F-SP3 Naturalist Guided Walks at Minnewaska State Park Preserve - Late Session

SP classes/dates vary | Available (Membership Required)

Minnewaska State Park 5283 State Route 44/55 Kerhonkson, NY 12561 United States
Outdoors
10/6/2025-11/3/2025
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F-SP3 Naturalist Guided Walks at Minnewaska State Park Preserve - Late Session

SP classes/dates vary | Available (Membership Required)

Note: To ensure broad participation, members are asked to register for only one Minnewaska class. A second section was added to accommodate more members. If space permits and you wish to attend both, please email Lifetime with your request.

Join Laura Conner, Environmental Educator at Minnewaska State Park, for a series of weekly, guided outings. Each modestly paced walk will take place on level, gravel-surfaced carriage roads and will feature education served with a side of scenic views, cultural history and signs of wildlife. All walks will begin at the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center at 5281 Rt 44/55, Kerhonkson, except for the outing on 10/27/25.

*Please note that participants need to be able to walk the distance of each outing in the allotted time frame.

Note: This course will start a week early on 10/6/2025. There will be no class on 10/13/2025.

PARKING: State residents who are 62 years of age or older pay no parking fee during the week, except on holidays.   

Monday, 10/6/25 10:00 am – 1:00 pm: All the Colorful, Scenic Views around the Lake  Walking around Lake Minnewaska, we’ll stop at all the scenic vistas, soaking in all the colors of Fall. Then, we’ll continue to the quiet Beacon Hill Carriage Road, which offers a spectacular view of the Catskills. Distance: 4 miles round trip. 

Monday, 10/20/25 10:00 am – 1:00 pm: Echo Walk. A favorite route that offers vast views of the hemlock forest, where porcupines are sometimes visible in the treetops. Our destination, Echo Rock, sits perched above the Palmaghatt Ravine, where vultures can be seen soaring. Distance: 4 miles round trip. 

Monday, 10/27/25 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.: Awosting Falls Foliage Walk. Meeting at the Peter’s Kill Area of Minnewaska, 5080 Rt 44/55, Gardiner, NY  Join us as we enjoy a colorful, fall foliage walk along the modestly inclined Awosting Falls Carriage Road. This scenic route, which meanders next to the Peter’s Kill stream, offers views of a towering rock formation, before reaching our destination, the iconic 65-foot tall Awosting Falls.  Distance: 3.5 miles round trip. 

Monday, 11/3/25 10:00 am – 1:00 p.m.: Opposite Views across a Ravine. This outing will feature two views across the Palmaghatt Ravine. Our first stop will be Patterson’s Pellet, a cliff-edge boulder. Then, we’ll walk to Kempton’s Ledge, which offers stunning views in the opposite direction. If we’re lucky, many of the colored leaves of Fall will still be visible all around us. Distance: 4 miles round trip

  • NO CLASS OCTOBER 13. Participants need to be able to walk  the distance of each outing (approximately 4 miles) of each outing in the allotted time frame
Laura Conner

Laura Conner began her career with New York State Parks in 2000, when she worked as a seasonal environmental educator at Grafton Lakes (Rensselaer County). Next, she was the Assistant Park Manager at Moreau Lake (Saratoga County), while still offering environmental education. In Environmental 2007, she became the Educator at Minnewaska. Originally pursuing fine art, with a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, she changed careers in 1995, when she received an MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch New England Graduate School.