Graham Mountain (New York)

Graham Mountain
Graham from west on old jeep trail to
Balsam Lake Mountain fire tower
Highest point
Elevation3,868 ft (1,179 m)[1]
Prominence1,188 ft (362 m)[1]
ListingCatskill High Peaks #7th
Coordinates42°02′21″N 74°32′59″W / 42.0392576°N 74.5495986°W / 42.0392576; -74.5495986[2]
Geography
Graham Mountain is located in New York
Graham Mountain
Graham Mountain
Location of Graham Mountain within New York
Graham Mountain is located in the United States
Graham Mountain
Graham Mountain
Graham Mountain (the United States)
LocationHardenburgh, New York
Parent rangeCatskill Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Seager
Geology
Age of rock250-350 mya
Mountain typeMature dissected plateau
Climbing
Easiest routeOld road to summit

Graham Mountain is the seventh highest of the Catskill High Peaks and the highest privately owned mountain in the range.[3] It is located in the town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States.

Its summit is unique in the Catskills for its pygmy hardwood forest cover and absence of evergreen boreal species that normally dominate at that elevation in the range, despite the presence of balsam fir on the slopes below the summit. In the early 1960s a relay station was built there for Instructional Television, a predecessor to today's Public Broadcasting Service. The relay station was abandoned after a few years and its ruins can be seen from the slopes and summits of neighboring peaks.

Graham is within the Catskill Park. Only part of it is in the state-owned Forest Preserve; the summit and the most common access route are owned by descendants of railroad magnate Jay Gould, a native of the region, who closed the peak to the public indefinitely in January 2021. Prior to then, a successful ascent was required for membership in the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club.[4]

  1. ^ a b "Graham Mountain, New York". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  2. ^ "Graham Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  3. ^ McAllister, Lee; Ochman, Myron (1989). Hiking the Catskills. New York: New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. pp. 254–56. ISBN 0-9603966-6-7.
  4. ^ "Graham Mountain; Trail-less Peak; Dry Brook Ridge Trail". Catskill Mountain 3500 Club. 2007–2010. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.