State Land

Sundown Wild Forest

Top Sundown Wild Forest

Open for recreation: Year-round
Fee: Free
Contact Information:
- DEC Region 3 New Paltz Office (M-F, 8:30 AM - 4:45 PM), (845) 256-3076; [email protected]
- Enforcement Matters: 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264) or 911
Location: Towns of Denning, Wawarsing, and Olive, Ulster County and Town of Neversink, Sullivan County
Wildlife Management Units: 3A & 3C
Maps: Sundown Wild Forest Map (GeoPDF) - GeoPDF Instructions || Google Earth || DECinfo Locator

The 30,100-acre Sundown Wild Forest covers a large swath of the southeast Catskills, including several ridges and 10 mountains over 2,000 feet. Sundown features an impressive mix of natural features - mountains, waterfalls, valleys and rivers - rich with trout streams, hiking destinations, hunting opportunities and snowmobile trails. Hike to the Red Hill fire tower for an unsurpassed view of the Catskill high peaks and Rondout reservoir.

Featured Activities

General information on hiking includes how-to and safety tips and links to rules and regulations.

Kanape Brook trail to summit of High Point Mountain: Starts at the Kanape Trailhead on County Route 42 (Peekamoose Road). A popular hiking trail (red markers) follows the woods road before turning and climbing to the summit of 3,080-foot High Point Mountain, approximately 7 miles round trip (5.4 miles round trip in the Valley, another 0.8 miles to the summit).

Repeated fires have created a ridge top blueberry heath with impressive westerly views of the Rocky-Balsam Cap-Friday Mountain ridge, especially adjacent Hoopole Mountain. A good view of the Ashokan Reservoir and the Rondout Valley framed by the Shawangunk Ridge is available from a large blueberry patch, a short but hilly bush walk to the northeast.

Vernooy Kill Falls: A snowmobile-equestrian-multiple use trail starts at the trailhead on Upper Cherrytown Road in the Town of Rochester, passes over the Vernooy Kill and Balsam Swamp to Greenville and returns via Spencer/Trails End Road in an 11.2-mile loop. The most popular destination is the Upper Falls of the Vernooy Kill. Here, the water drops about 60 feet in a series of small pools and falls. Below the falls, a 15-20-foot tall stone wall alongside the stream was part of the "Cornelius" Vernooey Mill complex which operated from the early 1700s until 1809.

Peekamoose Trails: From Peekamoose Valley, a 4.3-mile trail leads west to views on 3,800-foot Table and Peekamoose Mountains. East, it's roughly 8 miles to Vernooy Kill Falls (on the blue marked Long Path). Water cascading down Samson, Van Wyck and Peekamoose Mountains gathers speed and drops into the Rondout Creek through a series of spectacular waterfalls along Peekamoose Road, County Route 42. Please be aware of the new regulations that affect the Peekamoose Riparian Corridor. Parking along County Rte. 42 is very limited, please see the Parking Map for Peekamoose Corridor (PDF) for more information.

Denman Mountain: At 3,035 feet, Denman Mountain is the second highest peak in Sullivan County area. Locaated near Grahamsville and Route 55, it has a gently sloping trail with many old woods roads to explore. A 7-mile snowmobile-horse trail circles the mountain (segments are suitable for mountain biking). Parking is available at the Furmans and Glade Hill Road/Moore Hill Road intersection.

Red Hill Fire Tower: A beautiful new trail traverses 1.4 miles to link up with the existing trail for the final .5 mile stretch to the fire tower. Alternatively, a seasonally accessible trail extends 1.2 miles from the parking area on Dinch Road to the fire tower. The trail gains almost 900 ft. in elevation.

General information on fishing includes how-to and safety tips and links to seasons, rules and regulations.

The Rondout Creek stays cold all year and is the largest fishable stream in the area, with stocked and wild brook trout, as well as a few wild brown trout. A series of small parking lots along the north side of Peekamoose Road provide access to 4.5 miles of the creek. The second largest trout stream in the area is the Vernooy Kill in the Towns of Rochester and Wawarsing (partially within the Vernooy Kill State Forest). The Kanape and South Hollow Brooks are small, but both have native trout populations. Mettacahonts Creek and its feeder streams contain trout, even though the upper tributaries may dry out in summer.

Southeastern NY Fishing provides information on fishing in the Catskills and links to top fishing waters, stocking lists, public fishing access and waters open to ice fishing listed by county.

Wildlife Management Unit: 3A & 3C

General information on hunting includes how-to and safety tips with links to seasons, rules and regulations.

Hunting is allowed during appropriate seasons. The main game species and furbearers found on the property include deer, bear, bobcat, coyote and fisher.

Wildlife Management Unit: 3A & 3C

General information on trapping includes how-to and safety tips with links to seasons, rules and regulations.

Trapping is allowed during appropriate seasons. The main game species and furbearers found on the property include deer, bear, bobcat, coyote and fisher.

General information on primitive camping includes how-to and safety tips and links to rules and regulations.

Peekamoose Valley: The Peekamoose Valley (County Route 42 in the Town of Denning) is a popular rustic camping area. Camping permits are now required to reserve primitive tent sites from May 15- September 15 of each year. Camping is restricted to reserved, designated campsites marked with the yellow camping symbol. Visit Reserve America (leaves DEC website) to make a reservation.

Lower Field: Camping is restricted to 12 designated sites. Permits can be obtained from Reserve America.

General information on biking includes how-to and safety tips and links to rules and regulations.

The first 2.4 miles on the old Kanape woods road are suitable for mountain bikes. Sections of the Vernooy Kill Falls and Denman Mountain Snowmobile-Multiple Use Trails are also suitable. See Snowmobiling and Horseback Riding below and the Hiking section.

General information on snowmobiling includes how-to and safety tips and links to rules and regulations.

An 11.2 mile snowmobile-equestrian trail loop starts at the parking lot on Upper Cherrytown Road, passes over the Vernooy Kill and Balsam Swamp to Greenville and returns via Spencer/Trails End Road.

A 7-mile snowmobile-equestrian trail circles Denman Mountain. Parking is available at the Furmans and Glade Hill Road/Moore Hill Road Trailhead. Part of the trail is on Moore Hill Road (0.6 miles year-round, 1.78 miles seasonal). Snowmobile trails at Denman Mountain are maintained by volunteers.

General information on horseback riding includes how-to and safety tips and links to rules and regulations.

Sundown Wild Forest features equestrian trails that are utilized by snowmobiles in the winter. Proof of current negative Coggins certificate is required for all horses and out-of-state horse owners are required to produce a 30-day health certificate. See snowmobiling for trail descriptions.

General information on animals includes links to information about birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects that inhabit or migrate through the state.

The Catskills are home to an abundance of wildlife. With both larger mammals (including deer, bear, and bobcat) as well as smaller mammals (including porcupine and fisher) the Catskills have several unique habitats. In addition to the many mammals found in the Catskills, hundreds of species of birds can also be found in the Catskills.

Red Hill Fire Tower at Sundown Wild Forest

Directions

To Kanape Trailhead: Take Route 28 from Kingston or Boiceville to 28A (wraps around the southern side of the Ashokan Reservoir, New York City's water supply) to Watson Hollow Road (County Route 42), then 3.75 miles to the Kanape Parking lot and information board (on your right). Trail (red markers) crosses road just downhill of the parking lot and then crosses a wooden footbridge. Trail register is just beyond. (41.935792°N, 74.328114°W) Google Maps
To Vernooy Kill Trailhead: Take State Route 209 to Cherrytown Road to Upper Cherrytown Road. The parking lot is on the right on Upper Cherrytown Road. Park and cross the road to the trail, which at first climbs up a steep hill on the old woods road, now a snowmobile trail). (41.871867°N, 74.369789°W) Google Maps
To the New Red Hill Fire Tower Trailhead: The new Red Hill Fire Tower Trailhead is located on Denning Road, approximately 1 mile northwest of the intersection with Red Hill Road. Google Maps
To Old Dinch Road Trailhead (Formerly Red Hill Fire Tower Trailhead): Take State Route 209 to State Route 55 to a right on County Route 153 (bordering the west side of the Rondout Reservoir, just before Grahamsville). Continue on Route 153 for no more than 3 miles, make a left on Sugarloaf Road and proceed about 4 miles to Red Hill Road. Make a sharp left on Red Hill Road and an immediate right onto unpaved Dinch Road for 1 mile to the trailhead parking on the left side. If the downhill roadbed is in poor condition, parking at the Red Hill-Dinch Road intersection is recommended. Visitors should note that Dinch Road is only seasonally maintained and not plowed during the winter and the trailhead location is generally inaccessible throughout the winter. The Red Hill Fire Tower can be reached from the newer parking area located on Denning Road.(Route 55 can also be taken east from State Route 17 in Liberty) (41.930293°N, 74.507349°W) Google Maps
To Peekamoose Valley Primitive Campsites and Trails: Take Route 28 from Kingston or Boiceville to 28A (wraps around the southern side of the Ashokan Reservoir, New York City's water supply) to Watson Hollow Road (County Route 42), then continue south past the Kanape Trailhead. The Peekamoose Mountain Trailhead and campsites will be on your right several miles down. As an alternative, take State Route 209 to State Route 55 to a right on County Route 153 (bordering the west side of the Rondout Reservoir, just before Grahamsville), then continue on Route 153 (Sundown Road) till it becomes Route 42 (Peekamoose Road). Campsites and trailhead are on your left. (41.91590°N, 74.443422°W) Google Maps

All coordinates provided are in decimal degrees using NAD83/WGS84 datum.

Rules, Regulations and Outdoor Safety

Practice Leave No Trace Principles when recreating on state land to enjoy the outdoors responsibly; minimize impact on the natural resources and avoid conflicts with other users.

All users of Sundown Mountain Wild Forest must follow all State Land Use Regulations and should follow all Outdoor Safety Practices for the safety of the user and protection of the resource.

Follow the NYS firewood regulation to protect our forests from invasive insects.

Observe all campfire safety practices. Use only dead and down wood. Don't leave garbage in the fire pit.

Planning and Management

DEC currently manages these lands in accordance with the 2019 Sundown Wild Forest Unit Management Plan (UMP) (PDF, 10 MB). In addition to management objectives, the UMP contains detailed information on natural features, recreational infrastructure, geology, natural and human history, habitats, wildlife, fisheries and much more. The UMP was amended in 2023 to propose an alternate solution for the parking and trail access to the Blue Hole, and to remove snowmobiling as a proposed use on the Long Path reroute in the vicinity of Vernooy Kill Falls.

Nearby State Lands, Facilities, Amenities and Other Information

State Lands and Facilities

Where to Find Nearby Amenities

Food, gas, and other supplies as well as dining and lodging can be found in the nearby communities of Wawarsing, Ellenville, Boiceville, Shokan and Claryville.

Catskill Regional Tourism Office, Ulster County Tourism and Sullivan County Tourism can provide information about recreating in this area and other amenities.

Numerous guidebooks and maps are available with information on the lands, waters, trails and other recreational facilities in this area. These can be purchased at most outdoor equipment retailers, bookstores, and on-line booksellers.

Additional information, outdoor equipment, trip suggestions and guided or self-guided tours may be obtained from outdoor guide and outfitting businesses. Check area chambers of commerce, telephone directories or search the internet for listings.

Consider hiring an outdoor guide if you have little experience or woodland skills. See the NYS Outdoor Guides Association for information on outdoor guides.