Hike 50: Gertrude’s Nose Express Route
5.6 miles | 656 ft gain | Difficulty: Medium | Rating ★★★★
A couple of weeks back, we skipped out on the city for a much needed r&r weekend. Staying only 20 minutes from Minnewaska State Park, I knew we needed to visit Gertrude’s Nose, one of my favorite hikes in the area. Unfortunately, due…
Hike 49: Hemlock Falls
7.2 miles | 820 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★
I have mixed feelings about the cooler temperatures. On one hand, the crispness is perfect hiking weather. I love being bundled and even more importantly, not sweating. But on the other hand, the muted colors of grey dampen otherwise spectacular views. Not wanting…
Hike 48: Giant Stairs
4.4 miles | 764 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★
When I see hikes ranked difficult, it usually means one of two things. It’s often way harder than I expect, or sometimes, way easier. Of course, there’s a different in difficulty depending where you are. Mount Beacon hard isn’t quite the same as…
Hike 47: Mount Beacon Fire Tower
4.5 miles | 1,394 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★
We squeezed in the last of the Hudson Valley’s foliage colors last weekend hiking Mount Beacon. The colors were a bit muted due to the grey skies, but still a fantastic day for a hike. Beacon is a mountain I love being on…
Hike 46: Letchworth State Park
4.6 miles | 892 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★★
Letchworth State Park. The Grand Canyon of the east. And apparently USA Today’s top state park in the United States. The Genesee River runs straight through the park, with waterfalls as high as 600 feet in some places. It’s not prime for challenging…
Hike 45: Taughannock Falls
2.5 miles | 217 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★★
On our way up to the Finger Lakes for a long weekend, we stopped at Taughannock Falls. At 400 feet in height, Taughannock falls is more than double the height of Niagara Falls, though not nearly as wide. Best of all, the hike…
Hike 44: Old Croton Aqueduct Part 3
6.5 miles | 328 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★
The Old Croton Aqueduct trail traces the waterway from Croton Dam to Bryant Park, and provided clean water to New York City in the 1800s. In 2019, we finished our 3-part hike of the Westchester trail and earlier this year, we opted to…
Hike 43: Pyramid Mountain and Tripod Rock
3.8 miles | ~600 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★
Last weekend was a perfect fall day. A little crisp but not the kind of chill you feel in your bones. Back from the Catskills, we were excited for the local foliage, but unfortunately that was still to come. Instead, we headed out…
Hike 42: Vanderbilt Mansion
3.0 miles | 223 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★
On our way home from the long weekend, we decided to stop for one final hike – a stroll along the Vanderbilt Mansion grounds. Just across the Hudson River, and a bit south, is Hyde Park – home to the Roosevelt Presidential Library,…
Hike 41: Windham High Peak
6.7 miles | 1,476 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★
With only a few days left of our trip, we wanted to conquer one more peak. Unfortunately, we left some of our navigation tools back in Brooklyn, so a trail-less peak did not seem wise. And with the weather being a bit iffy,…
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About Melissa
Brooklynite, traveler, hiker and nature lover. I constantly struggle with dividing my time between the city and the trails.
Fifty-Two Hikes 