Things to Do in the Catskills With Kids

The Catskills start about forty-five minutes south of Albany and they are a different mountain range from the Adirondacks in ways that matter for families. They’re lower, softer, closer to New York City, and much more about waterfalls and short hikes than about summits. For a family with young children that’s usually an advantage.

What’s actually worth your time

Kaaterskill Falls. New York’s tallest cascading waterfall, two tiers, about 260 feet. It’s also the most misjudged hike in the region. The trail from the lower parking area is short but steep, rocky, and genuinely slippery when wet. People get hurt here every year. There’s a viewing platform accessible from a different, much easier approach off Laurel House Road — for families with small children, that’s the version to do.

North-South Lake. A state campground and day-use area with two connected lakes, a beach, swimming, boat rentals, and easy trails to escarpment viewpoints that painters made famous in the 1800s. This is the best single destination in the Catskills for a family day.

Zoom Flume Water Park. In East Durham. Smaller and older than the big commercial parks, which for families with young kids is the point — it’s manageable, less overwhelming, and cheaper.

Hunter Mountain and Windham. Both are real ski areas in winter with beginner terrain and lesson programs. Hunter runs a scenic skyride in warmer months. Windham is generally the friendlier of the two for a family’s first ski day.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site. In Catskill village. The home of the painter who founded the Hudson River School. It’s a house museum, which is a hard sell for young children, but the grounds and the view are free and the connection to what you can see from the escarpment trails is real.

The Percy Jackson connection. Several scenes from The Lightning Thief were shot in the region, and if your kids know the books, mapping the locations turns a drive into a scavenger hunt.

the Lightning Thief trail

The Catskill cats. The village of Catskill has painted cat sculptures scattered through the streets — a free, self-guided hunt that works remarkably well for ages four to ten.

the cats of Catskill

By age

Toddlers and preschool. The Catskill cats, North-South Lake beach, Zoom Flume’s toddler areas. Skip Kaaterskill Falls’ main trail entirely.

Five to eight. The Laurel House viewing platform approach to Kaaterskill, North-South Lake trails, Hunter’s skyride.

Nine and up. The full Kaaterskill Falls trail with close supervision, the escarpment trail viewpoints, and skiing at Windham or Hunter.

Getting there from Albany

Forty-five minutes to an hour south on the Thruway to Exit 21 (Catskill) or Exit 20 (Saugerties), depending on where you’re headed. Mountain roads inside the park — Route 23A through Kaaterskill Clove is steep, winding, and worth doing in daylight.