Stoppel Point from Stork’s Nest Road
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DISTANCE: 8 miles TYPE: Out and back TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 2,290 feet MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 3,415 feet DIFFICULTY: Strenuous HIKING TIME: 4.5 hours |
With hiking destinations like Poet’s Ledge, Inspiration Point, and Artist’s Rock, the Catskills make it perfectly clear that this has been a place for contemplation and creativity over the years, but rarely are such philosophical tangents inspired by your GPS. Driving on the final leg to this remote Catskills trailhead, you’ll spend a few miles on the coyly named “Hearts Content Road.” One might assume the road’s name implies contentedness: a street full of happy people in an idyllic mountain paradise. Yet the GPS chooses to pronounce it as “content”—as in the things the heart contains, a somewhat more philosophically ambiguous direction for the name of a small rural road. Perhaps, over the next several miles of climbing up the eastern escarpment of the Catskills, you’ll have time to come to terms with the contents of your own heart, and whether you are indeed content with them.
One of the more obscure hikes in the northeastern Catskills, the simplest route to Stoppel Point starts from an isolated trailhead and makes a long, persistent ascent up to the top. From Stoppel Point, you will find a nice perch looking out over Blackhead, Black Dome, and Thomas Cole Mountains, and a second vista looking east toward the Hudson Valley. Adding to the highlights of the hike are the remains of an old plane crash, just off the trail near the summit. The solitude of the hike is appealing on its own, too, especially for the northeastern region of the park. The beginning of the hike is an easement on private land, and it crosses a private driveway just next to a home. It’s thus perhaps for the best that the parking area on Stork’s Nest Road does not hold more than a couple cars. In the off-season, or on a weekday, you might never see another hiker on the trail.
Take Exit 20 (Saugerties) from the New York State Thruway, then turn left onto NY-212/NY-32. At the traffic light, take a right onto NY-32 North. Continue on NY-32 North for 11 miles, then turn left onto Hearts Content Road and drive for 3.8 miles. Turn left onto Maple Lawn Road and continue for 1.2 miles. At the intersection with Floyd Hawver Road, turn left, then immediately make a right onto Stork’s Nest Road. The trailhead will be at the very end of Stork’s Nest Road, in 0.6 miles. Park on the left side of the road and respect the private property adjacent to the lot.
GPS SHORTCUT
Typing “Stoppel Point” into Google Maps will cause your GPS to navigate you to a trailhead on the opposite side of the mountain. The closest searchable destination to input into your GPS is the Maple Lawn Hotel, which is at the end of Stork’s Nest Road, 0.6 miles east of the trailhead. Alternately, simply drop a pin at the western terminus of Stork’s Nest Road.
THE TRAIL
Across from the parking area, a DEC sign with mileages marks the start of the trail. To continue on the trail from the parking area, you must first walk across the driveway of someone’s house. Their yard will be to your left and their house to the right, so head directly toward the tree line, where the yellow blazes mark the passage of the trail through the woods. Be very courteous of the owner and do not walk off the driveway.
Continue on the broad, easy trail for 0.2 mile, until you come to the trail register. Stop to register your hike, then continue over the wooden bridge across a stream. The trail begins slightly uphill, but gradually at first, and continues through private property for some time. This section of the hike is often rough after a heavy rain, and the trail can be very wet at times. Otherwise, the path here is relatively level and unchallenging, crisscrossing a wide drainage bed. This trough was once a woods road, but due to its position on the slope of the escarpment, it captures a great deal of runoff and is thus heavily eroded. Soon, you will mostly be hiking on top of the narrow ridge that runs alongside this drainage trough.
About three-quarters of a mile from the trailhead, as you near the base of the escarpment, the trail cuts to the right, beginning a steeper ascent to Dutcher’s Notch. About 1.4 miles from the trailhead, you will begin hiking along the shady northeastern slope of the ridgeline. At about 1.5 miles, there are some limited views to the east from a rock alongside the trail when there are no leaves on the trees.
A little beyond, the trail levels and brings you through a dark, dense area of conifer and birch forest. Here, you may catch sight of Arizona Mountain looming to the north through the trees. You are now very close to Dutcher’s Notch, which falls at the 1.8-mile mark. At the notch, you will reach a four-way intersection. Continuing straight would take you to Colgate Lake, to the west. The trail to the right heads toward Arizona and Blackhead Mountains. Take the trail to the left, following the blue-blazed Escarpment Trail toward Stoppel Point.
The trail immediately begins a moderate climb, but the steepest sections are yet to come. After this short uphill you will have an easy, relatively flat (and very pleasant) section of ridgeline to enjoy, before the steepest ascent begins at 2.6 miles. For a quarter mile, the trail climbs steeply, then very steeply. After the climb, however, you will be rewarded with a stroll through a very beautiful, mossy forest, and a short distance later, the best viewpoint of the hike.
Just under 3 miles from the trailhead, arrive at Milt’s Lookout. Here, you will find a fantastic vista looking to the east. Take your time and enjoy a rest here, as the trail will soon tackle another steep uphill section before reaching the high point of the hike.
At 3.75 miles, as you are approaching the top of Stoppel Point, you will spot the wreckage of a plane crash through the trees. The wreckage is from 1983, when a pilot with a revoked student pilot’s license flew too low over the mountain and went down in the woods.
Just past the site of the plane crash, you will arrive at a second, more limited vista, with views of Blackhead, Black Dome, and Thomas Cole Mountains. From here the trail makes a U-turn around the summit, and you will soon reach Stoppel Point, marked by another DEC trail sign. At Stoppel Point, another vista looks out east to the Hudson Valley.
When you are ready, retrace your steps to return to your car.