Hiking: Dibble's Quarry & Pecoy Notch Beaver Pond | Catskill Mountains, NY | 10/9/09
On my last visit to the Catskills my Father and I had the afternoon free and figured we'd go and check out the beaver pond just below Pecoy Notch. This pond a few years back was just an old beaver meadow, as the beavers had moved on, but now, it's been re-inhabited and the beavers are going strong, raising the pond to levels I've never seen and even moving past the main pond to create other ponds on the small swamps to the west.
The trail begins off of the Roaring Kill Road at the parking area for the Pecoy Notch and Mink Hollow trails. A short yellow trail leads up to the intersection of the two trails and in just over 2 miles you can be in Mink Hollow to the west in about 1.7 miles, be in Pecoy Notch to the east. We headed up to Pecoy Notch.
From there the trail climbs up fairly steadily as it makes its way to the first quarry along the trail. The trail actually follows an old quarry road that was used to haul the rock out of the quarries. The trail never really gets very steep, but there are a couple of short pitches that aren't exactly level either.
Once you're past that first quarry, the trail is generally level until it reaches Dibble's Quarry. Along the way you follow a bench around the front of the mountain and above you there are some large cliffs. In places, boulders from those cliffs have fallen and the trail makes its way past the rocks.
The trail approaches Dibble's Quarry from above so you see the opening in the trees ahead. The trail drops down over a ledge and then enters the quarry. When we were there it was pretty thick fog, but the quarry does offer a great view up towards Twin Mountain and across Platte Clove to Round Top and High Peak mountains.
While Dibble's Quarry is a fun place to visit, we continued on past the quarry, crossing the small stream and then climbing fairly steadily as the trail makes its way to the beaver pond.
We didn't end up going all the way to Pecoy Notch, which is less than a half a mile above from the the pond. Instead we turned around and started heading back. As we approached the quarry, the clouds had lifted enough to give us something of a view.
All in all, a good hike to spend a few extra hours on an afternoon.
Outdoor Hiking, Backpacking and Camping Guide Services:
The trail begins off of the Roaring Kill Road at the parking area for the Pecoy Notch and Mink Hollow trails. A short yellow trail leads up to the intersection of the two trails and in just over 2 miles you can be in Mink Hollow to the west in about 1.7 miles, be in Pecoy Notch to the east. We headed up to Pecoy Notch.
From there the trail climbs up fairly steadily as it makes its way to the first quarry along the trail. The trail actually follows an old quarry road that was used to haul the rock out of the quarries. The trail never really gets very steep, but there are a couple of short pitches that aren't exactly level either.
Once you're past that first quarry, the trail is generally level until it reaches Dibble's Quarry. Along the way you follow a bench around the front of the mountain and above you there are some large cliffs. In places, boulders from those cliffs have fallen and the trail makes its way past the rocks.
The trail approaches Dibble's Quarry from above so you see the opening in the trees ahead. The trail drops down over a ledge and then enters the quarry. When we were there it was pretty thick fog, but the quarry does offer a great view up towards Twin Mountain and across Platte Clove to Round Top and High Peak mountains.
While Dibble's Quarry is a fun place to visit, we continued on past the quarry, crossing the small stream and then climbing fairly steadily as the trail makes its way to the beaver pond.
We didn't end up going all the way to Pecoy Notch, which is less than a half a mile above from the the pond. Instead we turned around and started heading back. As we approached the quarry, the clouds had lifted enough to give us something of a view.
All in all, a good hike to spend a few extra hours on an afternoon.
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You can find more information about this hike on:- The NYNJ Trail Conference's Catskill Trails Map Set
- National Geographic's Trails Illustrated Map for the Catskill Park
- Catskill Mountain Information Page
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