Echo Lake from Platte Clove
Echo Lake, nestled within the stunning Catskill Mountains of New York, is one of the eastern Catskills few natural lakes. This picturesque, 10-acre lake is a destination for many hikers. Surrounded by dense forests, rocky terrain, and Overlook and Plattekill Mountains, Echo Lake offers a tranquil spot away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Hikers who reach Echo Lake via the roughly 9 mile in and out hike from Platte Clove, can relish a range of outdoor activities, including fishing and even a refreshing swim during the warmer months.
For this hike we began at the Catskill Center's Platte Clove Preserve. We followed the Overlook Trail from the Preserve's trailhead. The trail descends down to Plattekill Creek and crosses the stream on a kingpost bridge built by volunteers from the NYNJ Trail Conference in the form the original bridge would have been when this was a carriage road between Platte Clove and the Woodstock area.
Stay on the blue marked Overlook Trail through the Preserve and at just under a mile you'll enter into the Catskill Park's NYS Forest Preserve lands where the markers stay blue, but transition from the Catskill Center's markers to the NYSDEC markers. The trail quickly comes to a large quarry on the left, just before the trail junction with the Devil's Path.
Following the quarry and the trail junction, the Devil's Path turns off to the right at the next trail junction and the Overlook Trail continues straight ahead to the Devil's Kitchen Lean-to. Just past the lean-to the trail crosses the Cold Kill creek on a well constructed bridge and then begins to climb to the height of land. Upon reaching the height of land, the trail levels off and the yellow marked side trail to Codfish Point turns off to the left. The Codfish Point trail is about two tenths of a mile in length and brings you to a wonderful overlook offering a spectacular view of the Hudson Valley.
Return to the Overlook Trail and travel another 2 miles to the intersection with the Echo Lake Trail. From here it's about a 0.6 mile descent to Echo Lake where you'll find the Echo Lake Lean-to and the lake itself. There's plenty of camping, fishing, and in the warmest months, swimming opportunities if you don't mind the muddy lake bottom.
This is an in and out hike, so to get back to the car, head back the way you came.
In total, the hike is about 9 miles in length and is a moderate hike.
For more information
You can find this hike on:
Additional Catskill Park information available at the Catskills Visitor Center (5096 Route 28 in Mt. Tremper)
Hike On Guides: Need help on a hike like this? Moe is a NYS licensed hiking and backpacking guide. You can hire him for Hiking, Backpacking and Camping Guide Services at Hike On Guides for hikes in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
Gear we used and/or carried on this hike:
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