The Catskills are the closest real winter mountains to Albany — forty-five minutes to the Thruway exit — and the closest to New York City, which is why the ski areas get busy on weekends and empty on weekdays.
Skiing
Hunter Mountain — the biggest, the busiest, and the one with the most terrain. Weekends are genuinely crowded.
Windham Mountain — smaller, generally friendlier for a family’s first ski day, and less of a scene.
Belleayre — state-run, usually the best value of the three, and the least crowded. About an hour and fifteen from Albany.
For a first-timer, Windham or Belleayre. Hunter on a Saturday is a lot for a child who’s never skied.
Frozen Kaaterskill Falls
The 260-foot falls partially freeze most winters, and it’s genuinely dramatic — a wall of ice where the water was.
The trail is significantly more dangerous in winter than in summer, and the summer trail is already where people get hurt. Ice, no railings in places, a steep drop. Microspikes are not optional. With young children, use the Laurel House Road viewing platform — the same advice as summer, more urgently.
Snowshoeing and cross-country
North-South Lake closes to vehicles but stays open for snowshoe and cross-country. The escarpment views are better in winter — no leaves in the way — and you’ll have them to yourself.
Ashokan Rail Trail — flat, wide, and manageable on snowshoes with kids.
With kids who don’t ski
Tubing at Hunter and Windham. The Catskill cats hunt still works in winter — the sculptures don’t hibernate. the cats of Catskill
Practical
- Route 23A through Kaaterskill Clove is steep and it ices. In a storm, take Route 32A or approach from the west.
- Belleayre is further but the drive is easier in bad weather.
- Cell service is poor in the Clove.