May 4, 2025
Arrival
I drove through the small town of New Paltz and began climbing the switchbacks up onto the Shawangunk Ridge. It was a rainy day in early May, and clouds obscured the tops of the ridgeline. Soon, I was within the cloud layer, driving in thick fog.
Soon after I arrived at the semi-deserted parking lot for Minnewaska State Park. The fog and the eery silence suited this adventure just fine. In fact I though it quite fitting for this Severance-inspired adventure (more on that later).
Despite growing up less than an hour from Lake Minnewaska, and visiting the nearby Mohonk Preserve numerous times, I’m not sure I’d ever been to Lake Minnewaska before. But I was very impressed by the facilities. It looked like a lot of recent funding had gone into a shiny new visitor center.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve and the Mohonk Preserve
Minnewaska State Park sprawls across nearly 24,000 acres of land on the rugged Shawangunk Ridge that forms the western boundary of the Mid-Hudson Valley. The preserve is home to four major “sky lakes”, impressive rock cliffs, numerous carriage paths, and world-class rock climbing.
Minnewaska sits adjacent to the private, 8,000-acre Mohonk Preserve, surrounding a historic luxury hotel known as the Mohonk Mountain House. The two preserves were once home to multiple grand, luxury hotels in the late 1800s. Over a hundred miles of carriage paths weaved through the massive, scenic property, along with numerous hiking and scrambling trails. But air travel and changing tastes led to the Minnewaska properties falling into decay over the decades. New York State bought the bulk of the acreage in 1987, and opened it as a public state park in the early 90s.
Upper Awosting Carriage Road
I began heading southwest on the “Upper Awosting Carriage Road.” Unlike a hiking trail, a carriage road is build basically to the standard of a road … perfectly level, coated in gravel, with excellent drainage and embankments on either side. It’s almost like an extremely long gravel driveway. You can find similar carriage paths in Acadia National Park, and other places ultra-rich people liked to hang out in the late 1800s.
I’d walk along the path for roughly four miles, from Lake Minnewaska to Lake Awosting, making a detour to “Rainbow Falls” along the way. The path would climb roughly 500 vertical feet at a nearly-imperceptible grade along the way. This is a spectacular setup for folks looking for a jogging path or just a nice walk through the woods.
The ORTBO
In the Apple TV Series Severance, the main characters are dropped into the “Dieter Egan National Forest,” a fictional wilderness named for the brother of the giant corporation’s creepy founder. Much of the outdoor filming for the episode took place in Minnewaska State Park. Since I was in town for a wedding only weeks after the episode aired, I decided I of course had to check it out.
Now, I got some of my facts mixed up, and wound up hiking to the wrong waterfall. Scenes from the show were filmed at Awosting Falls, near Lake Minnewaska. Instead, I visited Rainbow Falls, near Lake Awosting. Confusing! At any rate, neither is the “tallest waterfall in the world” as their deceitful manager claims in the show.
An ORTBO, for what it’s worth, is an “Outdoor Retreat Team Building Occurrence” … one of many obscure acronyms used on the show.
Onto the Castle Point Carriage Path
There wasn’t much to see when I arrived at Lake Awosting. Awosting is the largest of the “sky lakes” dotting the Minnewaska and Mohonk preserves. But in thick fog, I could barely see 30 feet out onto the water.
Again, this was hardly a bummer. I was enjoying the moist forest bathing and the creepy/empty park. This was basically the vibes I had hoped for.
I turned onto the Castle Point Carriage Path, which climbed onto the ape of the Shawangunk Ridge. I have a hunch this route features stunning views across the Hudson Valley on days with good visibility. Today it was mostly just cloud. I could imagine Victorian era women fanning themselves and admiring the views from the safety of their horse drawn carriages.
Back at Lake Minnewaska
My loop ran ten miles in total … definitely a decent workout. But soon enough I was back at Lake Minnewaska. The fog had thinned just enough to afford me views across the lake. I couldn’t see the whole enchilada, but I saw enough to get a sense of the scale.
Overall, this is definitely a gem of a state park. If you find yourself in the mid-Hudson Valley with a car and a good pair of sneakers, consider heading on up to Lake Minnewaska, and enjoying your very own ORTBO.
