Thursday, May 15, 2014

Woodland Valley:  There was a time when Woodland Valley was known as Snyder Hollow, named after Colonel H. D. Snyder who owned large parcels of land and a tannery in this Catskill hollow during the early 1800s.  Later John Burroughs’ essay, The Heart of the Southern Catskill, which appeared in his 1910 book In The Catskills, fondly recalled pleasant memories of Woodland Valley.  Nowadays many a warm summer afternoon tubers are seen floating down the Esopus Creek from the Woodland Valley Bridge, the gateway to Snyder Hollow.  And normally on the first June weekend of every year whitewater slalom gates for kayakers occupy Railroad Rapids just below that bridge. 

This old Catskill hollow has a little bit of something for everyone, especially flyfishers who actively pursue the wild trout that occupy nearby waters.  The landscape below was painted from a photo taken one such evening as trout rose in the Esopus Creek while the sun disappeared over Garfield Mountain.

Sunset over Snyder Hollow, 14x11 (Sold):



For an interesting read on historical aspects of Woodland Valley, refer to the Winter 2013 issue (Volume 28, Number 4) of Kaatskill Life pages 10 to 18.