New York Trails

This 12.1-mile overnight bags a Catskills Peak on the way to your lean-to camp spot.

Check out Drew Allred's author page.

This 7.2-mile round-trip hike to the Dutch Doctor lean-to in Harriman State Park takes you right into the wilderness, only an hour outside NYC.

A short hike in the Adirondacks leads to a classic 1900s Great Camp and a smaller, but no less beautiful tent camp.

Head off the beaten—or any—path on one of the Adirondacks more obscure slide paths.

Ride the train or the bus all the way to the trailhead on these short adventures.

Visit a world of water on this three-day trek through the hills.

Step off the subway and into a wilderness sparkling with lacy waterfalls and craggy summits—all thanks to the Long Path, a 358-mile work in progress stretching from 175th Street to John Boyd Thacher State Park upstate and linking the Hudson Highlands, Shawangunks, and Catskills. The trail is inching its way to the Adirondacks (72 miles to go), but that’s no reason to delay a visit (or five) to its top-tier bits, all aflame with the fall palette this month.

See the best of the Catskills in one 22-mile hike.

A 20-year-old man slipped and fell into a gorge last weekend.

The 29-year-old autistic man endured some of the year's hottest temperatures.

New York City may be the height of American urbanism, but that doesn’t mean you have to drive for hours to get your wilderness fix. Soaring views over rocky peaks, quiet lakes, steep scrambles, and wildflowers galore await on these nearby trails. The best part? Public transportation hits them all.

This is why it's a good idea to clear the food out of your car--and lock the doors.

Highlands Preserve's new bridge improves access to its trail network and beyond.

A French drug manufacturer is developing a vaccine for the tick-borne illness.

The 25-year-old had been climbing off-trail without safety equipment.

All 5 were found quickly and were uninjured.

The Department of Environmental Conservation and the state parks will hold 11 free outdoor recreation events statewide.

Neighbors and coworkers said the man had been "acting differently" before his hiking trip.

Officials shuttered the popular trail after erosion made hiking the bluffs too dangerous.

The Gowanus Tree Network will bring Brooklyn neighbors together to care for urban trees.

The DEC is close to finishing negotiations on adding a new rail trail to a pheasant farm outside Ithaca.

Four miles of new singletrack are in the works at the upstate park.

The project gives rookie campers a free, fully stocked campsite with a Camping Ambassador for one weekend at a New York State park.

The original stretch of the AT in Bear Mountain State Park turns 95 this year.

The Hudson Valley resort will debut five new runs in time for next season.

Resorts from Vermont to New York will remain open past their usual closing dates due to the abundance of spring snow.

Club members explain why they rebelled against a proposed sale of the Fire Island Cabin.

The 300-page report presents a vision for an extensive New York trail and lodging system.

The Appalachian Mountain Club backed down on a planned vote to sell Fire Island Cabin in Atlantique.

The administration is pushing for new rules to bypass a court ruling that blocked new trail construction from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake.

Governor Cuomo announced $3.1 million in funding for the linear park, which will connect neighborhoods for pedestrians and cyclists.

The 2023 event will feature skiing, hockey, figure skating, and snowboarding.

The state grants will fund 21 organizations dedicated to public lands and education.

The New Jersey island has been closed since 2012 and faces a proposal to dump dredge spoils.

The public in invited to comment on March 5 in Queens.

The best Big Apple escapes, as selected by BACKPACKER Local scout Justin Bailey.

It's the seventh straight year for attendance growth at the state parks.

The land deal includes the acquisition of a new "makerspace" in Willsboro.

The proposed Empire State Trail would run 750 miles and connect the Big Apple to Buffalo and on to Canada.

The new program will have volunteers in the Catskills and Adirondacks help new campers connect with nature.

The 11-year-old fell through the ice at Forest Park trying to help his friend escape.

Gov. Cuomo announced plans for a 407-acre park on Jamaica Bay with biking, hiking, and kayaking options.

Leave the crowds behind: Tackle Mt. Marcy in winter, and it will be just you, the silent mountains, and a whole lot of snow.

The hikers fell in two separate incidents last weekend.

New York's plan also expands snowmobile access, but nixes proposed bike trails and luxury huts.

The winter's frigid weather has brought the best conditions in several years.

Ticks--plus bedbugs and stinkbugs--probably survived the Northeast's cold snap.

The proposal includes critical funding for water quality, healthy forests, and access to parks.

The 3-day event features camping, trail running, hiking, yoga, and music.

Food waste, congestion pricing, protection from chemicals, and more top the list this year.

Recycle it instead! Options include mulching, chipping them into hiking trail surfaces, and more.

"A Lasting Legacy" profiles a legendary trail volunteer.

The campground, equestrian campground, and two day-use sites are proposed for the former Frontier Town site in North Hudson.

New York Search and Rescue teams spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year--and rescue incidents are rising.

The cash will fund terrapin surveys, reef construction, pollution studies, and more on the South Shore.

Schenectady County is the latest spot to report the devastating disease.

Toxic PCB pollution still plagues the waterway, argues one New York chamber CEO.

Parks will waive entrance fees and hold special events statewide.

Check out Backpacker Contributors's author page.

Renovations will also include new fish displays and interpretive materials.

The acquisition of the 6-acre plot, purchased for $2 million, will protect water quality in Long Island Sound.

Suzanne Dixon will head the 42,000-member volunteer organization dedicated to the AT.

Proposal 3 will make it easier for towns to finish health and safety projects in the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Summit crowds are overflowing trails and parking lots, trampling vegetation, and worse on Upstate's ever-popular peaks.

The Tupper Triad is a hike up Coney, Goodman, and Arab mountains. Now it's a race, too.

Environmental groups support a change that would allow small projects to circumvent "forever wild" status.

The Nature Conservancy is running an eight-day event to restore habitat after Hurricane Sandy.

The initiative is a collaboration between developers, conservationists, government officials, and more.

Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.

Authorities determine that a family fell 200 feet down one of Zoar Valley's steepest cliffs.

Three of the most popular trailheads in the Adirondacks will be closed over Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving.

Breakneck Ridge, the parking lot, and the area around the train stop will be off-limits starting January 1.

New York State DOT and The Nature Conservancy are installing a walkway for wildlife to safely cross under the road.

Adirondacks Park, New York

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said the round whitefish may be moved from endangered to threatened.

The invasive emerald ash borer has made it to Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties for the first time.

Water quality in Long Island's bays and estuaries is, to put it plainly, not good.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced a $900,000-plus fund to improve the health of the Hudson River Estuary.