People have long flocked to the Catskills Mountains in southeastern New York for a dose of nature and fresh air. The area has more than 30 peaks taller than 3,500 feet and is popular for hiking. Kaaterskill Falls Trail is one of the region’s more popular trails. When I visited on a Friday in mid-October, it was peak leaf-peeping season, and the Lower Falls Trail was getting plenty of use. It’s a short hike — 1.6 miles out and back — with a big payoff: up-close views of a gorgeous waterfall. But just because it’s short doesn’t make it easy. Here’s what to know before you hike it yourself.
When Spacious Skies Campgrounds co-founders Ali and Eric Rasmussen started their company 2.5 years ago, they pledged to make camping more diverse. While building an empire of 15 campgrounds (and counting), they found ways to prioritize guest diversity and employee empathy.
“Eric and I toured the entire Spacious Skies collection in July, and we witnessed an uptick in diversity among our guests. That makes me encouraged and determined to continue our efforts,” Ali said. “As a lifelong camper and frequent solo camper, I know how important it is to feel comfortable in your camping place, regardless of whether it is a tent, RV or cabin. We strive to make sure that every one of our guests feels like Spacious Skies Campgrounds is a true home away from their homes.”
Camping ranges from cabins to tents at Spacious Skies. / Photo courtesy of Spacious Skies Campgrounds
Kids crafting at Spacious Skies. / Photo courtesy of Spacious Skies Campground
“We truly believe that the great outdoors can bring people together, regardless of their heritage, communities or outdoor experience, and we will continue to seek out opportunities for Spacious Skies Campgrounds to work towards greater diversity in our campgrounds,” Ali said.
Photo courtesy of Spacious Skies Campgrounds
Spacious Skies Campgrounds offers cabins, glamping, and spaces for RV and tent campers in 15 locations in the eastern U.S., from Maine to Georgia. Amenities vary. Guests will find a swimming pool in Savannah and a rec hall with an arcade in the Adirondacks.
Photo courtesy of Spacious Skies Campgrounds
Additionally, Spacious Skies participates in the National Forest Foundation Sapling Program. Every time a guest reviews Spacious Skies via an in-person review card or on Google, TripAdvisor, and Dyrt, the camping company donates a dollar to the sapling program, which plants a tree.
Walking down the street of Rhyolite, Nevada, facades of empty buildings loom over me. Nobody is here but my husband and me — and some wild burros giving me the stink eye. A creepy feeling comes over me as I stand in this empty town that was once full of thousands of gold miners with dollar signs in their eyes. Now, the lights and power have been off for over a century.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a ghost town as “a once-flourishing town wholly or nearly deserted usually as a result of the exhaustion of some natural resource.” Lots of people like me feel the lure of these empty places, which are most common in the spacious western United States. Make the most of Halloween season by exploring these 11 ghost towns in all their spooky glory.
