Sugarloaf Mountain overlook Loop via Pecoy Notch Trail and Devil's Path
6.3 mi
Distance
3 hrs 3 min
Time
terrain
1,805 ft
Elev Gain
Overview
This is a moderate loop trail to Sugarloaf Mountain overlook in Catskill Park.
This trail goes by Sugarloaf Mountain, Pecoy Notch, and Roaring Kill trailhead.
Sights to See
Rate this Hike
★★★★★
This is actually a 3 trail hike to complete the loop. The writeups of this trail are on balance very positive and we agree with 3 caveats…first the middle trail on the 3 trail loop is a difficult trail with many sections of steep rock climbs. Second, it took 7 1/2 hours to complete this and logged over 20,000 steps for a 6 footer and 25,000 steps for a 5’ 5” hiker. Both translate to a distance far greater than 6 miles. Finally, the middle trail (Devil’s Path) is not suitable for dogs or small children due to the many steep rock scaling sections.
We made the trip July 3rd in a counterclockwise direction. That was a good choice. From the parking lot there’s a short unnamed trail to the sugarloaf mtn trail. The first trail is easy but wear good shoes as you will be stepping on lots of roots and small rocks. The trail gently climbs until near the end when it steepens significantly. When you get to the sign at the intersection with the devils path trail the challenge goes from easy to difficult. A sign notes you are going to ascend 1200 feet over a miles length. What the sign doesn’t say is that there’s a fair amount of rock climbing that is not suited for most children or elderly adults and definitely not dogs. The rocks are full of scratches that we felt were dogs trying and failing to grip the rocks. We may have missed a turnoff near the summit but never saw a summit sign or overlook at the crest of sugarloaf mountain. The trail is beautiful but we had hoped to see the area from that summit. Going counter-clockwise is recommended as climbing the devils path trail rocks is less hazardous than going down them. After passing the mapped summit the trail descends for some distance before signage where you turn left to the last trail. That pecos notch trail is easy to moderate and has very few challenging sections.
The trail is highly recommended, but make sure you take enough water for up to almost 8 hours, and make sure to start early enough to not run out of daylight.
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Public Tracks
