Shawangunks Leaf-Peeping Road Trip

A Shawangunks fall foliage drive works best as a loop, not an out-and-back: west from Farmers Choice New Paltz on Route 299 with the ridge filling the windshield, up Route 44/55 past Mohonk Preserve, the Trapps and Minnewaska, down the back of the mountain to Route 209, and home through Accord, Stone Ridge, High Falls and Rosendale. It is about 46 miles and 75 minutes of driving, and because the color reaches the ridge before it reaches the valley, an October run usually finds peak somewhere along it.

When does Shawangunks fall foliage peak?

Later than the Catskills and earlier than the valley floor. I LOVE NY's foliage guide puts the historic Hudson Valley peak at mid October through early November and the Catskills at early to mid October, and it describes the pattern: color starts high in the mountains in September and spreads out and down across the hills and valleys. Mohonk Mountain House, on the ridge above New Paltz, tells its guests that peak foliage is typically between the second and third weeks of October, depending on the location. Since color moves from high ground down, plan on the ridge turning first and the valley floors around Accord, High Falls and New Paltz following.

Do not lock in a weekend from a blog post. I LOVE NY publishes a fall foliage report every Wednesday afternoon, built from more than 100 volunteer observers and written for the coming weekend. The first 2026 report, for the week of September 16 to 22, already had New Paltz at more than 10 percent change, with yellow and a few orange leaves showing, and Kingston at 5 percent. Read the report the week you drive, then pick the day. I LOVE NY says peak color lasts three or four days in any one spot, which is a good reason to keep the day flexible.

The loop at a glance

Drive times are OpenStreetMap and OSRM estimates, rounded to five minutes, with no stops and no October traffic.

1. Farmers Choice New Paltz to the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center, 3197 Route 44/55, Gardiner: about 15 minutes and 9 miles, mostly on Route 299.
2. Visitor Center to the hairpin turn and the first Route 44/55 overlook: about a minute up the hill.
3. Overlook to the Minnewaska State Park Preserve entrance, 5281 Route 44-55, Kerhonkson: about 5 minutes.
4. Minnewaska to the two Catskills overlooks on the descent: about 5 minutes.
5. Overlooks to Saunderskill Farm, 5100 Route 209, Accord: about 10 minutes.
6. Saunderskill Farm to Main Street, Stone Ridge: about 10 minutes north on Route 209.
7. Stone Ridge to the D&H Canal Museum, 1315 Main Street, High Falls: about 5 minutes on Route 213.
8. High Falls to the Rosendale trestle lot on Binnewater Road: about 5 minutes.
9. Rosendale back to Farmers Choice New Paltz by Route 213 and Route 32: about 20 minutes.

Ridge first, valley second: Minnewaska opens at 9AM and the ridge lots fill early, so the mountain belongs to the morning and the farm stands to the afternoon. If you would rather hike than drive, our New Paltz fall guide covers the trailheads.

Route 299 and the climb to the Trapps

From the barn at Thruway Exit 18, Route 299 runs through the village, over the Wallkill River and across open farmland with the whole ridge ahead of you; the free River-to-Ridge Trail lot sits just past the bridge if you want to walk into that view. Route 299 ends at Route 44/55. Turn right, and the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center is half a mile up on the right, free and open 9AM to 5PM year round apart from a few holidays, with overflow lots a few hundred yards farther uphill. A day pass or membership is required to go past it onto the carriage roads and trails.

Then comes the hairpin. The Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway sends drivers around the hairpin turn and up 10.4 miles of climbing mountain road to the first of three overlooks. That first pull-off, a minute above the Visitor Center, looks out over the Wallkill Valley, and in October it is the photograph most people came for. Keep going under the steel bridge and past the Mohonk Preserve West Trapps lot at 3700 Route 55, which the Preserve says fills very early on peak weekends.

Minnewaska and the Catskills overlooks

Minnewaska State Park Preserve is about 5 minutes farther along Route 44/55 on the left: more than 24,000 acres, 35 miles of carriage roads and 50 miles of footpaths on a ridge that rises more than 2,000 feet. There is a per-vehicle entrance fee, the park opens at 9AM, and closing time moves with the season, 7PM through October 12, 6PM from October 13 to 31 and 5PM from November 1. The state parks page warns that Lake Minnewaska sees extensive congestion on good-weather days, with intermittent closures as the lots reach capacity, and asks drivers not to park on the road shoulders. On a color weekend, arrive close to opening or accept that you may drive past.

You do not have to hike to get the view. Heading west, Route 44/55 starts down the far side of the ridge, and the byway points to two scenic overlooks, one right after the other on the right, that open onto the Rondout Valley and the Catskill Mountains. The Catskills usually run ahead of the Hudson Valley on the I LOVE NY calendar, so that range is often the brightest thing in view. The road crosses the Rondout Creek and ends at Route 209 near Kerhonkson.

Accord, Stone Ridge and High Falls

Turn right on Route 209 north and the loop changes character: two-lane farm country with the Catskills behind the fields on the left and the ridge you just crossed on the right. Accord comes first. Saunderskill Farm at 5100 Route 209 has been growing here since 1680, and its farm market and bakery, cider doughnuts included, are open Tuesday to Sunday 8AM to 5PM and closed Mondays, with pick-your-own apples and pumpkins 8AM to 4PM in season.

Ten minutes north, Stone Ridge is a stretch of Main Street on Route 209 where the Stone Ridge Library at 3700 Main Street occupies a house built around 1798 that has been a library since 1909. Park once and walk the block. Where Route 213 meets Route 209, follow Route 213 to High Falls, 5 minutes away. The D&H Canal Museum at 1315 Main Street anchors the hamlet, and the Five Locks Walk beside it follows about half a mile of the old canal towpath past five locks built in 1850, free, in daylight hours, year round. The museum warns that parking in High Falls is limited in its busier seasons, so take the first legal spot you see.

Rosendale and the way home

Follow Route 213 along the Rondout Creek to Rosendale and stop at the trestle. The Rosendale trestle is a former railroad bridge over the Rondout Creek, about 150 feet tall and 900 feet long by the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway's count, now part of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. From the Binnewater Road lot it is a short walk out onto the deck, with the creek, the village of Rosendale and the hills below you in color. From the lot, Route 213 east meets Route 32; go south into New Paltz and east on Route 299 to the barn at Exit 18, about 20 minutes.

How do you avoid the October parking problem?

Three ways. Go on a weekday, since the Preserve says its West Trapps lot fills very early on peak weekends. Do the ridge early, reaching the Visitor Center around 9AM, when Minnewaska opens. Or drive the ridge rather than hike it, using the three roadside overlooks and the free Visitor Center, and save the walking for the Five Locks Walk and the trestle.

Where Farmers Choice fits

Our New Paltz store is at 1 Old Route 299, right where the loop starts and ends at Thruway Exit 18, open 8AM to 10PM daily for adults 21 and over with a valid government-issued photo ID. Stop in when the loop brings you back and let a Farm Hand walk you through what is in stock, or Order Now from the New Paltz menu and collect it on the way home; most orders are ready inside an hour.

New York does not allow open cannabis packaging or consuming cannabis in a vehicle, moving or parked, so whatever you buy rides home sealed. On the ridge, Mohonk Preserve prohibits smoking of any kind on its property, and Minnewaska posts no smoking, no vaping and no cannabis anywhere in the park preserve. Our guide to New York cannabis laws covers the rest. The loop is for the color, and everything else waits for home.