Friday, July 15, 2005
Lake Minnewaska history & info
photo slideshow
When Ann asked me a while back what I wanted to do on my birthday, my intial answer was predictable: "I dunno." After I'd thought about it for a while, I came up with a much better answer - to spend the day riding my bike around the Minnewaska State Park Preserve (otherwise known as Lake Minnewaska.) I'd been there twice before to run races, and had been really amazed by how beautiful it was. There are two lakes, Minnewaska and Awosting, and miles of carriage trails, many of which run along the cliffs and have fabulous views. While I'd never seen it, I also knew there was a waterfall, Awosting Falls, somewhere in the park that is a very popular photo spot.
So, the day after our buggy trip to Beartown, we packed a picnic lunch and headed for the mountains overlooking New Paltz (even though it wasn't my birthday - I decided going on a weekday was preferable, since it would probably be less crowded than on the weekend.) The drive alone is gorgeous - once you leave New Paltz the ridge is almost always visible, and to get to the park you need to drive up into the mountains and then wind through some beautiful scenery. Even once you get into the park, there's a long winding road to get to the main area of the park. It's not too difficult to see why there used to be two resorts on this property, or why there's a very expensive high-class resort right next door (the Mohonk Mountain House.)
Got off to a late morning start, so we ate as soon as we got there, then unpacked the bikes and hit the trail. First we circled Lake Minnewaska, which turned out to be a much hillier path than I remembered. These were the most crowded trails, so between walking up hills and watching out for all the walkers, it was somewhat slow going. Then we headed off to Lake Awosting via the Upper Awosting Carriageway.
While there are hills along this path, it's not too bad, though Ann did grumble that I mostly seemed to take her picture when she was pushing her bike. From there we biked around Lake Awosting and then headed uphill to Castle Point and the Castle Point Carriageway, which is the longest stretch that runs along the cliffs. From there it was an "easy" downhill back to Lake Minnewaska and then to the car to drop off some gear and refill out water bottles for the trip to Awosting Falls.
It turns out the reason I'd never seen Awosting Falls is because it is down near the park entrance, and the other times I'd been here I was either heading to a race (the entrance is always VERY busy then) or leaving after a race (typically I'm too fried at that point to be looking for trailheads.) So the good news was - it was all downhill to get to the falls. After several hours of riding the trails, that was a welcome break. The falls were beautiful, with a surprising amount of water going over them, and at the top Ann splashed in the stream (something she'd been wanting to do all day.)
Then we started the long uphill hike back to the car. (Yes, that's the drawback to a long downhill ride with the car parked at the top.) Took about 45 minutes but we made it back with a bit of time to spare (about an hour before the park closed.) And then it was time to say good-bye to Minnewaska again...
All in all, this was a great trip… it really makes me want to do the 20K trail race there in November, and I definitely want to go back to ride the trails again (maybe in less hazy, humid weather.) If you get a chance to go to the 'Gunks, do so - they're absolutely wonderful. One of these days I need to visit the Mohonk Preserve, which borders Minnewaska Park but requires a separate fee, since it isn't state-owned. Maybe someday I'll get bored with the 'Gunks - but that day's probably a long ways off.
JMH
