Hike Slide Mountains |
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| View from Slide Mountain |
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OVERVIEW |
| | Trail Name: | 
Phoenicia East Branch Trail (Slide PA to Slide-Cornell-Wittenberg Trail) |
| | Trail Name: | 
Slide-Cornell-Wittenberg Trail (PEB Trail to Cornell Mtn) |
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| | Parking Area : | Slide Mountain Parking Area off Rt 47 (Oliverea Road) |
| | Winter Access: | Parking Area is Plowed in the Winter |
| | Camp sites: | 1 Camp Site location |
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| | Trail Length: | 2.79 miles (one-way) or 5.59 (round-trip) |
| | Trail Type: | Single-track trail |
| | Hiking Time: | Average 3.5 hours round trip |
| | Slide Elevation: | 4,182' (A) |
| | Elevation Gain (Slide): | Gain of 1,749' |
| | Views : | 3 view spot |
| | Difficulty: | Intermediate |
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| | Slide Mtn Summit: | 41.999067, -74.38595 (WGS84) |
| | Slide Mtn Summit: | N42 00 04 W74 21 22 (Degree, Min, Sec) |
| | Slide Mtn Summit: | N 41 59.944, W 74 23.157 (GPS) |
| | Slide Mtn Summit: | 18N 550855 4649855 (UTM) |
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| | USGS Map: | USGS Shandaken Quad Maps |
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| | USGS Map: | USGS Phoenicia Quad Maps |
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| | USGS Map: | USGS Peekamoose Quad Maps |
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| | DEC Trail Map: | DEC Slide Mountain Wilderness Map (free) |
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Maps for Slide Mountain |
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| | Notes About Hiking to Slide Mountain |
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| | TRAIL NAMES |
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The names of the trails can confuse some people. The Slide-Cornell-Wittenberg Trail is sometimes called the Burroughs Trail because the trails runs over the Burroughs Range. Some people call the Phoenicia East Branch Trail, the Winnisook Trail. This is because the trail originally ran from the Never sink to Winnosook Lake. The trail now is diverted down to the Slide Mountain Parking Area. The trail to Winnisook Lake is private property, so do not hike over to the lake. You can easily see the lake from Rt 47.
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| | CAMPSITES |
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The campsites on the west side of Slide Mountain are less then ideal. Some of the tent sites have slight inclines, which can be difficult to sleep on. The water source for the campsite are a long ways away and difficult to get to. So, make SURE you get water before you arrive at either region.
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| | PARKING |
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Parking at the Slide Mountain Parking Area off Rt 47 is often full on weekends in the summer months. The parking area is too small. So, you need to arrive early. If your backup plan is to park at the Giant Ledge Parking Area off Rt 47, you will be surprised that this parking area is even busier then the Slide Mountain Parking Area.
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| | VIEW POINT |
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3 of the view points on this hike are excellent. The view point from Burroughs Rock is now poor because of the trees have become overgrown. The DEC did not keep it cut back over the years.
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| | OTHER INFORMATION |
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Around 50 years ago, Slide Mountain had a metal fire tower on the top of the mountain. At the summit you can still see some of the concrete pads the fire tower sat on. Prior to the metal fire tower, there was a wood fire tower. Many years ago, the beginning of the Slide-Cornell-Wittenberg Trail to the summit of Slide Mountain was a jeep trail for the rangers who ran the fire tower. After the fire towers closes, the DEC put a metal gate around 3,700'. Recently, the gate was removed by the DEC.
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| | DIRECTIONS to Slide Mountain Parking Area |
| | Slide Mountain Parking Area WGS84 (DEC): 42.00893, -74.427704 - Elevation is approximately 2,435 feet |
| | Slide Mountain Parking Area Deg/Min/Sec: N42 00 32, W74 25 39 - Elevation is approximately 2,435 feet |
| | Slide Mountain Parking Area GPS: N 42 00.536, W 74 25.662 - Elevation is approximately 2,435 feet |
| | Slide Mountain Parking Area UTM: 18N 547390 4650926 - Elevation is approximately 2,435 feet
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| | Get off New York State Thruway at Exit 19 (Kingston). |
| | Take a RIGHT out of the NYS Thruway onto Route 28 West. |
| | Go approximately 30.4 miles on Rt 28 West |
| | Take a LEFT onto Rt 47 in Big Indian |
| | Go approximately 9.3 miles on Rt 47 |
| | DEC Parking Area is on the LEFT side of the road. Large Parking Area - Holds 40 cars |
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MILEAGE CHART for Slide Mountain |
| | Mile Point | Altitude | Notes |
| | 0.00 | 2,421' | Slide Mountain Parking Area |
| | 0.42 | 2,700' | Slide Mtn TH to Trail Junction with Winnisook |
| | 0.60 | 2,755' | Water source from pipe |
| | 0.68 | 2,776' | Trail Junction to Slide-Cornell-Wittenberg Trail |
| | 1.29 | 3,159' | Trail to campsites |
| | 1.59 | 3,500' | 3,500 foot DEC sign |
| | 2.08 | 3,978' | TJ for PEB/Burroughs Trail TO Curtis-Ormsbee Trail |
| | 2.79 | 4,186' | Summit of Slide Mtn |
| | 2.99 | 3,908' | John Burroughs Rock |
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Hike Slide Mountain from Slide Mtn Parking Area |
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Once you reach the Slide Mountain Parking Area, pull into one of the two entrances and find an available parking space.
Do NOT park on the side of Rt 47. Your car will be ticketed and towed.
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The Slide Mountain Parking Area has room for approximately 40 cars. This is a fairly busy parking area in the summer months. So, arriving late can be a problems.
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Go to the Slide Mountain Parking area kiosk, and register for your hike. NYS Rangers and Search-and-Rescue ("SAR") will use this information to try and find you. Additionally, maintenance funds are allocated by the the number of people who register.
Once you have registered, the Trailhead for this hike is to your left of the registration box.
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This is the mileage (one-way) to your hiking destination. If you plan on returning back to this parking area, the mileage will double.
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You will need to cross this stream to continue your hike. After storms, the water level will rise, and this might make it difficult to get across. The trail continues behind the sign you see on the other side of the stream.
If you need water for this hike, this is the best place to get it.
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Please read the Rules for hiking here. NYS Rangers will ticket you if you violate the rules. Anything you bring in, you need to return with those items. You may not store items in the woods, except your camping items at primitive camp sites.
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The hike will start out on fairly flat and level land. But, this is just for a short distance. This section of the trail is approximately 4/10 of a mile long.
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After a little ways, the trail will start to climb in elevation. It will also become rocky in places. In some areas there are rock steps built into the trail.
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After climbing up 350' of elevation, you will come to a Trail Junction. You want to take a RIGHT. This is the old Winnisook Trail, which is now called the Phoenicia East Branch Trail. You will follow this trail for approximately 1/4 mile.
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After approximately a 1/4 of hiking along the Phoenicia East Branch Trail, you will come to a second Trail Junction. You want to go LEFT.
LEFT will take you to the summit of Slide Mountain, Cornell Mountain, and Wittenberg Mountain.
Straight will take you to the Neversink Regions on the Phoenicia East Branch Trail. Once there, there is a trail to Table Mountain and Peekamoose Mountain.
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Once you turn left onto the Slide-Cornell-Wittenburg Trail, the trail will have a moderate incline, and will be rocky for the next 1-1/2 miles.
Also along this section of trail are two campsites where people can pitch their tent.
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This is the first campsite you will encounter on your way up to Slide Mountain Summit. It is about 1 mile up from the Trail Junction. There are a couple tent sites at this campsite. Not all of them are level.
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This is the second campsite on your way up Slide Mountain. It is about 1-1/4 miles up from the trail junctions. there are a couple tent sites at this campsite. They are spread apart more then campsite #1.
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A little ways up from both campsite is the 3,500 foot elevation DEC sign. You cannot camp above 3,500' in the Spring, Summer, or Fall.
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As you get up further, the trail incline will level off some, and the trail will be fairly smooth without rocks. You will come to a point in the trail, where the trail will turn 90 degrees to the left. There used to be a gate at this point years aga.
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Once you turn 90 degrees to the left, the incline of the trail will increase slightly. After about a 1/5 of a mile the trail will again turn 90 degrees to the right. You will still have about 3/4 of a mile until you reach the summit.
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The trail will continue to climb at a slight incline for the next 3/4 of a mile. In some places the trail is smooth, and in other places, the trail is rough.
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Just before you reach Slide Mountain summit, there are two view point to the north that have a very nice view. The second view spot is better then the first view spot. The view spots can be quite crowded on summer weekends.
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The actual summit is sometimes hard to determine. But, it is located near the old fire tower that used to be on Slide Mountain
Shortly after you pass Slide Mountain summit, you will reach John Burrough's Plaque Rock. There used to be an excellent view of the Ashokan Reservoir, but the DEC did not keep the view cut open, so there is very little view left.
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You can hike the side trail below John Burroughs Rock and look at the plaque that was installed in 1922 by the Winnisook Club. John Burroughs spent a lot of time on the Burroughs Range (Slide Mtn, Cornell Mtn, and Wittenberg Mtn).
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In this picture, John Burroughs (long white beard) is seen standing next to Teddy Roosevelt in Yellowstone National Park.
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S E C T I O N S
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W E A T H E R
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