For more than two decades, the Catskill Mountain Club has led free, member-organized hikes, paddles and bike rides through the peaks and valleys of the Catskills. This September, the volunteer group is offering outings that range from light stewardship work to daylong mountain traverses.
On Saturday, September 6, the club will host a morning trail stewardship event at Meads Mountain in Woodstock, followed by an afternoon roundtable with writer Nina Shengold, whose book Reservoir Year chronicled a season of walking the Ashokan Reservoir.
The following day, September 7, hikers will set out for a challenging ascent of Arizona and Blackhead mountains, an all-day trip across two of the range’s 3,500-foot summits.
Later in the month, on September 13, the schedule turns to one of the Catskills’ most rigorous routes: a traverse of Panther, Slide, Cornell and Wittenberg, a roughly 12-hour effort across the Burroughs Range. A shorter excursion follows on September 14, when leaders will guide participants to Huckleberry Point, a popular four-mile hike with sweeping views of the Hudson Valley.
The club, founded in 2004, also advocates for non-motorized outdoor recreation across the region, while maintaining a calendar of free events led by members. More information and directions are available at catskillmountainclub.org/events-all
