Bonticou Crag Trail is a 2.3 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near High Falls, New York that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Travel from open fields through the woods and hike to the top of a prominent, stark-white crag overlooking the valley. (Optional, there is a challenging rock scramble up.) Note: There is a day fee of $15 per person, $20 for bikers, climbers, and horseback riders. Mohonk Preserve also sells annual memberships. Please check with the preserve page for more information.
There is on-site parking, but it's small and fills up quick during the weekends.
www.mohonkpreserve.org info@mohonkpreserve.org 845-255-0919
Visitor Center (open from 9AM-5PM) and its immediate grounds are free for public access. Make it back to your car and out the park as trailhead parking lots will be locked and closed at 7 PM.
Spring Farm Trailhead is one of the Preserve’s smaller parking lots. Please be aware that this lot fills up quickly especially during peak hours and the weekends. Take the New Paltz exit 18 off of the NYS Thruway. Go west on Route 299 (through New Paltz), go over steel bridge and turn right onto Springtown Road. Make a left onto Mountain Rest Road. Pass the entrance to the Mohonk Mountain House and go under the one-lane bridge. (Horse trailers, note: clearance is only 11 feet. See alternate route below.) Continue on 1 mile, and turn right on Upper 27 Knolls Road. Within ¼ mile, you’ll reach the kiosk for the Spring Farm Trailhead. This is the trailhead for Bonticou Crag as well as the Table Rocks Trail. Enjoy the "Million Dollar View" of the Catskills – just a short walk from the Spring Farm parking area. Reminders of its earlier agricultural roots, the open fields and broad views at Spring Farm give way to quiet, forested paths.
February 20, 2021January 28, 2021January 20, 2021January 17, 2021Really scenic but super icy
January 13, 2021Love this trail! Went on a gloomy Wednesday winter morning and encountered nobody on the way up, and only 2 people on the way down. Some parts were icy, but I managed without spikes/poles just fine. My doggo also loved it. Will 100% return again!
January 7, 2021Awesome
January 1, 2021Very well groomed with a decent amount of traffic.
December 31, 2020December 30, 2020Great hike great rock scramble
December 29, 2020Great hike. The rock scramble is a lot of fun, but not a walk in the park either. My 7 yr old did it, but it was too much for my 5 yr old. One tip... if there are members of your party who want to do it and others that don’t, there’s a path around the rock scramble that takes you to the top as well. We did the rock scramble up and walked back down. Walking up might take 10-15 minutes longer than doing the scramble. Well maintained and marked.
December 29, 2020The rock scramble was challenging
December 27, 2020Real fun, somewhat challenging and not too long . Great for family’s. There’s a great rock scramble route but we did not attempt. The views were beautiful .
December 6, 2020awesome hike!!!!!
December 6, 2020Awesome
December 2, 2020Trail was in great shape! A little wet in spots, the scramble is awesome and the views are some of the best around!!
November 28, 2020November 27, 2020November 26, 2020November 23, 2020I thought the trail was clearly marked, I thought it was a fairly easy hike ( if you are experienced ) I thought the scramble was awesome, and the table rocks were unbelievable! Very cool hike I would do it again!
November 23, 2020Better than expected hike. The scramble is really fun!
November 20, 2020The initial path (red) was well marked. Once you arrive at the scramble, it’s unclear which direction to go on the northeast trail (blue). Left goes up and around the scramble but the markers disappear at the bottom of the hill. If you go right it takes you deep into the woods on a beautiful leaf-covered trail. It was very Thoreau-like, not another soul, one heartbeat and stillness accompanied by the rustling of leaves. Eventually you hook back into the red trail and south toward the trailhead. Very picturesque landscapes. 
November 19, 2020Very good. Can avoid the scramble by taking the footpath. But the scramble looks like fun! (And is short)
November 19, 2020Easy trail to hike just don’t do the rock scramble go up from the other side views from the top are outstanding I would recommend it
November 14, 2020Definitely a gorgeous view once to the top. Rock scramble was intense but worth it.
November 10, 2020Overview was absolutely breath-taking. The hike up the rocks was moderate, but the rest of the way was pretty easy.
November 9, 2020Awesome again. Great sunlight and fall views.
November 8, 2020Trail is great and can be done rather quickly depending on your hiking ability. There are a few ways up so I recommend using the app’s map.
November 7, 2020This is one of the best trails we have been to. The scramble rocks were so fun even our dog enjoyed climbing on it. It can be challenging eapecially it is a narrow trail, only one person is able to climb each time. We need to wait for people in front of you to go first. A few climbers jumped the line.The view is amazing at the top.
November 7, 2020November 7, 2020This is by far the biggest disappointments all trails has ever given me. First off the name sake of this trail does not begin until after the rock scramble that is mentioned. So that is very misleading. Furthermore, In the reviews that I read that come up first, it is not mentioned that there is a $15 fee to get in here. Also, nobody bothers to mention that this is like New York City Disneyland. The trails were very crowded and full of very rude people. I will say that today was a very beautiful day and the view was gorgeous. That was the only saving grace of this hike. As an avid hiker and a nature lover all trails really did me dirty today.
