Minnewaska State Park Preserve

Absolutely stunning!
Minnewaska Lake is one of the most beautiful spots I’ve visited near New York. The water is crystal clear, the cliffs are incredible, and the entire area feels peaceful and untouched. The hiking trails are well-marked, clean, and offer amazing views in every direction.

If you’re looking for a perfect getaway with nature, silence, and breathtaking scenery, this place is unbeatable. I’d definitely come back again. 🌿

Visited: Friday, October 24, 2025

I hiked the Castle Point Loop starting from the Upper Parking Lot. The parking lot was spacious and not crowded — definitely past the peak season — and parking was $10. The weather was a bit chilly, but the fall colors were still beautiful.

At first, I took the UA trail toward Castle Point, but it was mostly gravel and not very exciting. Later I switched to the BR trail, which was better, though I hardly saw anyone the entire time — maybe fewer than five people total.

The hike itself felt a bit monotonous; even on the way down, it was just gravel again, so I ended up jogging down. I remembered Gertrude’s Nose being much more interesting and scenic in comparison.

I stopped by the Falls at the end, but honestly, it wasn’t something I’d go out of my way to see again. Overall, it’s a decent hike for solitude and views, but not one I’d rush to repeat — especially considering it takes around 5 hours round trip.

Hands-on most beautiful state park in New York has preserved the legacy of park’s founders Smiley brothers by maintaining the carriage roads and trails in excellent state.
My favorite loop is to follow Castle road to Lake Awosting and return back via Hamilton road back to Minnewasca lake. Very scenic views that don’t require serious hiking effort, just slight inclines and declines.
Natural beauty of Shawangunk Mountains here is supplemented by road building prowess of preserve’s founders and is the reason that we still have the park available now to thousands of daily visitors at a modest fee. Many grand historic hotels of Catskills don’t exist anymore including burnt out Cliff House and Windmere hotels previously located at shores of Lake Minnewasca till 1970s, so really glad that conservation efforts have succeeded here.
New visitor center and expansive parking lots are huge improvement over park’s facilities of just six years ago.

Minnewaska State Park is about a 2-hour drive from Manhattan, and it’s completely worth it. The park has a beautiful waterfall and a stunning lake surrounded by vibrant fall colors. I did a short 30-minute trek to reach the top viewpoint instead of driving directly to the sunset spot and the view was spectacular 😍😍
The scenery from above was truly breathtaking, especially during fall. I didn’t have much time to explore the whole park, but even the little I saw was amazing. Highly recommend visiting if you love nature and want a peaceful escape from the city! 🌿🍁🏞️

This park is beautiful, it has a lake and waterfalls and multiple easy trails to walk. It also has a small beach with a lifeguard where you can swim. There is also an area for kayaking. The only thing I did not like, was the area for long distance swimmers, there is a sign that states “only members can swim”, however it doesn’t say you can’t walk in that area. My husband and I walked there and a crazy “Karen” wanted us to get out and go back to the trail. We were admiring the lake and walking and not bothering anyone. It really did not make any sense, needless to say I stayed longer just to make her enjoy her day 😂 even more, some people just act entitled and I will put them in their place if needed, but it’s not the park’s fault. After all, it is a park, and people should be allowed to explore unless otherwise posted. Aside from this incident, I would recommend this park, you will need a few visits to see everything! Also the visitor’s center staff are very friendly and helpful.