Rock Climbing at Peter's Kill

Rock climbing at Minnewaska State Park Preserve is allowed in one place only: the Peter's Kill Area, which has its own entrance on Route 44-55. Technical climbing runs from April through December, weather permitting. Every climber buys a climbing pass, $10 for the day or $90 for the season, and signs NY State Parks' annual acknowledgement of risk form. Bouldering is also on the park's list of activities.

Where You Can Climb

NY State Parks says climbing is only permitted at the Peter's Kill Area. Its Minnewaska page lists the Peterskill Area as a separate entrance from the main Lake Minnewaska gate, and it publishes a Climbing Area Map as a PDF. Climbing on the cliffs elsewhere in the preserve, including the lake cliffs and the overlooks along the carriage roads, is not permitted.

The blue High Peter's Kill Trail, 2.8 miles on NY State Parks' map, links the Peter's Kill Area with the Awosting Falls area, so hikers can reach the climbing area on foot from the main lots.

Passes, Permits and Waivers

• Day pass: $10.
• Season pass: $90.
• Daily climbing permit, issued with the pass.
• Annual acknowledgement of risk: NY State Parks posts a fillable Climbers' waiver to sign once a year.
• Climbing guides have their own fillable waiver from NY State Parks.

These are on top of the $10 vehicle fee. Ask at the gate or call the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center at (845) 255-0752.

Season and Conditions

Technical rock climbing is permitted from April through December, weather permitting. The preserve opens at 9 a.m., and you must be out by the posted closing time: 7 p.m. in September, 6 p.m. in late October, 5 p.m. from November.

Bouldering

Bouldering is on NY State Parks' list of recreational activities at Minnewaska. Ask at the Peter's Kill gate where bouldering is allowed and what paperwork applies.

Rules That Apply to Climbers

• Stay on designated trails to reach the crags.
• No drones, amplified music or smoking anywhere in the preserve.
• Dogs on a leash of six feet or less. Mohonk Preserve warns that tying a dog at the base of a climb is not "under control," and the same sense applies here.
• No trash cans: pack out tape, food and everything else.
• No camping or fires: the preserve is day use only.

Climbing Next Door: Mohonk Preserve

Mohonk Preserve, next door, calls its Gunks cliffs world-famous; climbers reach them from its West Trapps and Coxing trailheads, under Mohonk's own fees and rules. See Mohonk Preserve.

Where Climbers Camp

There is no camping in the preserve. The tent-only Samuel F. Pryor III Shawangunk Gateway Campground, run by the American Alpine Club and Mohonk Preserve, is five minutes from Minnewaska's main entrances. See camping.

Good For / Maybe Skip If

• Good for: climbers who want a permitted, quieter crag inside the state park, with a season pass.
• Maybe skip if: you want the Trapps; those cliffs are on Mohonk Preserve, with a separate fee.