Big Indian Mountain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Big Indian Wilderness Area encompasses over 33,500 acres of "Forever Wild" Forest Preserve lands in the heart of the Catskill Park. Wilderness, in contrast to areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.
In fact, the Big Indian Wilderness Area provides the user with the longest stretch of trail through uninterrupted virgin forest in the Catskills, offering numerous opportunities for solitude in a remote and rugged environment.

Location ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Big Indian Wilderness Area lies in the northwest corner of Ulster County, just south of the Hamlet of Pine Hill, nearly evenly divided between the neighboring towns of Denning, Hardenburgh and Shandaken. Crescent-shaped, the area also straddles the divide between the Delaware and Hudson River Basins. It is bounded on the north by the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, on the south by the Willowemoc-Long Pond Wild Forest and is immediately adjacent to the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area to the east.

Terrain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Big Indian Wilderness can best be described as a rugged, mountainous area marked by deep glacial cuts resulting in a series of parallel, steep-sided hollows. The area is host to eight prominent peaks including Balsam, Fir, Haynes and Eagle, as well as several unnamed mountaintops. Elevations range from 1500-3860 feet.