Burroughs Memorial/Rochester Hollow
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DISTANCE: 6.1 miles TYPE: Lollipop TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 840 feet MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 2,290 feet DIFFICULTY: Moderate HIKING TIME: 3 hours |
Nestled in the quiet Shandaken Wild Forest, the Rochester Hollow Loop is truly a hidden gem, giving hikers a glimpse of what life in the Catskill Mountains must have been like long ago. You will walk on well-blazed trails beside the foundations of old farmhouses and the stone fences that accompanied them. The forest is varied, transitioning from mostly hemlock to birches, maples, and oaks about halfway through your climb. The trail system here is a designated mountain bike path and is very well graded. For this reason, Rochester Hollow is a treat to visit any time of year and can be travelled by ski, snowshoe, bike, or foot.
GETTING THERE
Take Exit 19 (Kingston) from the New York State Thruway. Turn right onto NY-28 West, then continue west on NY-28 for about 28 miles, through the hamlet of Big Indian, before turning right onto Matyas Road. The parking area is in front of a gate at the end of Matyas Road.
GPS SHORTCUT
Type “Rochester Hollow” into Google Maps and your GPS will navigate you to the appropriate trailhead.
THE TRAIL
From the parking area, pass behind the gate and start hiking north on the blue-blazed Colonel Rochester Trail. Be sure to sign in at the DCNR trail register a few hundred feet up the trail from the parking area. Much of this trail is on an old woods road that parallels a quaint stream just to your left, occasionally punctuated with small, babbling rapids. The climb is relatively gradual and the trail is easy, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the forest as you walk.
Very shortly after leaving the parking area, you will pass a large campsite on your left, and another in about 0.25 mile. These campsites would be nice for a relaxed overnight trip, given their proximity to the parking area and the ease of access to plenty of water.
Continue climbing, eventually reaching the remains of a stone gate approximately 1.1 miles from the parking area. The trail will gradually begin to level off as you proceed, and in another 0.65 mile, the yellow-blazed Burroughs Memorial Trail comes in from the right. The Colonel Rochester Trail continues on, meeting back up with the Burroughs Memorial Trail in 0.4 mile. Following the blue blazes gives you the option to shorten the hike slightly, knocking 0.4 mile off your total mileage.
Turn right and follow the yellow-blazed Burroughs Memorial Trail. This trail leaves the woods road behind, winding uphill through impressive maple and beech stands, gaining another 170 feet of elevation to bring you to the high point of this hike. As you walk, pass a plethora of old stone fences and a few foundations. There are perhaps half a dozen of these fences, running for hundreds of feet, dividing the forest on either side of the trail. This is definitely one of the highlights of this hike, so be sure to explore and enjoy these antiquated structures. Let your mind wander, imagining what it must have been like to live in these woods so long ago, before moving on.
In 0.8 mile the Burroughs Memorial Trail ends, dropping you back onto the woods road and the Colonel Rochester Trail. Turn right and resume following the blue blazes, passing through the ruins of the Rochester Estate in 0.3 mile. Further up the trail a short distance lies the very well-maintained Rochester Hollow Shelter, giving backpackers yet another option for a short overnight stay. The lean-to will be slightly uphill on the right. This shelter is a good place to rest and enjoy the serene silence of the surrounding forest.
Leave the shelter, following the woods road west for 0.1 mile, and meet the red-blazed Eignor Farm Trail on the left. Follow this trail downhill, shortly passing by a huge maple tree that sits on the perimeter of a small grassy clearing. Continue on for 1.35 miles through towering oaks on occasionally rocky terrain. As the trail begins to climb again, you will weave your way through more stone walls, running downhill out of sight.
At the end of the Eignor Farm Trail, turn right onto the Colonel Rochester Trail yet again. Right before the junction with the Burroughs Memorial Trail, about 0.1 mile from the end of the red-blazed trail, you will notice a small stone monument tucked about 50 feet off the trail to your left. This tribute, erected in 1921, celebrates the life and works of John Burroughs, a famed nineteenth-century naturalist and essayist, native to the Catskills. His many nature essays speak extensively of the mountains and the wildlife that he held dear.
When you are finished reflecting at the memorial, follow the blue blazes downhill, retracing the way back to your car.
ROCHESTER HOLLOW SHELTER
