What New York Trail Leads to Infamous Rip Van Winkle Napping Rock?

Do you know the story of Rip Van Winkle? Did you know you can visit the woods he was said fallen asleep in for 20 years?

Who Was Rip Van Winkle in New York State History?

Most Upstate, New Yorkers have all heard of Rip Van Winkle before. There's even a bridge named after him in-between Hudson and Catskill.

And most of know that Rip Van Winkle was a sleepy fella.

But who was he? Rip Van Winkle is a fictional character in a short story of the same name from the mind of Washington Irving.

The story is set in pre-revolutionary New York and Great Northern Catskills explains it best saying that Rip "lives a life of ease – much to the chagrin of his wife." He is well loved by his community and likes exploring the woods of the Catskill Mountain.

However, one day Rip "wanders into the woods to escape his nagging wife." There, he hears the sounds and follows the ghosts of Henry Hudson's men. This is where things get weird.

The men give Rip some sort of potion that made him a bit sleepy, so he curled up against a rock and fell asleep...for 20 years. When he awakens the American Revolution has past, his beard has grown and his dog that walked into the woods with him is long gone.

Like we said, fictional story...but where he fell asleep in the woods is a very real place.

Visit Rip Van Winkle's Infamous Napping Rock

You can find the infamous rock where Rip Van Winkle allegedly took that 20 year nap in Round Top, New York.

According to All Trails, head to the Winter Clove Inn (let the staff know you're hiking before hitting the trail) and follow the trail with the red paint.

This 5.1-mile, moderate loop will take about 2.5 hours, but it will bring you to Rip's Rock.

DEC Recently Surveyed Rip Van Winkle House Location

There also used to be a hotel that sat near by the rock called the Rip Van Winkle house. It was originally built around 1845, but was eventually abandoned in 1902 and was acquired by New York State in 2018 according to the DEC.

The Department of Environmental Conservation shared they recently shared they visited Rip's Rock as they went to survey the former site of the Rip Van Winkle House.

On Facebook the DEC writes "The Rip Van Winkle House served tourists as they traveled along the Mountain House Turnpike toward the famous Catskill Mountain House near North Lake."

They add that it was a "challenging and rewarding survey with a rich history, steep terrain, panoramic vistas, snakes, and multiple bear sightings!