The MEEC Trail

Sponsored by Mamakating Local Development Corp.

• Location: New York
• Travel Type: Walking
• Trip Time: 45 minutes
• Language:

This audio tour takes you through the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area in Mamakating, NY.

Mamakating was the first township in Sullivan County. It grew out of a mere settlement on the Mamacottin Path. The Mamacottin path went from the Hudson River south to the Delaware River and loosely along what is now US Route 209--arguably the oldest engineered roadway in the United States.

One legend has it that the town of Mamakating was named after a Native American healer. Some say, the town’s name was how the Dutch settlers referred to the residing Lenni-Lenape tribe. Archeologists believe these indigenous peoples descended from original settlers some 11, 000 years ago. Unfortunately, they disappeared from the area entirely by 1730.

More recent scholarship indicates the town’s name is a combination of words meaning “bad man” or “bad hill.” “Bad Hill” is most likely a reference to the Shawangunk Mountains to your east, which separate the Hudson River Watershed and the Delaware River Watershed.

Whatever the origin of the town’s name, welcome to Mamakating, “Where History Meets Adventure.”

Tour Sponsors
This tour is sponsored by the Mamakating Local Development Corporation (MLDC). Established in 2017 it exists to positively and significantly impact the economy of the town of Mamakating, its citizenry, and businesses, through encouraging ecotourism, the purchase of second homes, patronage of existing town businesses and facilities, and appreciation of local arts and crafts, while creating an environment for new business attraction and development that at once preserves the coveted rural nature, history, conservation, ecological and human diversity of the area.

Find More Tours Near You
If you enjoy this tour, check out more audio tours of the Mamakating Trail system — Wurtsboro Canal Trail & Mamakating Rail Trail. Come back soon for more audio tours of the Seven Trails of Mamakating as eventually all twenty miles will be covered by TravelStorys audio tours.

You can find other tours throughout New York State or wherever your travels may take you at TravelStorys.com. Every place has a story.