An excellent (and popular) stop on the Hudson River north to Albany or Schenectady, Catskill Creek and the town of Catskill are home to three excellent marine facilities, a friendly town with shopping and provisioning opportunities and a creek with quiet peaceful surroundings to enjoy. Catskill is 39 miles down river from Albany and 22 miles north of Kingston.

Inside Catskill Creek are three marinas and marine facilities and they all have transient space available. Two of the facilities have haul-outs and repair facilities for those needing to arrange repairs or refit. This creek is extremely popular, and with the volume of boat traffic here, you will be well served to call ahead to arrange for reservations.

Use NOAA Chart 12347.

From the Hudson River west of Greendale, pick up quick flashing green buoy “119” and quick flashing red buoy “120.” Once you have cleared the buoys, take a westerly course into the creek to intercept green can “1” and green can “3,” which lead you past the inlet shoals an on into the creek. Depths in the creek range from 10 to 20 feet in most areas, but shallow quickly at the overhead cable that limits overhead clearance in the creek to 60 feet.

Inside Catskill Creek is the town of Catskill itself and three excellent marine facilities. All of the marinas make space available at their slips for transient guests, while two of them have extensive repairs and haul-outs available. There is a small area for anchoring just inside the last navigation buoys to the inlet with depths of 10 feet, but make sure you set your hook well on the weedy rock filled bottom.

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.