June 2, ‎2024 – Olivebridge, NY

June 5, 2024 – Kingston, NY

Difficulty: Easy

Length: Approximately 5.8 miles – total elevation gain approximately 180 ft.

Route type: Out and Back

Map: Ashokan Day Use Area

Ashokan Reservoir Promenade East Parking Lot: 27 B W S Rd, Kingston, NY 12401
Room for 30 vehicles

Ashokan Reservoir Promenade West Parking Lot: Olivebridge, NY 12461
Room for 20 vehicles

Portable Toilets on site

No dogs allowed

Please be advised that there is no tree cover and you will be fully exposed to the elements, including the hot sun.

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Overview:

Ashokan Reservoir, located 14 miles west of the City of Kingston in Ulster County, was created in 1915 by the construction of 5-1/2 miles of dams and dikes within the Esopus Creek drainage. This 8,315 acre reservoir is a major component of the Catskill System of the New York City Water supply. The reservoir is broken into two basins by a dividing weir near its center. The Dividing Weir, pinches and separates the upper west basin from the lower east basin.

Aside from being a valuable freshwater resource, the Ashokan Reservoir is also an enjoyable recreational site seeing about 75,000 local visitors and tourists annually. The day use areas on the south side of the reservoir feature spectacular views and natural beauty.

There are some very specific rules and regulations in place regarding the use of the reservoir though. The reservoir is heavily monitored to ensure that it isn’t contaminated, and visitors need to follow specific guidelines and rules to enjoy the area around the reservoir safely.

Take note that recreational users of NYC DEP trails are required to closely observe usage limitations and may incur fines for non-compliance with posted rules.

There is no swimming allowed at Ashokan Reservoir.

A paved handicap accessible path along the southern edge of the Ashokan Reservoir offers beautiful views and multiple recreational opportunities. The path is 2.9 miles one way and 5.8 roundtrip. The two parking areas are on either side of the walking path: one in Olivebridge, and the other in Kingston.

A tranquil area within the Catskill Park and Catskill Forest Preserve, it is filled with wildlife, majestic mountain peaks, and unlimited opportunities for the outdoor lover. Visitors can walk, ride bikes, rollerblade, or cross-country ski in the wintertime. With a DEP Access Permit, fishing is permitted on the reservoir.

Public access to the Day Use Areas along the reservoir is provided for free by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP).

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History:

Ashokan, meaning “Place of Fish” is aptly named given the recreational fishing opportunities for both coldwater and warm water fish that the reservoir provides.

The Ashokan Reservoir was constructed between 1907 and 1915, by the New York City Board of Water Supply, by impounding the Esopus Creek. Thousands of acres of farmland were submerged. The impoundment covered twelve communities located in a valley where farming, logging, and quarrying prevailed. The area that became the West Basin of the reservoir contained 504 dwellings, nine blacksmith shops, 35 stores, 10 churches, 10 schools, seven sawmills and a gristmill. Several of these communities were re-established in nearby locations. The dam was mainly built by local laborers, but also attracted an influx of itinerant workers from outside of the Hudson Valley, including a number of Italian immigrants. In addition to construction, these laborers also did the job of razing most of the trees and buildings in the area. A police force was formed to keep watch over the construction site, which would later become the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police, an agency that today is charged with protecting and preserving the New York City water supply system.

At over 8300 acres, it was the world’s largest at the time and the first of six to be built in the Catskills between 1907 and 1965. It can hold 122.9 billion gallons at full capacity. Impressively, all the water flows by gravity through more than 100 miles of underground piping to reach New York City. In sheer scale, ingenuity, and functionality, the achievement was considered on a par with the building of the Panama Canal, which opened just one year earlier.

Today, more than a billion gallons of Catskills water reaches New York City per day.

After the September 11 attacks, the city and state decided to permanently close the spillway road to vehicular traffic as a security precaution.

The closed roadway was turned into a muti-use pedestrian pathway known as the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade. The paved walkway provides visitors with panoramic views of the Catskill Mountains.

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Walk Overview:

Visiting the Catskills is always fun and quite scenic. Dealing with some leg issues, but still wanting to enjoy the outdoors, this place was perfect. Since the entire paved path is relatively flat, it allowed me to log some miles without the elevation. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and on a beautiful Sunday morning in June, there weren’t too many people on the promenade.

I visited the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade twice in three days and started from opposite ends on each visit.

On my first visit, I parked at the Five Pines Parking Area at the West Basin entrance in Olivebridge. The out and back mileage was about 3.3 miles.

When I was done, I also visited the Catskills Visitor Center which is about 10 miles away (15 minute drive) and climbed their fire tower.

When I returned three days later, I parked at the Frying Pan parking area in Kingston, at the East Basin entrance.

I will describe the two separate walks the way they were done. You can choose to do this walk as an out and back, park a vehicle at each end, or do it as two separate walks.

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From the Olivebridge Parking Area:

The western section of the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade is referred to as the Olivebridge Dam. This parking area is also known as the Five Pines Parking Area.

Proceed past the retractable bollards to begin your walk along the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade West.

Signs like this around the Ashokan Reservoir mark the sites of former communities that were displaced or submerged by its construction.

The paved path along the Olivebridge Dam provides beautiful views of the reservoir.

There are interpretive signs spread out along the promenade that detail the Ashokan Reservoir’s history.

The promenade continues across a section of the dam under which water can be released into the Esopus Creek.

The Olivebridge Dam is the main structure that forms the Ashokan Reservoir by impounding water from the Esopus Creek. The dam is 4,650 feet long. It’s 1,000-foot main section is made of concrete and large blocks of Bluestone harvested from local quarries. Its two wings are made of earth tightly compacted around concrete cores.

Ashokan High Point dominates the landscape on the western section of the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade.

The Slide Mountain Wilderness to the west of the promenade.

As you are walking on the promenade, look around. Deer can often be seen grazing on the grassy slope.

Benches are provided for visitors to take a rest and soak in the views.

This section of the promenade goes along the reservoir and then enters a wooded section passing a monument dedicated to J. Waldo Smith, engineer of the New York City water supply system.

After about a mile from the Five Pines Parking Area, there is a road on the right. Turn right and follow the road a short distance up to Winchell Hill

The historic monument was built in 1908 as hundreds of workers constructed the dam, dikes, chambers and tunnels that would become Ashokan Reservoir. It was built atop Winchell Hill, a high point in the vicinity of the construction and used as a triangulation tower to provide surveyors with an elevated and unimpeded view from which to take measurements.

On Nov. 11, 1908, the tower was dedicated as the McClellan Monument. It was named after New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, who successfully pushed for the construction of Ashokan Reservoir, the Catskill Aqueduct, and the other reservoirs and infrastructure that comprise NY City’s Catskills Water Supply System.

In 1936, a memorial tablet was added to the monument in memory of J. Waldo Smith, the chief engineer for the Board of Water Supply, who directed construction of the Catskill System.

Continuing east along the promenade.

The Dividing Weir Bridge, which carries Reservoir Road over Ashokan Reservoir.

The Dividing Weir, atop which Reservoir Road crosses the reservoir, functions to abate sedimentation that periodically occurs in waters that enter the upper reservoir basin. The weir slows the flow of water between the basins so that the sediment is allowed to settle before the less turbid water is release from the lower basin to begin its journey to the taps of New York City. The dividing weir offers spectacular views of the reservoir and the backdrop of forested mountains.

The Fountain Day Use Area is located south of the reservoir wall and midway along the promenade, near Reservoir Road. Water that runs through the decorative fountain is also used to turn two turbine generators situated below the ground to produce a total of 4,750 kilowatts. The small hydroelectric plant was installed in 1982 and is operated by the New York Power Authority.

Take time to read about Ashokan Reservoir’s history along the way.

Here the western section of the promenade ends to allow vehicular traffic to pass from Reservoir Road along a NYC Board of Water Supply (BWS) Road to Route NY-28A. If you decide to proceed past this point, use caution while walking along the road.

The concrete Dividing Weir on Reservoir Road. The Ashokan Reservoir is separated into two basins by Reservoir Road. Water does not pass freely between the two basins, and the eastern basin is seven inches lower than the western basin.

The Dividing Weir Bridge, as it is called, is made up of concrete arches that carry Reservoir Road between the north and south sides of the Ashokan Reservoir.

From the Dividing Weir Bridge, there are great views over both basins of the reservoir.

This yellow device is a robotic monitoring buoy. This particular buoy at Ashokan Reservoir is part of a network that transmits real-time data back to their water supply operations center, providing DEP with key information to ensure the best quality water is always sent from the reservoir system to the City. The artificial owl on top of the buoy is utilized to scare away cormorants, preventing them from fouling the buoy.

Looking west towards Ashokan High Point.

A concrete Dividing Weir on Reservoir Road.

Keep an eye out for passing traffic as you make your way back to the promenade.

When you return to the western section of the promenade, retrace your steps along the paved path, back to the Five Pines Parking Area, where the walk began.

From the Kingston Parking Area:

The Frying Pan area forms the eastern entrance and exit point to the reservoir’s pedestrian-only promenade. The site is defined by a flat, circular lawn with a central cluster of tall, old pines surrounded by a drainage ditch and road. Visitors primarily use this space to rest and picnic before and/or after biking, walking, or jogging on the promenade. It sees use by visitors in all seasons. The circular lawn features an information kiosk that is connected to the road by a flat path and a scattered arrangement of picnic tables that are placed or removed seasonally.

This gathering space provides visitors with a pleasing view to the west that captures the vastness of the promenade and reservoir. Limited vegetation provides minimal shade and leaves most of the site exposed to the sun. Parking for vehicles is concentrated along the outer perimeter of the road, in parallel fashion.

Ashokan Reservoir Promenade East is about 2.5 miles if doing an out and back. It is totally flat, with only about 8 feet of elevation gain.

At the western end of the parking area, proceed past the retractable bollards onto the promenade. The open, paved path runs westerly along the edge of the reservoir for approximately 1.25 miles.

The eastern section of the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade is known as the Middle Dike.

Almost immediately you will be greeted with views of the Ashokan Reservoir and some of the Catskill Mountains to the north, across the reservoir.

From left to right: Sugarloaf Mountain (3,810′), Twin Mountain (3,557′ South Summit – 3,643′ North Summit), Indian Head (3,573′), and Overlook Mountain (3,140′).

From left to right: Ticetonyk (2,509′), Little Tonshi (1814′), Tonshi Mountain (1991′).

As you proceed west along the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade, you will see the Slide Mountain Wilderness in front of you.

Ashokan High Point (3081′) totally dominating the view south and west, with South Mountain, Balsam Cap, Friday Mountain, Cornell Mountain and Wittenberg Mountain trailing off to its right.

View of the Slide Mountain Wilderness from the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade East.

The Dividing Weir Bridge, which carries Reservoir Road over Ashokan Reservoir, and separates the east and west basins.

Lots of Geese can be seen along the way.

The panoramic views of the Catskill Mountains are magnificent.

The Dividing Weir Bridge, also known as the 15 Arch Bridge was built in 1915.

The eastern end of the promenade ends at the retractable bollards, then runs alongside the shoulder of NY-28A, crosses Reservoir Road then connects to the western end of the promenade.

NYCDEP hard at work. On the boat is Field Supervisor Paul Perri, intern Emily Beeler, and Scientist Water Ecologist Caitlyn Korren.

Even though it’s only a short stretch along the shoulder, stay alert for vehicles in both directions.

Heading back the way you came.

Optical Rain Gauge, a tool used for rain measurement.

Back at the Frying Pan Parking Area.

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Review:

A splendid way to stretch your legs and enjoy the mountain air and views. I would not suggest to do this walk in hot weather as there is no shade anywhere on the promenade. Nevertheless, it’s worth a visit on it’s own or to wind down after doing a hike in the area.

Pros:

Scenic area in the Catskills, easy paved walking path, wildlife viewing.

Cons:

No shade.

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Sources:

• Ashokan Reservoir – NYSDEC
• Ashokan Reservoir – NYCDEC
• Ashokan Day Use Area

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