Town of Gardiner

The Town of Gardiner is located in south-central Ulster County along the eastern base of the northern Shawangunk Ridge. The town stretches from the Wallkill Valley westward toward the cliffs, forests, and high ground of the ridge, forming one of the main access areas to the northern Gunks.

Gardiner contains some of the most visited and recognizable areas of the Shawangunk Ridge, including major sections of Mohonk Preserve and Minnewaska State Park Preserve. The town includes portions of the Trapps, Near Trapps, and surrounding carriage road and trail systems that have long made Gardiner a major destination for hiking, climbing, cycling, and other outdoor recreation in the Gunks.

The Wallkill River flows north through the eastern side of the town and helps shape Gardiner’s broad agricultural lowlands, wetlands, and rural road network. West of the river, the land gradually rises toward the ridge through open fields, wooded foothills, and stream valleys descending from the mountains.

Major access points along U.S. 44/55 connect the town to the ridge and its trail systems. The town borders New Paltz to the northeast, Plattekill to the east, Shawangunk to the south, Rochester to the northwest, and Wawarsing to the west. Along the ridge, the terrain rises sharply into cliffs, forests, and higher elevation plateaus that continue south toward Minnewaska and north toward the Mohonk area.