Snowshoeing Around Frick Pond - Catskill Mountains, NY - 3/7/2012
Frick Pond is located in the western Catskills near the village of Livingston Manor. The trailhead is located off of Beech Mountain Road. A network of trails surround Frick Pond, Hodge Pond to the north and Quick Lake to the northwest.
The Frick Pond Trailhead parking area is located on Beech Mountain Road, which turns off the Mongaup Pond Road, which in turn, turns off of Debruce Road, which comes out of Livingston Manor. The parking area has plenty of parking and provides access to the Quick Lake Trail and the Flynn Pond Trail. The Flynn Pond Trail is the easiest route to Hodge Pond and also provides for a good loop around Frick Pond.
From the parking area, the blue marked Flynn Trail makes its way through the woods before joining the old road to Hodge Pond. It climbs steadily along a ridge of Beech Mountain as its makes its way towards Hodge Pond. This trail is not a snowmobile trail, but a single snowmobile had traveled up and down the trail.
While this winter has not had the greatest snow, the area had a solid six inches or snow on this trip and we put our snowshoes at the trailhead. After about a little more than a mile on the Flynn Trail, we took off the road to the east and began working our way across the ravine that holds one of the inlets to Frick Pond.
There was enough to snow comfortable travel and bushwhack without too much effort on our snowshoes.
We made our way to the Big Rock Trail just above the Times Square intersection. From here, we headed south on the Big Rock Trail (which is also a snowmobile trail, so expect some snowmobile traffic during the winter months on it). At the Times Square intersection, we stayed on the yellow marked Big Rock Trail, which is no longer a snowmobile trail at this point. The trail makes its way down the western side of Frick Pond, across an inlet and through a swampy area on bridges and boardwalk. There is an expansive hemlock forest that the trail travels through, which makes for a really nice area to go through.
At the Big Rock Trail's intersection with the Quick Lake Trail, we turned left (south) on the red marked Quick Lake Trail, crossed the outlet of Frick Pond and then made our way back to the parking area on Beech Hill Road.
I was out scouting for the work that we will be doing on the trails this spring, but it was sure great to get out and enjoy some winter sports before this so-called winter was over. Plus it looks like we're going to have a great impact on these trails this spring - opening back overgrown trail sections and doing some erosion control work to dry out some chronically wet sections.
Trip Details:
Map: Catskill Trails Map #144
Mileage: Approximately 3.5 miles
Check out our Catskill Mountain Information Page for hikes, advice, travel and planning information. Need a hiking map for your hikes in the Catskills? We recommend the Trail Conference's Catskills Trails 6-Map Set
. These maps are some of the best available for hiking and outdoor adventures in the Catskills and the Catskill Park. 
How about a guidebook? Both AMC
and ADK
publish trail guides to the Catskill Region and the Adventures in the Outdoors Bookstore carries many more books and maps for hiking and exploring the Catskill Mountain region.
The Frick Pond Trailhead parking area is located on Beech Mountain Road, which turns off the Mongaup Pond Road, which in turn, turns off of Debruce Road, which comes out of Livingston Manor. The parking area has plenty of parking and provides access to the Quick Lake Trail and the Flynn Pond Trail. The Flynn Pond Trail is the easiest route to Hodge Pond and also provides for a good loop around Frick Pond.
From the parking area, the blue marked Flynn Trail makes its way through the woods before joining the old road to Hodge Pond. It climbs steadily along a ridge of Beech Mountain as its makes its way towards Hodge Pond. This trail is not a snowmobile trail, but a single snowmobile had traveled up and down the trail.
While this winter has not had the greatest snow, the area had a solid six inches or snow on this trip and we put our snowshoes at the trailhead. After about a little more than a mile on the Flynn Trail, we took off the road to the east and began working our way across the ravine that holds one of the inlets to Frick Pond.
There was enough to snow comfortable travel and bushwhack without too much effort on our snowshoes.
We made our way to the Big Rock Trail just above the Times Square intersection. From here, we headed south on the Big Rock Trail (which is also a snowmobile trail, so expect some snowmobile traffic during the winter months on it). At the Times Square intersection, we stayed on the yellow marked Big Rock Trail, which is no longer a snowmobile trail at this point. The trail makes its way down the western side of Frick Pond, across an inlet and through a swampy area on bridges and boardwalk. There is an expansive hemlock forest that the trail travels through, which makes for a really nice area to go through.
At the Big Rock Trail's intersection with the Quick Lake Trail, we turned left (south) on the red marked Quick Lake Trail, crossed the outlet of Frick Pond and then made our way back to the parking area on Beech Hill Road.
I was out scouting for the work that we will be doing on the trails this spring, but it was sure great to get out and enjoy some winter sports before this so-called winter was over. Plus it looks like we're going to have a great impact on these trails this spring - opening back overgrown trail sections and doing some erosion control work to dry out some chronically wet sections.
Trip Details:
Map: Catskill Trails Map #144
Mileage: Approximately 3.5 miles
Need More Information on Hiking and Planning your Outdoor Adventures in the Catskill Mountains and the Catskill Park?
Check out our Catskill Mountain Information Page for hikes, advice, travel and planning information. Need a hiking map for your hikes in the Catskills? We recommend the Trail Conference's Catskills Trails 6-Map Set. These maps are some of the best available for hiking and outdoor adventures in the Catskills and the Catskill Park. How about a guidebook? Both AMC and ADK publish trail guides to the Catskill Region and the Adventures in the Outdoors Bookstore carries many more books and maps for hiking and exploring the Catskill Mountain region.
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