Skip to content

Giant Ledge

CatskillsOut and backVerified September 9, 2026
The headwaters of the Esopus Creek below Giant Ledge
The headwaters of the Esopus Creek below Giant Ledge, nearby. Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Distance

3.2 mi

5.2 km · NYS DEC

Elevation gain

1,027 ft

313 m · USGS 3DEP

Time

1½ h–2 h

computed, Naismith's rule

Difficulty

moderate

index 81, computed

Blazes

Yellow (Phoenicia-East Branch Trail)Blue (Giant Ledge-Panther Trail)

NYS DEC

Getting there

By car

trailhead parking · NYS DEC

The route

Topographic map of Giant Ledge12PGiant Ledge TrailheadTrailhead© OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Oliverea RoadPhoenicia - East Branch Trailyellow dec dics blazesGiant Ledge - Panther - Fox Hollow Trailblue dec discs blazesmile markers

Trail line from OpenStreetMap (6186794, 6343079), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Tiles © OpenTopoMap, CC-BY-SA.

Download GPXGeoJSONWalk there in Google MapsApple Maps

Weather at the trailhead

DayHighLowForecastRainWind
Wed, Sep 972°F 22°C61°F 16°CMostly Cloudy then Slight Chance Rain Showers, night: showers and thunderstorms77%3 to 9 mph SW
Thu, Sep 1073°F 23°C49°F 9°CSlight Chance Rain Showers then Mostly Sunny, night: mostly cloudy17%9 to 14 mph W
Fri, Sep 1167°F 19°C47°F 8°CSunny, night: mostly clear0%6 to 9 mph NW
Sat, Sep 1269°F 21°C54°F 12°CMostly Sunny, night: slight chance rain showers24%1 to 7 mph SW
Sun, Sep 1372°F 22°C54°F 12°CChance Rain Showers, night: chance rain showers then mostly cloudy32%6 mph SW
Mon, Sep 1472°F 22°C54°F 12°CPartly Sunny, night: partly cloudy9%6 mph W
Tue, Sep 1572°F 22°C57°F 14°CMostly Sunny then Chance Rain Showers, night: chance showers and thunderstorms38%5 to 9 mph SW

Forecast for Giant Ledge Trailhead from the National Weather Service (ALY office), issued Sep 9, 6:05 AM, fetched Sep 9, 7:06 AM; refreshed hourly. Public domain.

Today at the trailhead: sunrise 6:31 AM, sunset 7:19 PM (computed, NOAA solar algorithm). Check the last train against sunset.

Route by trail

MileTrailBlazesLength
0.0Oliverea Road—0.0 mi
0.0Phoenicia - East Branch TrailYellow dec dics0.7 mi
0.7Giant Ledge - Panther - Fox Hollow TrailBlue dec discs1.8 mi
2.5Phoenicia - East Branch TrailYellow dec dics0.7 mi
3.2Oliverea Road—0.0 mi

Trail names and blazes from the OpenStreetMap route relations, lengths measured along the drawn line, in walking order.

Along the way

MileWhatNameElevation
0.0Parking: Giant Ledge TrailheadGiant Ledge Trailhead—
1.3Springunnamed—
1.5Viewpointunnamed—
1.5Viewpointunnamed—
1.5Viewpointunnamed—
1.5Viewpointunnamed—
1.5Viewpointunnamed—
1.6Viewpointunnamed—

Features within 120 m of the line from OpenStreetMap (ODbL), fetched 2026-09-09. Mile is the distance along the line to the nearest point on it.

Getting there by car

Giant Ledge Trailhead

42.02666, -74.40403

Directions in Google MapsApple Maps

Trailhead from the managing agency · verified 2026-09-09. No station is within a verified walk of this trailhead.

Elevation profile

650 m825 m1000 m0.0 km1.3 km2.6 km3.9 km5.2 km
Elevation sampled every 50 m from USGS 3DEP Elevation Point Query Service (2026-09-09). Gain 313 m, loss 312 m. Hover the profile to see the spot on the map.

Every fact, with its source

Distance5.2 km (3.2 mi)
Elevation gain313 m (1027 ft)
Route typeOut and back
Time1½ h–2 h (computed, Naismith's rule)
Difficultymoderate (index 81, computed)
BlazesYellow (Phoenicia-East Branch Trail), Blue (Giant Ledge-Panther Trail)
Managed byNYS Department of Environmental Conservation
TrailheadGiant Ledge Trailhead 42.02666, -74.40403
Parking, fee, lot timesNot yet verified

Permits & closures

No permit, reservation, or capacity rule is recorded for this hike. Check the official sources before you go.

Report a correction

Wrong walk time? Closed trail?

Tell us and cite a source if you have one. Submissions go to a review queue; we change a fact only when a source supports the change.