September has always been my favorite month for outdoor activity. Traveling south along the Hudson River brought us to a new find, then back to an old favorite.

Over a century ago, twin brothers Albert and Alfred Smiley built resort hotels on Mohonk Lake and Lake Minnewaska. The Mohonk Mountain House continues to thrive, offering a wonderful Victorian experience on its spacious campus.

In 1963, the brothers' families placed a large parcel of land -- more than 5,000 acres -- into a non-profit entity, the Mohonk Preserve. Maintained by annual memberships and day-use fees, this vast wilderness resource offers a broad spectrum of outdoor opportunity.

Hikers and walkers can choose from three major trailheads, which together offer 25 miles of carriage roads and 40 miles of foot paths. Rock climbers look to the Shawangunk Mountains, a centerpiece of the preserve, as an important haven. One vanity plate in the parking lot read "Gunks."

First we spent time in the impressive stone and wood Trapps Gateway Visitor Center. Materials, including the huge oak columns, were all cut or quarried locally. Displays provide insight into the environmentally conscious design.

A scale model of the Shawangunks highlights notable landmarks and hiking destinations. Historical information pays tribute to Native American presence, early settlers and the rock climbers who first conquered these ridges in 1935.

From the Visitor Center, we took the East Trapps Connector Trail. Passing the rustic gazebo behind the center, we walked through parking lots, then steadily uphill past some modest rock monoliths. We climbed up a short wood staircase, then began working our way up another of stone. A volunteer at the Visitor Center had warned we'd climb over 250 steps in all.

Eventually, we reached Undercliff Road, one of the Smileys' carriage roads. From there on, we had miles of easy walking along a wide, graded path.

Walking just beneath the high rock ledges of the Shawangunk Ridge, we enjoyed stunning views of the valley -- some a bit vertiginous -- at almost every turn. You know you're high when hawks soar by at eye level.

I noticed occasional yellow blazes marking stone steps to my left. Frequent emergence of sweating but exhilarated men and women helped me realize these were rock-climbing access points. The ledge itself is largely hidden by trees, but with patience, we eventually reached some impressive open vistas.

Interesting rock formations added to sights along the road. So did the sudden appearance of two beautiful fawns not 10 feet away from me, their mother just out of sight uphill. Plenty of walkers shared the route with us, plus a few bicyclists.

One can turn around at Rhododendron Bridge or make a five-mile loop by turning onto Overcliff Road. The latter option provides more views of the Rondout Valley and the Catskills.

The Preserve also offers short, self-guided walks. The Laverne Thompson Nature Trail, near the Visitor Center, allows an introduction to terrain and vegetation. Sixteen numbered stops key to a brochure, which gives information on forest composition, the conglomerate rock characteristic of the Shawangunk area and geologic forces of the ice age.

Another, the Trapps Mountain Hamlet Path, passes through an abandoned town site. This mile-and-a-half round trip gave insight into the hard existence of settlers a century or more ago.

Old roads, a few cellar holes and stone fences stand in memory of 50 or 60 families who carved out a subsistence living here. The oak and hemlock forest grew up during the eight decades or so after people left; this would have been pasture back then.