A Quick Guide to Minnewaska State Park in New York State

Minneswaska State Park Preserve is located just beyond New Paltz, New York. It is a great getaway for anyone going to SUNY New Paltz or if you live in or near NYC. From New York City, Minneswaska State Park is about 2 hours north, from Long Island, it is a little over 2 hours, and from Albany, NY, Minneswaska is about an hour and a half.

Minnewaska is filled with many cliffs, a beautiful lake, waterfalls, many hiking and biking trails, and lots of bird-watching. It is a great place to escape the busy city life of NYC and Long Island. In the summer, the park is open from 9am-8pm (hours differ depending on sunset times). However, I advice getting there early, as it is a popular destination for people from late May-September.

In this article, you will read about Minnewaska State Park trails, waterfalls, Lake Minnewaska, directions, ice caves, hotels, best hiking & biking routes, and more.

This article is all about Minnewaska State Park.

Minnewaska State Park:

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Minnewaska State Park Directions & Lake Minnewaska Directions

Now, getting to Minnewaska State Park, is pretty straight forward, for most people, a lot of your time will be spent on Interstate 87. From the city or Long Island, you will get on Interstate 87 North and for people coming from Albany, you will get on Interstate 87 South. You will get off on Exit 18 towards New Paltz. From the exit if going northbound, you will take a right onto Main Street, and if coming southbound, you will take a left onto Main Street (at the traffic light).

In 2.3 miles you will keep left onto County Road 7, in about half a mile, you will keep left, onto NY-299. In 4.5 miles you will take a right onto Main Street, then in another 4.5 miles you will turn left onto Hamilton Point Trail. Then in about seven tenths of a mile, you will arrive at Minnewaska State Park.

Before you can officially enter the park, you will have to pass through a ticket booth, and pay $10. They use machines, that take either card or EXACT change, so be prepared for that, however, the machines are super straight forward and easy to use.

I would say the best time to visit Minnewaska is in the summer and fall seasons. I visited in late May, on memorial day weekend, and it was about 70° and it was beautiful. I’m sure in the fall time with the leaves, it is just as gorgeous as well.

Minnewaska State Park Visitor Center

At the main parking area, there is a really nice visitor center that has public bathrooms (don’t use the port-a-pottys), a water-bottle refill station, and air condition. The hours of operation for the park vary, I was there late May (memorial day weekend) and the park was open from 9am-8pm. I have also seen the park open at 9am and closing at 5pm. I really think it’s based on when the sun goes down, but you can always check the hours of operation, here at their website.

Get there early to find parking, especially if it’s a weekend in the summer or fall time. I arrived just before 9:30am and spots were already starting to fill up, so again, I would prepare for this and arrive as soon as the park opens.

Now, in terms of parking, there are a couple different parking lots/areas. The main parking area (has 3 levels and another area to the left) is at Lake Minnewaska. This is also the parking lot that has the visitor center with bathrooms. Also, one of the main hiking trails (Gertrude’s Nose) starts from the lake, so this is a pretty central place to park.

However, depending on what you are doing and where you are hiking, this might not be the best place for you. There is a parking lot about half a mile to mile outside of the park, that’s a good place to go if you are doing the Rainbow Falls & Awosting Falls hiking loop.

Minnewaska State Park Camping

You can camp here, but you will have to make a reservation to due so. You can make a reservation through this link, and you want to make a reservation for the Shawangunk Getaway Campground. I would read the rules before you go, which you can find here and just bring a copy or picture of your reservation on your phone, and you’re good to go. You can also kayak/canoe on Lake Minnewaska.

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Minnewaska State Park Trails : Popular Hiking Routes

When I went to Minnewaska State Park, I did the Gertrude’s Nose hiking loop with Millbrook Mountain, lookout, and Lake Minnewaska. I really liked this loop, however, if you don’t like hiking trails with LOTS of rocks, I would NOT recommend this trail, even though it’s one of the most popular and highly trafficked.

If you don’t like hiking over rocks, you will NOT enjoy this loop, so PLEASE don’t do it. Minnewaska State Park waterfalls are also super nice and easy to hike and are a good alternative to Gertrude’s Nose hiking loop. Anyways, here are some of the best trails within the park:

Gertrude’s Nose & Millbrook Mountain Loop: this is a great moderate loop. It is a total of 6.7 miles, however, on my phone it said I walked 7.9 miles, so the mileage is definitely more than it says. I really liked this loop, I would say it’s a moderate/intermediate hiking loop. Only because there are a decent amount of rock scrambles, and if you climb it clockwise, there is a good amount of elevation gain. However, I advise (and I went) the counter-clockwise loop. I was recommended to go this way and I’m GLAD I listened. We saved A LOT of extra elevation gaingoing this way. Now that being said, if you do want a good workout, then go clockwise. I followed my AllTrails map and it worked out great.
Rainbow Falls Loop with Upper & Lower Awosting: moderate hike with some rock scrambles, and you’ll see the falls, about 5.8 total miles.

More Popular Hiking Routes

Awosting Falls: very easy a little over a mile with the waterfall.
Millbrook Mountain: moderate hike about 5 total miles, with a decent elevation gain.
Bull Wheel to High Peter’s Kill Trail: moderate hike about 5.1 miles with not bad elevation.
Lake Minnewaska Carriage Road Loop: very easy about 1.9 miles total.

Minnewaska State Park Trails : Popular Biking Trails

Within the park there is also a lot of bike paths, however, they are definitely for mountain bikes and not regular road bikes. They too get very popular, so you will want to plan ahead and get to the park early, like when it opens. But that being said, here are some of the most popular bike baths in Minnewaska:

Lake Awosting Carriage Road: intermediate
Castle Point Carriage Road: beginner
Lower & Upper Awosting Carriage Road: difficult
Hamilton Point Carriage Road: difficult
Millbrook Mountain Carriage Road: difficult
Spruce Glen Path: difficult
Mossy Glen Trail: difficult

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Minnewaska State Park Ice Caves

In the winter, some popular things to do are winter hiking and seeing the ice caves. About 2.8 miles from Minnewaska State Park (still part of the park, just in a different parking area), are the epic caves, and ice caves in the winter. They are located in Sam’s Point of Minnewaska State Park. I would advise to get here early if you want to see the caves because there is only one small parking lot. They are the highest point of the state park filled with sky lakes, amazing waterfalls and views. Here is the most popular hiking route to get to Sam’s Point and the caves.

Minnewaska State Park Hotels : Where to Stay

The closest town to Minnewaska, is New Paltz, NY. New Paltz is about 20 minutes away and it’s a great small/college town. You will also drive through New Paltz on your way to Minnewaska State Park, so I highly advise getting something to eat there after your time at the park. New Paltz is very artsy and has some great restaurants and breweries. Lola’s Cafe and Clemson Bros Brewery, Huckleberry, and B-Side Grill. Another great small town you could stay at is Beacon, however, it is about 45 minutes away. Below has links to some great places to stay in either New Paltz or Beacon, you could always stay at an AirBnB or a HipCamp as well.

Some More Popular State Parks Close-by

Alright, if you are staying for a weekend or week, here are some more close-by state parks to visit and hike at if you are interested.

And that wraps up our quick guide to Minnewaska State Park. I hope you found some great activities to do while visiting Minnewaska State Park and hopefully this article answered any questions you had about the park, hours of operation, and where to park and what not. Thank you so much for reading and get out there!

In this article, you learned about Minnewaska State Park trails, waterfalls, Lake Minnewaska, directions, ice caves, hotels, best hiking & biking routes, and more.