Smiley's Stomping Grounds

How naturalist and birder Dan Smiley inadvertently helped make tthe Catskills even more of a destination.

Dan Smiley may not be a household name, but he should be recognized for helping make the Catskills one. Born in the shadows of the world-renowned-by-rock-climbers Shawangunk Mountains in New Paltz, NY, Smiley was almost literally born to be a naturalist. His family owned what is now the Mohonk Preserve and he spent his entire childhood working at the Mohonk Mountain House, doing odd jobs like sign painting, insect control, tending the flower garden, and stocking the pantry. These would all give him ample time to experience and observe the flora and fauna (welcome or not) that the mountains had to offer. 

When he returned to Mohonk after college, he continued learning all aspects of the resort’s operations: controller's office, engineering and maintenance, farms, food service, forestry, grounds and park, surveying, photography, and recreation. In 1953, Dan and his twin brother, Alfred, took control of the family business and ran the resort for about 5 years together. In 1963, the Mohonk Trust was established to administer roughly 5,000 acres of land explicitly for conservation, recreation, scientific study, and inspiration. This became Mohonk Preserve in 1980, and Dan Smiley was its first administrator. He went from running the resort for the first half of his life, to preserving and studying its lands for the second; a pivot we could all be jealous of.

Dan’s naturalist tendencies came out way before his ascension to the Mohonk throne. In the 1920s as a teen and young man he began his observations initially in a card-filing system and one-to-two-page reports, which began focusing on amphibians in the 1930s. In 1931 Smiley started what became the Vernal Pool Monitoring program, which went on to become one of the longest-running data sets of its kind, tracking species occupancy, reproductive success, and water quality across eleven ponds on the property.

The following year in 1932, Dan started recording the freeze and thaw dates on Mohonk Lake and continued every year until his death in 1989. In 1938 he took on daily weather observations at the Lake Mohonk Cooperative Weather Station, continuing a Smiley family tradition of weather recording dating to 1896. The man lived, breathed and recorded the natural world around him, which is now housed at the Dan Smiley Research Center, on the grounds of the Mohonk Preserve (obviously). 

Dan Smiley’s legacy didn’t stop at his meticulous records of natural phenomena. He’s likely most well remembered as a founding member of the Catskill 3500 Club, which is largely credited for making the Catskill Mountains a travel and adventure destination of the Northeast. In the early 1950s, Smiley and fellow birders were trying to track down the Bicknell's thrush, a rare, small songbird that prefers to nest in boreal balsam fir forest. In the nearby Catskills, this occurs above roughly 3,500 feet, resulting in a list of mountains that reached that elevation threshold. The list sat unused until 1962, when hikers Brad Whiting, Bill Spangenberget and his wife, Kay Spangerberger proposed a peakbagging club similar to the Adirondack Forty-Sixers. 

The initial meeting of the Catskill 3500 Club was hosted by Smiley at the Mohonk Mountain House, not because it’s located in the Catskills but as a courtesy to the list’s creator. In publishing what he meant to be a naturalists’ journal, Dan Smiley's research was the catalyst for entire new generations to discover the Catskills and Hudson Valley as a destination for outdoor adventure. In a tragic twist of fate, Dan never actually became a member of the Catskill 3500 Club, passing away in 1989 with one last peak to bag.

---

Check Out Dan’s Stomping Grounds

• Mohonk Preserve: As New York’s largest nonprofit nature preserve, it offers hiking, trail running, biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, and seasonal skiing and snowshoeing across over 8,200 acres. Learn more.

  • What to bring: 

    • Nocs Zoom Tube Monocular

    • Filson Tin Cloth Cruiser

    • Field Notes

    • Brass Space Pen

    • Uni Kurutoga Mechanical Pencil

    • Grand Tongo Deet-Free Insect Repellent

      
      

• Mohonk Mountain House: I’m including this resort because it’s situated on the preserve itself. I’ve never stayed because it’s regularly featured on world’s best- lists and is expensive AF. Not knocking it at all, it’s just cost prohibitive for me and my family. Learn more.

In New Paltz:

• Breakfast at Little Loaf Bakeshop: Go see my favorite folx in New Paltz for delicious vegan baked goods and coffee to start your adventure day off right. Try the cinnamon roll or maple pecan pastry if they’re available. Learn more.

• Lunch at Lola’s: This eatery has two locations in New Paltz and Poughkeepsie and both have amazing salads, sandwiches and sides. Bonus points for randomly having some of my favorite cold peanut noodles in the Hudson Valley. Learn more. 

• Dinner at Mountain Brauhaus or New Paltz Indian

  • Mountain Brauhaus is a no-brainer if you’re into hearty German fare. This institution has a draught and wine list straight from a Munich pub, and schnitzel + spaetzel to write home about. If the pastrami is on the menu, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, just order it. Reservations highly recommended. Learn more.

  • New Paltz Indian may sound like a wildcard, but it’s some of the best Indian food I’ve had outside of India itself. Learn more.

• The Catskill 3500 Club: Not a physical location but still a good visit if bagging the 33 official peaks is on your to-do list. Note that mountains Slide, Blackhead, Balsam and Panther must be completed twice, once in the winter and once in another season. Hikers can also get special trail cred and patches for completing all of the peaks in the winter. Learn more.