Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Hours of Operation

• Day Use/Picnicking/Hiking: Available year round, dawn to dusk.
  
  
• 2024 Camping Season and Picnic Shelter reservations: 5/24 - 10/14. Reservations can be made at ReserveAmerica.com
  
  
  Office hours during camping season: 8:00am - 4:00pm

• Picnic Shelter: Memorial Day Weekend to Columbus Day Weekend

  Reservations accepted starting January 1 by calling the park office.

  Pavilion reservation information

Fees & Rates

Most New York State Parks charge a vehicle use fee to enter the facility. Fees vary by location and season. A list of entry fees and other park use fees is available below. For fees not listed or to verify information, please contact the park directly.

The easy-to-use Empire Pass card is $80- and your key to all-season enjoyment with unlimited day-use entry at most facilities operated by State Parks and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation including forests, beaches, trails and more. Purchase online or contact your favorite park for more information. Learn more about our Admission Programs including the Empire Pass.

• Vehicle Entrance Fee
• None
• Camping

• $15-$19/night
  
  *Additional $5/night for non-NYS residents
  
  Walk-in registration fee-$1.25
  
  Seasonal and Non-profit Group camping available, please contact the park for details.

  $25 per night for non-profit groups up to 35 people

Maps

New! Download this park's digital map to your iOS Apple and Android device.

• Max V. Shaul State Park Trail Map

Firewood source maps show a 50-mile radius from which untreated firewood may be moved to this campground. For more information see firewood restrictions.

• Firewood Source Map (pdf)

• Trail Map (pdf)

Highlights of Max V. Shaul State Park:

• Max V. Shaul State Park consists of 30 quiet, peaceful campsites as well as boating access along the Schoharie Creek, a brand new playground, a baseball field, and many hiking trails like the Toe Path. A huge pavilion is available for parties. All of this is within the 75 acre park, on the low south facing slopes of Toe Path Mountain in Schoharie County.

• The park was named after Max V. Shaul, a prominent local farmer.

• Small, but mature, patches of second growth forest are found within the park, the higher steep slopes (840 feet to 100 feet) contain Appalachian oak-hickory forest.

• Though small, the features of this park contribute to the long-term biodiversity of the region.

• When visiting Max V. Shaul, don't miss Mine Kill State Park, located just 10 miles south on Route 30 in North Blenheim, NY. Mine Kill boasts three swimming pools—an olympic-sized pool, dive tank and wading pool—all free and open to the public from the last weekend in June till Labor Day. Also, go boating on the Blenheim-Gilboa Reservoir, or hike on over 6 miles of trails with views of the Schoharie Valley and Mine Kill Falls, an 80 foot cascade through a narrow ravine for which the park is named.
• Also visit John Burroughs Memorial Field Historic Site, located off State Route 30 in Roxbury, NY, and 25 miles from Max V. Shaul State Park. This site features "Boyhood Rock," the boulder that inspired one of the country's most famous naturalists of the 19th and 20th centuries. John Burroughs, the celebrated literary naturalist, wrote 27 books of nature and philosophical essays that influenced millions of readers.
  
  "To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life." ~ John Burroughs

What will you see? Plan your visit today!

Look and listen for these birds at our Park:

• Northern Flicker
• Baltimore Oriole 
• Wild Turkey

Everyone is a Steward: Be a Max V. Shaul State Park Hero!

• Know the rules and concerns for the area you'll be visiting.
• Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
• Respect other visitors and their experience. Avoid excessive noise.
• Share the trail. Keep to the right except to pass. When in doubt, give the other user the right of way. Warn people when you are planning to pass.
• Respect wildlife and observe from a distance.
• Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
• Avoid using trails when they are excessively muddy.
• Don't litter.
• Hike and camp on established, durable trails and campsites.

For more information, please read our Trail Tips!

Ask a Naturalist!

Q: When is the best time for deer to shed their horns so that they can be collected?

A: According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, male deer usually produce their first set of antlers at one year of age. Antler size generally increases with age, although genetics, food quality and health play important roles as well. Bucks shed their antlers in the winter following the rut, or breeding season. The most ideal time to scavenge for shed antlers is usually when the last snow thaws and before leaves and underbrush bud in the spring.

Did You Know?

- DID YOU KNOW? The Schoharie Creek is home to the oldest tree fossils in the world. These prehistoric plants discovered along the banks of the creek in 1850 date back to the Devonian Period, when an inland sea existed here approximately 380 million years ago.

- CHECK IT OUT! The abandoned section of State Route 30 at Max V. Shaul State Park was originally referred to by local inhabitants as the "Toe Path," due to the fact that the narrowness of the original trail between the sheer cliffs of the mountain and the Schoharie Creek offered only a "toe hold."