Catskill Message Forum >> Thomas Cole House, Catskill,... -
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Published on: 2/12/2005
Last Visited: 1/18/2007
For hikers, a new book, 'Catskill Mountain House Trail Guide: In the Footsteps of the Hudson River School,' by Robert A. Gildersleeve, ,Black Dome Press, $16.95 ,, includes period illustrations and maps to painting sites.
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'You have to experience the walk,' said Robert Gildersleeve, executive director of the local Mountain Top Historical Society. 'You have to go through the landscape and arrive at the location to truly enjoy the romantic feeling they had.'
A huge draw in the 1820s was a resort called the Catskill Mountain House.Though the building no longer exists, the area surrounding it, now part of North-South Lake state campground, is the final location on the trail.
Gildersleeve, who recently wrote the book 'Catskill Mountain House Trail Guide: In the Footsteps of the Hudson River School,' said his favorite spot is Bear's Den.The art trail recommends two hours -- one hour hiking each way -- to get there and see the picturesque spot where the resort once stood.
'I like the composition of it.You see down into the Hudson Valley, you see the nearby lake,' Gildersleeve said.
A visitor looks over the edge of Kaaterskill Falls outside Catskill, New York.