Thanks to dozens of advertisers, our excellent freelancers and contributors, and a team of graphics and creative specialists, we've finished the 2013 Catskills Outdoor Guide.
Print copies hit the streets today, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. (Sure, I got soaked by chilly rain as I delivered print editions of the guide this morning, but it's still the official summer kick-off weekend, drizzle be damned.)
And the online version of the guide, which features a huge amount of extended material that we couldn't cram into 40 pages of print, is live. Just a few of the goodies in store:
- 18 Great Catskills Hikes compiled by the Catskill Mountain Club and mapped on an interactive map created by the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference
- The winners of the 2013 Catskills Great Outdoor Experience Photo Contest
- A list of awesome Catskills swimming spots
- Tips on hiking the Catskills without a car from Jeff Senterman of the NY/NY Trail Conference
- A user's guide to boating on the NYC DEP's reservoirs
- Favorite rides from four local cyclists
- Rugged tales from a Catskills hunting guide
- Fishing advice from the director of the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum
To see the online guide, click this link.
Print editions will be distributed up and down Rte. 28, Rte. 17, I-88, at the Sloatsburg Travel Plaza on the New York State Thruway, and at sites in New Jersey and Brooklyn. For a full list of distribution outlets, drop me a line at [email protected]
One final note: We owe the cover (right) of the guide to Karl Anshanslin, who won our "Editor's Prize" in our photo contest. Anshanslin's photo was taken at Red Falls, a swimming hole on the Batavia Kill that is now just a memory; it was destroyed by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. We thought this was a great way to commemorate it. Check out all the winners of the photo contest -- including the grand prize winner of a dinner for two at the Peekamoose Restaurant & Tap Room -- here.