``I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.`` — John Burroughs
About This Tour
As you embark on the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway driving tour, take in the sweeping mountain views and charming small towns as you hear stories of the history, landscape, and culture of the Catskill region from the people that call it home.
This tour is presented by the Catskill Center, a nonprofit organization that has been committed to preserving and enriching the economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of the Catskills since 1969.
Sample Stories
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Andes
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George: My name is George Ballantine. I live in Andes, New York. I was born in 1922. So, I was a little boy and I can remember farms in the village of Andes, and walking down the street, there would be chickens and roosters and there would be a little fence around somebody's yard, and there'd be some sheep or goats in their yard. There were very few automobiles. People were still getting from one place to another on horses and carriage. I can remember coming to Andes from New York on a train, coming as far as Arkville. They used to have to put on two engines to get over Pine Hill and you would go very slowly. They picked up the mail in Arkville from the train and brought it to Andes, and you could get a ride on that.
While train travel has given way to the automobile, you can still experience a scenic ride on the rails. The Delaware and Ulster Railroad runs a 24-mile round trip between stations in Arkville and Roxbury.
George: Once you arrived in Andes, it was much more peaceful. The sounds were different, people's attitudes were different. Nobody seemed to be in much of a hurry.
After serving in World War II, George Ballantine operated heavy equipment and contributed to efforts in and around Delaware County's Pepacton reservoir.
George: They started buying up the estates, demolishing the buildings, and it was nice to have a job but I hated to see that valley go. It was such a beautiful valley. I lost some friends. Some friends were killed in the tunnels - local guys. I operated heavy equipment making roads - new roads - around the Pepacton reservoir, so I saw the whole thing happening.
Decades later, George would use his Earth-moving skills on a ten-year labor of love, transforming a neglected property on the West end of town into a park that he donated to the town of Andes.
George: Earth-sculpture, like the park - and I've made several parks here - it's a joint venture between myself and nature. I mean, there it is. It's my statement. It certainly is my most profound work.
Catskill Interpretive Center
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Plan to stop in at the Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center, on 62 acres, with access to hiking trails, including an ADA-accessible loop. Whether you're planning on hitting the trails, exploring the towns, or just taking in the scenery, take advantage of the interpretive center's resources to help map out your Catskills adventure. We took a hike with Bill Rudge, a natural resources supervisor for New York state's Department of Environmental Conservation.
Bill Rudge: The Catskill Forest Preserve is the public-owned land within the Catskills, created in 1885 in large part in reaction to the heavy forest cutting that was taking place throughout the state, for a variety of reasons, including the Civil War, which created this tremendous demand for leather. And the process to create leather involves two critical elements and that's the hide of wild animals, and tannin, which is used to tan those hides.
So the Catskills had this tremendous resource in terms of tannin, because the Catskills are heavily forested by hemlock trees. The hemlock bark is rich in tannin. The state of New York slowly progressed with conserving lands of about 700,000 acres, which is a mix of public and private land. And that line was shown on maps as a blue line, and it's now become the blue line of the Catskill Park.
The state of New York owns almost half the land within the Catskill Park, and those lands we manage as the forest preserve. By far, the largest classifications are the wilderness and wild forest. So wilderness is intended to be a place where someone can go and recreate where the presence of man is essentially not apparent. So you can't use a chainsaw in wilderness. You can't drive your car into a wilderness area. We don't allow snowmobiles or ATVs in wilderness. We allow hunting, hiking, trapping, fishing, camping, and wildlife observation. We have about 35 peaks above 3,500 feet in elevation, and a significant number of those peaks are trail-less. And that trail-less experience is one of the things we're trying to provide in wilderness areas.
In wild forest, those lands are managed for a greater variety of recreational opportunities, and we can designate and mark snowmobile trails in wild forest. We have mountain bike trails in wild forest and we have a little more extensive horseback riding trail system in wild forest, and of course, hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing are all allowable uses, as well as hunting and fishing.
