Sep 16

Sep 16 Hiking Thomas Cole (3,953') and Black Dome (3,994') Mountains in the Catskills via the Black Dome Range Trail

At 3,994 feet and 3,953 feet in elevation, Black Dome and Thomas Cole are the 3rd and 4th highest peaks in the Catskills. These peaks are traversed by the east-west Black Dome Range Trail between Elmer Barnum Road in the west and Big Hollow Road in the east. For this hike we began at the Elmer Barnum Road Trailhead and hiked approximately 3.75 miles east, over Thomas Cole and to the summit of Black Dome before turning around and heading back to the Elmer Barnum Trailhead. Along the way we also went over Cadual and Camel's Hump, both smaller peaks that are not considered mountains unto themselves on the way up to Thomas Cole (and then back over on the way back).

This is one of our more favorite trails in the Catskills. While the hike is strenuous, the difficulty is only moderate, to moderately difficult, unlike many other peaks in the northeastern Catskills (especially the peaks of the Devil's Path). There are a few places where you scramble up or down through rocky areas, but the majority of the trail has a good footpath that makes for a relatively steady, and easy walk. There are also a number of views, starting with the view of Thomas Cole from Camel's Hump and culminating with a view to the south on Black Dome just below the summit (there's actually an even more amazing view to the east, across to Black Head, a little further below the summit as it begins to descend to the notch between Black Dome and Black Head).

There's plenty of elevation gain over the length of this in and out - just under 2,450 feet in total. Your legs will know you're going up and down by the end of this hike, but as we already mentioned, the treadway is generally well defined and easy to walk.

Overall, this is one of our favorites and a hike we do over and over.

If you have two cars, it's definitely worth doing the entire traverse. At the notch between Black Dome and Black Head, the Black Dome Range Trail descends to the trailhead at Big Hollow. For strong hikers, you can continue up Black Head, and then descend on the Escarpment Trail to the Batavia Kill Trail and out to Big Hollow. Even stronger hikers can continue on the Escarpment Trail over Acra Point, Burnt Knob, and Windham High Peak before ending the day at the trailhead on Route 23 in Windham. We've done all the permutations and for something quick we like this specific hike (or descending Black Dome via the Range Trail to Big Hollow) and for more strenuous hikes, we love including Black Dome and/or the rest of the Escarpment Trail depending on how we're feeling for a day trip.

For this specific trip, the total mileage was 7.5 miles and there was 2,448 feet of elevation gain. You'll climb Thomas Cole and Black Dome (and then Thomas Cole again on the way back), two of the Catskill 3500 peaks.

You can find more information about this hike with:

For additional information about the Catskill Park and outdoor recreation in the Park, visit the Catskills Visitor Center.

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Gear we used on this hike: