Advice: Resources for hiking the Shawangunk Ridge Trail

Did you know that the Shawangunk Ridge Trail runs 40 miles along the world renowned Shawangunk Ridge between High Point State Park in New Jersey in the south and Sam's Point Preserve, New York in the north?  While the trail is co-aligned with its more famous sibling The Long Path in many places, the SRT as it is called offers hikers a single challenging multi-day trip or the potential for several day trips.

The trail travels north from High Point State Park in New Jersey following for the most part, the crest of the Shawangunk Ridge northward while occasionally using abandoned roadways and rail beds.  In addition to the ridge crest, the SRT passes through the Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area.  The Basha Kill is one of the most extensive wetland systems in the area and offers almost unlimited opportunities for bird and wildlife viewing.

After leaving the Basha Kill, the trail climbs back onto the ridge after Wurtsboro and spends the next ten miles or so along the ridgetop.  This section of the trail offers extensive views of the Catskills to the north and the High Point area to the south, along with views to the east and west.

If you are interested in the SRT, the Trail Conference has a number of different resources available, including online maps that are available for download and they offer trail descriptions where the SRT and Long Path are co-aligned.

The Shawangunk Ridge Trail was initiated by the Trail Conference in 1989 and continues to be a work in progress. The Trail Conference and its partners work to protect a ridge-length trail corridor and connect the trail to other trails along the way.


For More Information on Hiking in the Shawangunks

Check out the Shawangunk Ridge section of our Adventures in the Outdoors Bookstore.


The Trail Conference publishes maps for portions of the Shawangunk Ridge on its Shawangunk Trails Map and maps for High Point State Park in New Jersey are included on the Kittainny Trails Map.  The book, Scenes and Walks in the Northern Shawangunks is a guide to trails of the northern Shawangunk Ridge area, as is Gunks Trails: A Rangers Guide and the Shawangunks Trail Companion.