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 to a late start, the daylight hours were weening and we needed to find an express route to the lookout.

Starting from the brand-spanking-new visitor’s center, we headed south on the Lake Minnewaska Carriage trail. We slowly ascended on the wide road speckled with puddles and ice.

After about a mile, we turned onto the Millburn Mountain trail and continued gradually climbing to Patterson Pellet, our first look out.

Continuing on the carriage road, we finally dropped down (down!) into the woods about 2 miles into our hike on the Gertrude’s Nose trail. After a quick descent, we came to the edge of the cliffs along the valley where we continued along the cliffs, jumping in and out of the woods until we reached Gertrude’s Nose at about 3 miles.

Taking this route, we made record time to Gertrude’s Nose, but also missed out on a lot of the rich forest trails. Having done this trail a couple of times before in the summer, I would advise visiting in summer, early fall or even spring. Basically, any time besides the late fall/early winter (I think the trail actually closes once winter sets in). The valley didn’t have quite the awe it usually has when lush and green.

Excited to get one more hike in before the season officially changed to winter, we didn’t realize it would also be our last of the year. With only a few weeks left until December 31, I got knocked out with a mild case of covid and quarantine, leaving me 2 hikes shy of my 52 hike goal. Oh well, more adventures to come next year. Follow me on Instagram to keep up.