Mohonk Preserve

Mohonk Preserve is a nonprofit nature preserve on the Shawangunk Ridge, right next to Minnewaska State Park Preserve and a few miles west of New Paltz. It covers more than 8,000 acres with over 70 miles of carriage roads and trails and the Gunks climbing cliffs. It is not part of the state park: Mohonk charges its own day-use fee or membership, keeps its own rules, and its trailheads open sunrise to sunset, with day-use visitors admitted from 9 a.m. Mohonk Mountain House, the resort, is a separate organization again.

Mohonk Preserve or Minnewaska?

The two share a ridge and a carriage-road heritage, and NY State Parks' map shows Mohonk Preserve on Minnewaska's north-eastern boundary. Trails from Mohonk's West Trapps trailhead lead onto Minnewaska lands. The differences that matter for planning:

• Who runs it: Minnewaska is a state park run by NY State Parks and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. Mohonk Preserve is a private nonprofit.
• Fee: Minnewaska charges $10 per car. Mohonk Preserve charges a day-use fee per visitor unless you are a member; check mohonkpreserve.org for the current rate. An Empire Pass does not cover Mohonk.
• Hours: Minnewaska opens at 9 a.m. and closes at a seasonal time. Mohonk's lands are open sunrise to sunset, with day-use visitors from 9 a.m.
• Swimming: Minnewaska has two designated swimming areas (closed until 2027). Mohonk Preserve lists wading at Split Rock on the Coxing Kill.
• Climbing: Minnewaska allows roped climbing only at the Peter's Kill Area. Mohonk Preserve's Trapps are part of what it calls the world-famous Gunks cliffs.

Mohonk Preserve Trailheads

Mohonk Preserve publishes these trailheads:

• Visitor Center and East Trapps Connector, 3197 State Route 44/55, Gardiner: free visitor center open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round (closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Christmas Eve afternoon). A quarter-mile of steep stone steps climbs to the carriage roads and the Trapps.
• West Trapps, 3700 Route 55, Gardiner: hiking, biking, climbing and bouldering. Mohonk says this lot fills very early on peak weekends.
• Coxing, 800 Clove Road, Gardiner: the smallest lot, for hiking, climbing and wading at Split Rock.
• Spring Farm, 50 Upper 27 Knolls Road, High Falls: hiking, biking, horseback riding, the Bonticou Crag and Table Rocks trails.
• Testimonial Gateway, 35 Route 299, New Paltz: walking, running and cycling in the Foothills, with a link to the River-to-Ridge Trail.
• Duck Pond, 29 Pine Road, New Paltz: carriage roads and the six-mile Skytop Loop toward Mohonk Mountain House lands.

Rules at Mohonk Preserve

• Stay on official marked trails; routes shown only in hiking apps are not permitted.
• Dogs on a six-foot leash, never in ponds or streams, not on carriage roads in cross-country ski season, and not on Mohonk Mountain House grounds.
• No camping, fires, alcohol, smoking or glass. E1 (Class 1) e-bikes are the only motorized vehicles allowed.
• Drones only with a Mohonk permit. No collecting or foraging.

Parking and Getting There

Every Mohonk trailhead has a lot, and Mohonk warns they fill early on summer and fall weekends. The state posts half-hour limits at the Scenic Overlook and Hairpin Turn pull-offs on Route 44/55, so do not count on those. Ulster County's free Saturday Nature Bus, late April to the end of September, serves Mohonk Preserve's Testimonial Gateway and Visitor Center as well as Minnewaska.

Doing Both in One Trip

The Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center is half a mile from the Route 299 and 44/55 intersection; Minnewaska's main entrance is about five miles farther west on Route 44-55. A common plan: Mohonk's Trapps in the morning, Lake Minnewaska in the afternoon, or the reverse if the first lot is full. Remember the two separate fees. See parking and Lake Minnewaska.

Camping Near Both

Neither preserve allows camping. The tent-only Samuel F. Pryor III Shawangunk Gateway Campground, run by the American Alpine Club and Mohonk Preserve, is on Route 299 in Gardiner. See camping.