ACCREDITED LAND TRUST
THE HIGHEST NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR EXCELLENCE AND CONSERVATION PERMANENCE
The Catskill Center is an accredited land trust, a distinction awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission to organizations that meet the highest national standards for land conservation. Accreditation recognizes a demonstrated commitment to sound financial management, ethical conduct, responsible governance, and the permanent protection and stewardship of conserved lands. Through a rigorous, independent review process, the Catskill Center has shown that its conservation work is transparent, accountable, and built to endure, earning public trust and ensuring lasting protection for the Catskills’ landscapes and habitats.
PROTECTING THE LANDS THAT PROTECT US
Since 1969, the Catskill Center has worked to protect the Catskills through direct land conservation, long-term stewardship, and partnerships with landowners, communities, and public agencies. This work is rooted in the understanding that permanently protected land supports clean water, healthy ecosystems, resilient communities, and meaningful access to the outdoors.
Today, the Catskill Center owns and manages more than 300 acres of publicly accessible conservation land, including Platte Clove Preserve, Thorn Preserve, and the Catskills Visitor Center property. These lands protect sensitive habitats, scenic landscapes, and headwater streams while providing opportunities for low-impact recreation, education, and a unique connection to place. Stewardship efforts focus on trail management, habitat restoration, invasive species control, and maintaining safe, welcoming access for visitors.
In addition to its preserves, the Catskill Center monitors more than 1,000 acres of conservation easements across the Catskill Park. These permanent, voluntary agreements work with private landowners to protect forests, farmland, wildlife habitat, and scenic resources while keeping land in local ownership. Through careful monitoring and long-term stewardship, conservation easements ensure that protected lands continue to serve both ecological and community values.
PLATTE CLOVE PRESERVE
Platte Clove Preserve encompasses more than 200 acres of protected land within one of the Catskills’ most dramatic and storied corridors. Carved by water and time, the clove’s steep forested slopes, cold-water streams, and shaded ravines support diverse woodland and riparian habitats, including species adapted to cool, moist conditions and intact forest cover. Platte Clove’s headwater streams also feed larger river systems downstream, underscoring the integral role the Preserve plays in maintaining regional water quality.
Beyond its ecological value, Platte Clove holds deep cultural significance as a landscape that helped shape early American art. Its waterfalls, cliffs, and sweeping views inspired painters of the Hudson River School, including Thomas Cole, whose depictions of the Catskills helped define a national appreciation for natural scenery. From vantage points along the clove, artists found dramatic contrasts of light, scale, and intact forest that came to symbolize the early American landscape.
Today, Platte Clove Preserve offers carefully managed public access for hiking, nature study, and outdoor education. Trails and stewardship practices are designed to balance recreation with protection, ensuring that visitors can experience both the natural and cultural legacy of this remarkable place while safeguarding its ecological integrity for the future.
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By entering Platte Clove Preserve, you agree to comply with these guidelines:
Open to the public, dawn to dusk only.
Use at our own risk. This is a natural, unsupervised area.
Foot travel only. No horses, mountain bikes, or motorized vehicles are permitted on the Preserve property.
Travel on marked trails only. The Preserve's ecology is fragile and there are many dangerous drops, waterfalls, and ravines.
Leave no trace. Take all trash with you.
No loud music or other noise disturbances.
Keep pets leashed at all times and clean up after them promptly.
No swimming in any of the Preserve’s waterbodies.
No ice or rocking climbing.
No camping, fires, hunting, or collecting of cultural or historic materials.
Failure to respect these conditions of use can result in visitors being ask to leave the preserve and, if necessary, legal actions.
Suggested Day Use Fee: We ask that users make a $10 per person donation when utilizing the Platte Clove Preserve. The donation box is located next to the main trailhead kiosk, which all users must pass by to reach the trails of the Platte Clove Preserve. Make a donation online.
THORN PRESERVE
Thorn Preserve protects more than 60 acres of conserved land in the Catskills, preserving a rare and increasingly uncommon grassland habitat alongside forests and wetlands. These open meadows provide critical habitat for native pollinators, grassland birds, and other species that depend on early-successional landscapes, which have largely disappeared from the region.
Maintaining grassland habitat requires active, ongoing stewardship. At Thorn Preserve, management practices such as selective mowing, invasive species control, and native habitat restoration help prevent forest encroachment and sustain diverse plant communities that support bees, butterflies, and other pollinators essential to healthy ecosystems. This work contributes to regional biodiversity and strengthens the ecological resilience of the surrounding landscape.
Thorn Preserve also serves as an accessible public recreation space, with trails that invite visitors to experience open views, seasonal wildflowers, and expansive skies. The preserve reflects the Catskill Center’s commitment to protecting ecologically significant land while providing thoughtful, low-impact access that fosters understanding of how active stewardship sustains both people and wildlife.
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By entering Thorn Preserve, you agree to comply with these guidelines:
Open to the public, dawn to dusk only.
Use at our own risk. This is a natural, unsupervised area.
Dogs are not permitted at Thorn Preserve with the exception of trained service animals assisting their handlers.
Foot travel only. No horses, mountain bikes, or motorized vehicles are permitted on the Preserve property.
Travel on marked trails only. The Preserve's ecology is fragile and sensitive to disturbance.
No loud music or other loud disturbances.
Leave no trace. Take all trash with you.
No hunting, camping, fires, stream access, swimming, or collecting of natural, cultural and/or historical materials.
Failure to respect these conditions of use can result in visitors being ask to leave the preserve and, if necessary, legal actions.
Suggested Day Use Fee: We ask that users make a $10 per person donation when utilizing the Thorn Preserve. The donation box is located next to the main trailhead kiosk, which all users must pass by to reach the trails of the Platte Clove Preserve. Make a donation online.
CATSKILLS VISITOR CENTER
The Catskills Visitor Center property includes approximately 60 acres and is designed as a learning landscape, an outdoor extension of the Visitor Center’s role as the gateway to the Catskill Park. The land itself helps visitors understand the region’s ecology, land management history, and conservation priorities before they head deeper into the Catskills.
Throughout the property, interpretive signage invites visitors to explore themes such as forest health, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and human stewardship of the landscape. ADA-accessible trails are integrated into this experience, ensuring that visitors of all abilities can engage with the outdoors, observe seasonal changes, and connect with Catskills landscapes in a safe, welcoming, and inclusive setting.
The property also features a front-country fire tower that introduces visitors to the Catskills’ fire tower history and offers broad views of the surrounding landscape, grounding that history in place. Nearby, a managed pollinator garden demonstrates how intentional land care supports native bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Together, these elements make the Visitor Center campus a living classroom that helps visitors build knowledge, curiosity, and a deeper appreciation for the lands they are about to explore.
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By entering the Catskills Visitor Center grounds, you agree to comply with these guidelines:
Open to the public, dawn to dusk only. Indoor hours vary seasonally (check the website).
Use designated parking areas only. Roadside parking is prohibited.
Foot travel only. No horses, mountain bikes, or motorized vehicles are permitted on the Preserve property.
Travel on marked trails only (including pets).
Leave no trace. Take all trash with you.
No loud music or other noise disturbances.
Keep pets leashed at all times and clean up after them promptly.
No camping, fires, hunting, or collecting of cultural or historic materials.
Failure to respect these conditions of use can result in visitors being ask to leave the preserve and, if necessary, legal actions.
INVEST IN THE FUTURE OF THE CATSKILLS
The Catskill Center’s role as an accredited land trust comes with a lasting responsibility: safeguarding protected lands, caring for our preserves, and upholding vital conservation easements. This long-term commitment helps maintain rich, biodiverse habitat, cherished scenic resources, and public access for generations. Stewardship of these lands requires time, expertise, and sustained investment.
Your gift today helps ensure these places remain healthy, open, and cared for well into the future. We also invite those planning ahead to consider a legacy gift to help protect the Catskills for those who will inherit them next.