Best Places to See Fall Foliage in the Catskills

Pronounced like "Hannah-Craw," this place is straight up gorgeous in fall. Located in New Baltimore, the Hannacroix Creek Preserve or HCP spans 113 acres with a few miles of easy-to-explore paths on the Irving Trail and River Trail. The Irving Trail is by far the bigger payoff – offering a nice meander that ends at a spectacular waterfall. Add in sunny skies and fall color – and you've got one breathtaking fall foliage experience in the Great Northern Catskills.

If you've ever seen a painting of the Hudson River or Catskill Mountains, chances are it was painted by one of the disciples of the Hudson River School, a dreamy, idealized style that showcased the raw beauty and power of the natural world. The movement started with Thomas Cole, a painter from England who fell in love with the Catskills and relocated to paint the area full time. Recognizing the beauty of the Catskill region in autumn, Cole and the other Hudson River painters often captured the beauty of the Catskills fall foliage in their works of art. Today, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site is open for guests and is the first stop on the Hudson River School of Art Trail, a series of hiking trails that lead to vistas immortalized by Cole and practitioners of his style. Cole's depictions of the Catskill Mountains throughout the seasons helped inform early conservation efforts, and partly due to his brushstrokes, the views he captured are largely unchanged for today's visitor.

Okay, so this is technically a stop on the Kaaterskill Clove, but it's worth calling out in its own right too. Located in Tannersville, the Mountain Top Arboretum is a public garden with a unique environment that allows for different types of trees and flowers to flourish, which makes it a perfect stop during an autumn visit to the Catskills. Trails and boardwalks traverse the garden's 178-acres, showcasing meadows, wetlands, forests and Devonian bedrock. A new, frankly way cool, education center is going up at the garden, and kid and adult-friendly programs and events are hosted throughout the fall. Immerse yourself in the season and learn about lichens and native tree foliage when the leaves are at peak.