> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://outdoor.unitedinnature.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The desk card: Wharton, Wachusett & the Catskills - URL: https://outdoor.unitedinnature.com/newsroom-wharton-wachusett-peekamoose/ - Published: 2026-09-15T00:07:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-20T19:42:11.000Z - Description: Three Northeast arrangements for a September weekend, with a little weather, a few alternatives, and the facts that keep the day honest. - Author: Outdoor Collective - Tags: newsroom, Northeast, hiking, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York Some weekends present themselves as a choice between three different kinds of weather. Pine and sand in New Jersey. A summit road in Massachusetts. Wet stone and a fire tower in the Catskills. The useful trick is not to decide too early. Keep a few good arrangements on the desk, let the forecast have its say, and choose the place that still sounds pleasant when you imagine the drive home. This card gathers the September 16–18 and September 20–21 possibilities. It is less a list of destinations than a small argument for leaving the house with alternatives. ## The particulars **Window:** midweek Sep 16–18 + weekend **Sep 20–21** **What has already gone out:** **Already shipped — not repeated here:** Watkins Glen · High Point · Jamaica · Sleeping Giant · Arcadia orange · Monadnock · Horns Pond Sep 19–20 · Avalanche+AMR · Lincoln Woods thru Nov · Ricketts Glen · Taft Lodge · Acadia Cadillac/Beech · Gear 5 cards **Subscribe:** https://outdoor-collective.ghost.io/#/portal/signup --- ## Wharton, where the pines make their own weather **The short version:** **110+ miles** of official Wharton trails remain open for Sep 20–21 — Batsto River **closed to paddlers** Hampton Furnace → Lower Forge; Mullica camp has **no potable water**. Wharton sits in the Pinelands National Reserve and is the largest New Jersey State Forest. NJDEP’s trail brochure lists **19** official trails totaling **over 110 miles**; the portal orients the forest at **over 125,000 acres**. **The particulars** - **Batona Trail:** **53 mi** total (Bass River · Wharton · Brendan T. Byrne); **28.2 mi** inside Wharton · pink blaze · moderate - Shorter walks, for days with less ambition: - Atsion Lake Blue **1.0 mi** loop · Easy - Atsion Lake Red **0.5 mi** loop · Easy - Batsto Blue **1.8 mi** loop · Easy - Batsto White **4.0 mi** loop · Moderate - Mullica River Trail **9.4 mi** · Moderate - Batsto Office **9 a.m.–4 p.m.** · **(609) 561-0024** · Atsion **(609) 268-0444** - Emergency: **1-877-927-6337** or 911 - Carry-in / carry-out · pets leash **≤6 ft** · bright orange recommended in hunting sections **The Batsto River, for now:** CLOSED to all paddlers from Hampton Furnace (**mi 0**) to Lower Forge (**mi 4**) due to river obstructions. **Mullica River Campground:** potable water **unavailable indefinitely** — pack water if overnighting there. **Visiting Vehicle Use Map:** drive only designated roads; hike/bike/horse per trail map + vehicle-map routes. **The second arrangement:** Atsion / Batsto short loops; continue Batona into **Brendan T. Byrne** or **Bass River** State Forests. **Sources** - https://www.njportal.com/DEP/NJOutdoors/Park/Details?locationId=19 - https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/state-park/wharton-state-forest/ - https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/parksandforests/wharton\_brochure\_text.pdf - https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wharton-state-forest-visiting-vehicle-use-map/ --- ## Wachusett, for the day that wants a summit **The short version:** Wachusett for Sep 20–21: **17 miles** of trails + summit road in season — parking **MA $5 / non-MA $20** through **Oct 26**. **Numbers (Mass.gov)** - **3,000 acres** · summit **2,006 ft** - Trails: **17 miles** - Summit road: **9 a.m. to sunset** (Memorial weekend → last weekend of October) - Daily parking fee **May 23 – Oct 26** (summit parkway included): **MA resident $5** · **Non-MA $20** (plate determines residency) - Perimeter lots on roads **outside** the park: **free** - Visitor center lot: **28 spaces** — expect redirect when full - Phone: **(978) 464-2987** · 345 Mountain Road, Princeton, MA **Parking, which fills before the mountain does:** VC lot fills fast; use free perimeter lots or alternate trailheads. **Check current access — Greylock:** never publish a Greylock day-use parking dollar amount. **The second arrangement:** Free perimeter parking at Wachusett, or **Skinner State Park** (Hadley) — **40+ miles** of trails · summit house weekends/holidays through Columbus Day · parking **May 23–Oct 26: MA $5 / non-MA $20**. **Peekamoose, with Red Hill in reserve ($10 permit ended Sep 15)** - https://www.mass.gov/locations/wachusett-mountain-state-reservation - https://www.mass.gov/guides/parking-at-massachusetts-state-parks - https://www.mass.gov/locations/skinner-state-park --- ## Peekamoose, with Red Hill in reserve **The short version:** Peekamoose Valley **$10** day-use permit season **ended Sep 15** — weekend **Sep 20–21** needs **no** ReserveAmerica day permit. Designated parking + Blue Hole rules still apply. **Red Hill Fire Tower** is the clean Plan B. **Numbers (NYSDEC)** - Day-use permit: **$10** · required **May 15 – Sep 15 only** → **not required** for Sep 20–21 - Still live: park **only** in designated lots (shoulder = tow-away). Blue Hole prohibitions include camping, all fires, generators, alcohol, glass, coolers >**12"** any dimension, radios/audio; day use ½ hr before sunrise → ½ hr after sunset - **Sundown Wild Forest:** **30,100 acres** · fee **free** · open year-round - **Red Hill Fire Tower:** Denning Rd trail **1.4 mi** \+ existing **0.5 mi** to tower · alt Dinch Rd **1.2 mi** (seasonal) · gain **almost 900 ft** - Also mapped: Kanape → High Point **\~7 mi** RT (3,080 ft) · Peekamoose/Table **4.3 mi** one-way west - Catskills Visitor Center: **9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.** daily · **(845) 688-3369** - Rangers: **833-NYS-RANGERS** (833-697-7264) **Campsites 1–6** (Peekamoose primitive): temporarily **CLOSED** for flooding. **Wet trails:** DEC advises avoiding high/fast stream crossings; walk the middle of muddy trail. **Kaaterskill / Hunter parking:** designated DEC lots only on Rt 23A + Platte Clove Rd. Molly Smith lot **CLOSED** — use Laurel House Rd / Schutt Rd / North-South Lake. **The second arrangement:** Red Hill Fire Tower from Denning Rd; Kanape Brook → High Point; Vernooy Kill Falls. Weather fail → **Hickory Run State Park** (PA, non-Ricketts): **15,990 acres** · **40+ miles** trails · Boulder Field National Natural Landmark · sunrise–sunset. **Sources** - https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hiking/catskill-backcountry-information - https://dec.ny.gov/places/sundown-wild-forest - https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/hickory-run-state-park --- ## Subscribe Newsroom packs land with tag `newsroom` as research clears. Get the next drop: https://outdoor-collective.ghost.io/#/portal/signup