Hiking Ashokan High Point

Hiking Ashoken High Point Trail | Ashoken Rail Trail | Catskill Mountain Park, New York | May 2025

It rained off and on through the night, and we woke up today to a wet and chilly morning in the Catskills. Rainy days are tricky in the van, because we can accept that we’ll end up wet if we go outside, but when we’re ready to come back into the van, it’s difficult if not impossible to not bring the wet, gross feeling back inside with us. But going outside is essential to giving Charlotte enrichment, so we do our best to prepare ourselves accordingly with umbrellas and rain jackets for outside, towels prepped inside, and a cover for the bed to protect our sheets while still letting Charlie enjoy her favorite spot post walk. We run our vent fan constantly to combat the moisture. And of course, we try to take advantage of any breaks in the rain.

While planning out our day, we decided that we wanted to drive out towards the Western end of the Catskills to find another boondocking area that was listed online with one possible hiking trail nearby. But when we arrived we found it to only be a minor pull off from the highway, very exposed, and right next to some private properties. So we decided to drive back across to near where we started the day. Oh well, at least all this driving helped to charge the van battery, which hadn’t been getting much charge from the solar panels. By the time we made it close to the turn off for the hike I wanted to attempt today, we had been driving for close to an hour, so we opted to go for a walk together along the Ashokan rail-trail along the banks of the Ashokan reservoir.

It was a quiet and enjoyable walk…until it decided to start raining in earnest. The clouds descended and released. Naturally Charlotte was in no hurry to get back to the car, but at least the tree canopy over the trail saved us from being completely soaked. We enjoyed the views that came between the trees of the reservoir and the cloud-covered mountain peaks. There were a few signs here that shared the history of this rail trail – back in the day, it used to connect the Hudson River and NYC to Oswego.

We finally returned to the van and did our best to dry off before heading to the next trailhead, which was for Ashoken High Point, another peak for my prominence tally. Jess set up the bed for Charlie so they could stay warm and cozy inside the van, then we had some snacks and I prepared for my hike. It was still raining off and on, but I was already damp from before – in for a penny, in for a pound. And that wouldn’t change anytime soon. This hike had it all: torrential downpours, tree drip, cloud drip, light drizzle, and my personal favorite – trails flooded with flowing water because of the excess rain and beaver dams.

The one thing the hike didn’t have was views. On any other day, I believe there are some great views overlooking the reservoir and out towards the Hudson Valley, but today the peak was solidly locked in the clouds. Because of this, I opted to just take the most direct trail up and down and avoid the ‘scenic’ loop with more exposure and views.

By the time I reached the beaver dams on the way down, the worst of the rain was over and I even started to dry out a bit by the time I reached the van. While I was gone, Jess had done some more research and learned that trailhead boondocking was in fact not legal. Fortunately for us, we were twenty minutes away from our original campsite in Allaben State Forest where we could wait out the remainder of today’s rain and plan out the rest of our week.