The Cliffs of Mohonk
My Field Guide Journey Takes Me To A Smiley Paradise
Incredibly, the success of the sprawling Mohonk Mountain House Resort has to do with temperance and a dedication to solving social problems. Founders Albert and Alfred Smiley were Quakers, and in 1869 when they bought a modest ten-room tavern along Lake Mohonk in the Hudson Valley they set about defying expectations by banning card playing, dancing and alcohol.
Those unsavory activities were replaced with a focus on natural and outside activities like nature walks, boating, ice skating and fishing. The brothers also offered prayer service and church activities.
Incredibly, it worked, and the resort growth exploded during the Victorian era. Today, the resort can put up over 600 guests, and though the Mountain House no longer skews toward Quaker moderation, a focus on nature continues to be a driving factor behind its success.
I arrived on a warm but overcast Saturday, and was grateful for my journalistic ability to talk my way into places, mostly because the resort doesn’t allow day-trippers direct access. You have to walk in from a fair distance. In my case, my field guide credentials and communications ahead of time with the resort’s PR team got my car parked right up against the main mountain house.
My goal… Sky Top Tower, the imposing, stone structure built in honor of Albert at about 1,500 feet on a set of cliffs high above Lake Mohonk and the main resort. I made a 2.5 mile loop through some of the most wonderfully engineered trails I’d ever encountered.
Sky Top Tower is the answer to yesterday’s question, a place that’s easily seen from the highway below but requires more effort to reach due to the access issues.
Here’s a few pictures from my journey. My journey toward my Falcon Guide NYS Fire Tower book continues! Have any of you been to Sky Top?
Geez, maybe some day...
I haven’t been to Mohonk since I was a teenager, but I remember it was incredibly beautiful.