Stony Clove Climbing

There are two ways to get to Stony Clove; one is faster, but you can end up stuck in traffic for Hunter, Windham, and Bellayre. The other is slower, but you might actually make better time due to less traffic. It's six of one, a half-dozen of the other.

1) Take Exit 20 off I-87 (Saugerties), get on Rte 32, take that to Rte 32A, take that to Rte 23A. Make a left, and follow 23A past Moore's Bridge, Asbestos Wall, and Kaaterskill Falls, all the way through Tannersville, and just before you reach Hunter Mountain make a left on Rte 214. Approx 2 miles down the road, just after passing through a very obvious notch, you'll see a parking lot on the right at the bottom of a hill.

2) Take Exit 19 off I-87 (Kingston), and take your first right out of the roundabout (Rte 28 West); in fact, you don't even have to get into the roundabout to get on Rte 28 - just stay to the right out of the tollbooth. Follow Rte 28 West to Phoenicia, and get on Rte 214 North. After about 10-15 minutes, you'll come upon the parking lot (on your left, this time). If you miss it, PLEASE continue through the Clove and turn around where you can on the other side; the Clove is narrow, and cars don't exactly slow down when driving through. Neither do snow plows.

The parking lot is generally well-plowed, and it can hold an amazing 10-15 cars if people are smart about parking. As usual, carpooling is a good idea. The route through Tannersville goes directly past Maggie's Krooked Cafe - some of the best breakfasts you'll ever find - while the route through Phoenicia goes past Brio's - excellent pizza place. What many people do is drive up through Tannersville, and home through Phoenicia.

Also, if you're staying in the Palenville area, there's an excellent restaurant called New World Cafe in Saugerties; go back on 32A to Rte 212 (right near the thruway), make a right, and drive for 4.6 miles. It'll be on the left. Fantastic food, all organic, and the restaurant follows Slow Food methods. Excellent place.

There is free camping at Notch Lake (near the parking area) and just South of the parking area, on the left; no facilities, but hey - you're camping in the middle of winter, and you have fire pits. Suck it up.