-crazy hiking goons, I wouldn’t even consider dragging them up Panther, too. If you REALLY want closure and to feel like you’ve done everything you could do, that’s probably how I would tackle it. If you look at the Google Terrain Map in the “Resources” section above, you can see the trail that leaves from the pin marked “Blue Jct,” which heads straight down to Woodland Valley Campground. Careful at the edge. Thank you. We go every year when we visit the area. It’s hard to miss on the way back do hopefully fewer people will get lost! While searching for hikes & trails in Catskill, landed on this page and it made sure I hike Panther Mountain (Yeah I know – Crazy person I am) It’s a short hike between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. Here’s one great way: Visit the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference homepage and click on Volunteer, Donate, or Shop! I attempted this hike this past weekend. There were some steeper parts that required a short “breather” on the way up but nothing too crazy. During this section of the loop, you will have some choices. The initial trip up to Giant Ledge is more steep and rocky. For the rest of the day, ask everyone you meet, “What size ledge did you climb today?”  Then tell them how big yours was. Pingback: The 67 Most-Instagrammed Locations in the Catskills - Kingston Creative. Use caution when crossing the road to the trailhead as the speed limit on the road is 55 mph. There is plenty of climbing up rocks and the incline is steep overall causing us to lose our breath just a little bit. I was gonna do this hike with a couple friends. Overview The eighteenth highest peak in the Adirondacks Panther is the second highest summit in … This classic route to Giant Ledge is a short moderate hike with a huge pay-off: a series of ledge views which are spectacular in all seasons. This page gives some good tips, and links to some camping maps for the area: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/41282.html. Just keep heading down the trail and there’ll be another ledge in a few minutes. Soon after this rock formation, you will reach a junction with the blue trail. Did I mention this section is not easy? Get comfortable – you’ll stay on Rt. One step too far, and this really will be your final destination. Thanks for the tip! Also my 8 year old daughter who played along, but was more than happy to bail out with Mom and her brother. The Panther Mountain trail is a great little hike that is pretty wide in most places. Thanks for your input and follow-up, Jay! Not a High Peak and not even a very high elevation, this small mountain makes for a nice little break and has some nice views. I’ll be heading out to Giant Ledge tomorrow with a friend. Awesome, this place is. The views should be gorgeous at sunset (or any other time, really), but since the ledges face east, you won’t have a direct look at the setting sun. Pull off onto the shoulder and get ready to begin your adventure! Thinking of going out next Saturday, maybe staying at Woodland Valley Campground. The view from each ledge is awesome, but they’re pretty similar. After the hike, we drove to Ellenville and enjoyed some good food at Gaby’s Cafe. Your email address will not be published. I definitely agree that heading all the way up to Panther is worth it, but it also 100% makes this hike a 9 out of 10 difficulty. That classic route is super fun but much shorter and it offers far less elevation gain. Difficulty: Mostly easy from trailhead to the Giant Ledge, but will transition to moderate as you head up … If you want to "bag" a 3500' peak, continue on the trail past Giant Ledge to the summit of Panther Mountain, but the real payoff views are at Giant Ledge. If you want to "bag" a 3500' peak, continue on the trail past Giant Ledge to the summit of Panther Mountain, but the real payoff views are at Giant Ledge. Oh no! Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain: great hike - See 14 traveller reviews, 22 candid photos, and great deals for Big Indian, NY, at Tripadvisor. Let ye know how it goes. Beatles songs were playing on someone’s boombox. I wasn’t very close to the edge at the point, so just a reminder to everyone to make sure your belongings are secure even if you aren’t close! I’ve updated the trail guide above at Step #6 with a link down to your comment, and an extra warning to help others avoid the same fate. Just did this hike today and I’m really confused as to what mountain Jay hiked below. Would be great if we didn’t have to do too much routefinding/hiking in the dark. From local bike rides to driving over an, Sunset Pictures at the Roosa Gap State Forest Facebook Comments, If you are in need of a nice bike trail, this one is a great option. The trail is primarily used for hiking, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from April until November. Panther Mountain was a great little hike! and this here great big ledge sucker. 4. This was our first trip to the Catskills and it did not disappoint! You can follow the yellow trail to the Panther Mountain / Giant Ledge Trail Head. https://www.hbtrails.com/hiking-panther-mountain-trail-with-family YouTube video from our hike at Panther Mountain, I think at this point we have done the O & W Rails to Trails from Stone Ridge NY to Kingston NY at least a, I love the Neversink Gorge Trails. I’m certain your write up is incorrect concerning which sections are difficult. ), Hey Mike. We once drove over an hour each way just to eat there again! The idea of an “out of 10” difficulty rating scale is a wee subjective no matter how you slice it (even though I used science!). From there we had to walk another mile on the main road to our car. Panther Creek Falls: the hike. You can continue on the trail for about 2.85 miles to the Slide Mountain parking area on the Frost Valley Road. I was able to find the road you said it was on, but I can’t find the hairpin turn you make a reference to. Its proximity to Slide Mountain, the highest Catskill peak, the relatively short distance required to climb the … You know you’re at a classy hike when there’s a porto-potty in the parking lot. How was it? But your review makes it appear that Panther has steeper, rockier traverses than does Giant Ledge, not true. Meaning once you get to Giant Ledge, Panther is a 5/10 FROM Giant Ledge. Though the yellow section is less than a mile, it’s pretty dang rocky and has several steep sections. A panoramic view of the central and northern Catskills opens up all along the trail that parallels the ledge. Our go to every time we are staying overnight in the area. Does anyone know if there is an opportunity to locate items which have fallen over the edge? We spotted their car as they were zooming by us to the parking spot and followed them. Managed to find some ice cream at panda parlor on oUr way back home. The hills were not too steep and the difficulty was moderate. Turn left here to follow those blue blazes all the way to Giant Ledge. It’s not a long distance to Giant Ledge but there are steep sections which make it more on the difficult side of moderate. Although Panther also offers panoramic views from its summit, they are quite similar to those from Giant Ledge. The saddle between the Ledges and Panther was fairly deep and you definitely paid for it on the way back. Find the yellow-blazed Phoenicia-East Branch trail and hike .65 miles to the blue-blazed Giant Ledge – Panther Mountain Trail. Panther Mountain is one of the Catskill High Peaks, located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York. If you’re interested in taking a more strenuous hike and bagging one of the Catskill 3500’ summits in the process, you can continue along the trail straight up Panther Mountain, about two miles (and 1,000 vertical feet) one-way from the first ledge. I can’t seem to find it on a map. Besides taking in all the awesome views, maybe you’ll make some new friends up there. Thanks for being awesome! Ascent: 3,762 ft. THE TRAILHEAD: From NY 8 at the south end of Piseco Lake, go north on West Shore Rd for 2.6 miles. Thanks! The elevation gain from the trailhead to the top of Giant Ledge is about 1,000 feet, and if you continue to Panther, you will have climbed nearly 2,000 feet (including the climb back up Giant Ledge on the return trip). Thank you so much for this write up. Dogs are also able to use this trail. You were right. . planning on taking a hike next week possibly nov 23. how are the foliage this time of year? After following the easy and sometimes steep rock path you’ll find yourself on a ledge taking in this wonderfull scenery. Starting from the northern East Cowpen Trailhead at the end of Forest Road 51, it is 4.7 miles to Panther Creek Trail's eastern (high elevation) junction, which encompasses a change in elevation from 1,760 feet to 3,770 feet. I hate losing altitude just to have to gain it again, too, but until someone installs a zipline here, this is what we’ve got. Sign in at the register to make sure this trail gets credit for your visit. Hope that helps cut down on the number of unhappy hikers out there! **WARNING** While most Hudson Valley parks and trails have reopened, there are still a few notable closures and parking restrictions to be aware of. 4-Panther Mountain . Does anyone here know if there is an easy-to-find campsite at the beginning of this trail? Not crowded at all. The trail head is across the street from the parking area. We had to park below it in the grass. The GPS coordinates are N42 01.587 W74 24.213. If you see the Peekamoose Restaurant and Tap Room on the left, that’s bad news – you just missed the turn. On average it takes 10 minutes to complete this trail. As long as you’re 150 feet from the trail, stream, and road, you should be okay. It’ll be a 3.2-mile roundtrip if you just visit the first ledge and then return to your car. 16. 13. Nice work! It’s a short hike between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. 3/4 mile and takes an average hiker aboout 45 minutes to reach the summit that offers a beautiful view of Piseco Lake with hints of several smaller surrounding lakes. If you go all the way to the fifth ledge, it’ll be a 4.0-mile roundtrip. If the Parther part is even difficult than that two, we will definitely reconsider about hiking it this time. Good luck! We plan to have a day hike there this weekend. Not bad, right? Good thing you paid the extra twenty bucks for the Gore-tex shoes, right? And yeah, I’m with you on the Panther view. At .6 miles long, this hike is easily done round trip in under an hour. More great content is on the way. A combination of factors has led geologists to believe the mountain is on … Perfect end to great hike. However big a hike you decide to tackle at Giant Ledge, just be sure that you do come check it out. Panther Mountain has some steep sections as well, but it’s not as bad as the trip to Giant Ledge. If the Giant Ledge parking area is full, parking at the Slide Mountain trailhead and using the connector trail could be an option. Now let’s go home. I was glad I went up to Panther, even though the view there plays second fiddle to the ledges, just a bit too many trees for that classic wide open view. At approximately 3,720 feet in elevation, it is the 18th highest in the range. The trail is located entirely on the public Forest Preserve, on the southern edge of the West Even though we live in the woods and are hike a lot around Wurtsboro, the Catskills are in another league of their own. Enjoy! How was it for him/her? Pingback: Bovina and Andes, NY (21/52) – 52WeekendsNY, Pingback: Bovina and Andes, NY (22/52) | 52weekendsNY. Details. When we arrived at the cross point where the blue trail meets the yellow trail, we took the wrong path down. October, 2015. There’s a bigger campsite a few minutes down the trail, too. Going to reach 3,700 feet in elevation very slightly different from the parking area on road... More rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors panther mountain trailhead was a unpleasant. 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