Windham High Peak

Windham High Peak is the northernmost peak of the Catskill 3500 group. Some people think that this is also the Windham Ski Resort, but its not really near it, plus its over 500ft taller than the ski resort mountain. This hike isn't very challenging but it offers very many viewpoints a long the way!

I started out at the Big Hollow parking area, which is also the starting point for Blackhead(the last mountain we did), Blackdome and Thomas Cole. You had the choice of hiking from two different parking areas or hiking to the top and reverse your course. Even though the 'to the top and back' hike is longer, I had to do it because I didn't have another car to drive back to the other parking area. It adds another mile to the hike, but I wasn't worried. 7-8 miles isn't bad at all.

The temperature was perfect!! High 40's with a lot of sunshine which probably made it reach into the high 50's, no wind and barely any ice. This winter was a weird one and even a decent amount of snowfall barely happened. The whole hike isn't difficult at all, just a few spots that are a good gain uphill, but nothing to the extreme like other mountains in the Catskills.

The first mile was a little on the steep side but nothing too challenging. Then after that, the next 1.5 miles are a nice easy walk along a flatter part of the escarpment trail. Some elevation gain here and there but nothing to slow you down and to make you catch your breath. In the middle of that 2.5 miles is a stunning viewpoint that offers a view of the amazing Blackhead Mountain Range:

Blackhead, Blackdome and Thomas Cole Mountain.

The sun was beaming directly at the camera(I'm not complaining) so the pictures weren't the best, but those mountains tower over 3900ft. I was currently at around 2900ft, so those mountains dominated the view. After the lookout I headed back onto the trail. It was fairly easy, with a couple a places where it went up slightly in elevation then back down and then back up again. It was a great trail that when the leaves aren't on the trees, you can catch of glimpse of the Blackhead Range for a good amount of time.

At around 1.8 miles I came to my next viewpoint that overlooked Windham High Peak to the left and the Hudson Valley:

Hudson Valley

Windham High Peak and the Hudson Valley

This ledge was massive and I took a nice break to soak in the scenery. After that I was back on the trail and before you know it(around half a mile later), I hit another ledge with a view!! This view overlooks the Batavia Valley and Windham High Peak.

That small little ledge led to me to a massive view like below!

After soaking in the view at the ledge, I started to gain more in elevation and started going up the east side of Windham High Peak. I was actually excited to get a challenge in there finally. The elevation gain wasn't vertical, but enough to wear me down here and there and at sometimes, I had to stop and take a rest. There was one little section where I actually had to climb, but other than that, it was just a simple uphill hike.

I could easily tell when I reached the top because it started to flatten out and there were smaller trees. The smaller trees were due to its placement near the Hudson Valley and in the edge of the Batavia Valley. The winds can get pretty high around that area and the bigger and taller trees eventually lost the battle with the powerful winds. Plus, there is also a lack of conifer trees at the top of this peak. Almost all other Catskill peaks have at least some of a conifer trees at the top, yet Windham doesn't. I've heard that since Windham High Peak is located very close to the valley, they cut down the conifer trees for logging. There are a couple viewpoints on the top of the peak, plus a USGS (United States Geological Survey) marker at the top! USGS markers are objects placed to mark key survey points on the Earth's surface. They are used in geodetic and land surveying. Here are some pictures of the top!

Overlooking the Hudson Valley

Names and initials carved into the rock on the top of Windham High Peak.

USGS marker

After having lunch on the top and enjoying the views, I turned around and headed back to the parking area. I got to see the viewpoints once again on the way back which made it exciting. This time the sun wasn't directly pointing into the phone camera so the pictures are better!!

As you can see from the pictures, the clouds started to roll in near the end. This wasn't a bad thing because I was flying down the mountain and I was pretty sweaty, so cooling off was a good thing. A total of 7.2 miles and a elevation gain of 1600ft wasn't bad at all. After I was done, I realized that this was my 18th hike of the 3500's. Only 21 more to go!!