State / City Lands
We have wonderful outdoor resources that span multiple towns and add up to hundreds of thousands of acres of protected and forever wild lands. The secret is that there is so much land here you almost never see anyone on it when you're out hiking. What is most important to understand about the Catskill Park is that it lies completely with the New York City watershed system. So there are two types of governmental ownership of lands which the public may access - but each has different rules.
Access to City and State Lands
Fishing and hunting licenses, hiking maps, and other information on the Catskill Forest Preserve and state owned lands can be obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's website. Many of the lands the State owns are quite large parcels - such as Bear Spring State Park, Little Pond / Big Pond State Park, East Sidney Recreation Area, Relay State Park. These have the most maintained trailheads, parking areas, signage and other amenities. Others are reforestation parcels such as Plattekill Reforestation area which is 1600 acres and is open to the public but with no trail system or parking areas to speak of.
Access to New York City Department of Environmental Protection owned lands requires a permit. There is one access permit for hiking and fishing, but additional permits are required for hunting tags and rowboat access. These are separate from NYS DEC permits. These can be obtained online. The city owns many smaller parcels that were once part of farms which now the City owns. Some but not all are open to the public for some types of activity. None have trail systems in place on them. It is always best to check the website linked above to make sure you are up to date on the lands, their uses, and permits required.
