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 to journey too far last weekend, we decided to explore Hemlock Falls in South Meadow Reservation. The falls were nice, but the discovery of a fairy village made the hike all the more worth it.
52 Hikes
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 Plateau Mountain hard. The giant stairs was rated hard and with a rock scramble along the shoreline, I was a bit hesitant. However, end ended up being much easier than expected. Long, but straight forward.
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 top of but hate to climb. The first mile is grueling - 1000 feet in a mile via stairs and steep, uninteresting switchbacks. The second mile, much less demanding as you wander along the ridge to the fire tower.
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 hikes, but accessibly and effort bang for your buck, it's way up there.
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 is relatively accessible for all skill levels and just 20 minutes north of Ithaca.
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 start the remaining ~15 miles of the urban trail, from Bryant Park to Yonkers.
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 to New Jersey, to Pyramid Mountain National Historical Area in Montville for a gentle forest walk with a few views.
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, CIA and Vanderbilt Mansion. The grounds are beautiful, overlooking the Hudson River, with the Catskills in full view.
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, we opted for a shorter, less challenging hike, so as not to get stuck in a (rain) cloud. Windham was a bit of a drive from our place in Woodstock, but seemed to meet every other requirement.
Hike 40: Diamond Notch Falls
2.0 miles | 226 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★ After conquering Twin and Indian Head, we needed a recovery hike. And who can turn down a waterfall. Diamond Notch Falls were a bit of a drive, but I've found (as with the Adirondacks), it's sometimes challenging to find a scenic hike in the Catskills, unless you're willing to put in the work. Many hikes are under .5 miles, a "look at the thing on the side of the road" hike, or "moderate" 1,000 ft climbs. Diamond Notch Falls offered a moderate distance and relatively flat trail.
Hike 39: Twin Mountain and Indian Head
9.0 miles | 2,198 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★ Heading up to the Catskills for the long weekend, we had worried we made a mistake. We first debated going up to the Adirondacks, but we have another road trip coming up and wasn't up for two 5+ hour drives so close to each other. So we settled for the Catskills. The weather promised clouds, lots of them, and the photos I've seen this past week were still quite green. Luckily, the foliage sped up just for our arrival.
Hike 38: Anthony’s Nose
3.0 miles | 705 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★★ It's a Hudson Valley classic hike, yet somehow it's taken us this long to finally experience it for ourselves. Part of it is the crowds. Classic hike = well known = all the people. So while we've considered it on weekends, driving past the LOOOONG stretch of cars on Route 9D at the trail head usually deters us. However, a Friday drive up to the Catskills with no where to be until sundown gave us the perfect opportunity.
Hike 37: Pochuck Valley via Appalachian Trail
4.8 miles | 302 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★ We went apple picking last weekend in the far corner of New Jersey, a stones throw across the border from Warwick, New York. The orchards at Pochuck Valley Farm, were a hike of their own. With acres of land and nearly 2,000 trees, you could always find your own corner of solitude. It was a bonus when we learned the AT was right down the street, including the Stairway to Heaven, a hike that's been on our list for some time now.
Hike 36: Anthony Wayne Recreation Area
5.4 miles | 909 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★ It's FALL! No other season even comes close. And it's not just because it's my birthday season. Crisp evenings, chilly mornings, ideal hiking weather, apples, cider, fire colors, leaf peeps, Halloween, oh my! What's not to love?! While we didn't get to actually hike on the first day of fall, it's first Saturday brought ideal conditions.
Hike 35: Old Croton Aqueduct Part 2
7.2 miles | 453 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 this month, we opted to start the remaining 15 miles of the urban trail, likely also done as 3 parts.
Hike 34: Sandy Hook
8.3 miles | 92 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★ There's a direct ferry from the bottom of Manhattan, 30 minutes to Sandy Hook, NJ. We've known about the ferry for years, but this year, we finally tried it out. Landing right at Fort Hancock, you're immediately immersed in the history that was once there. Shuttle buses will take you to the beach of your choice, but we wanted to wander and explore.
Hike 33: Old Croton Aqueduct Part 1
6.6 miles | 240 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. There are still remnants of the aqueduct on the trail, like stone ventilation towers that now skirts between suburban backyards and unassumingly down city streets. Over a few years, we hiked the more common route, from Yonkers to Croton Dam, approximately 26 miles. This time we decided to finish the remaining 15 miles.
Hike 32: Iron Mine Pond Loop
3.2 miles | 469 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★ After our trip to the Adirondacks, we took a few weeks off from hiking. Partly to recover, partly to make way for Hurricanes Henri and Ida's wrath. We had a great camping trip planned for Labor Day weekend at Rudd Pond in Taconic State Park. And some big plans, including the highest point in Connecticut and the NY-CT-MA tripoint. Unfortunately the consistent rain on Sunday forced us to pack up a day early. Luckily we still got a quick loop in on Saturday, leaving right from our campsite.
Hike 31: Belfry Mountain
0.7 miles | 138 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★ After a week of moderate but intense hikes, 6000 ft gain and 30+ miles, we wanted an easy trail to end on a high note. Barely a hike, but part of the Adirondack Fire Tower Challenge, we decided to quickly run up Belfry mountain on our way home.
Hike 30: Pitchoff + Balanced Rocks
5.1 miles | 1,394 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★ Pitchoff is one of the Lake Placid 9ers. The west trail climbs though the woods, first moderately, then much steeper. Though there are a few nice view points along the way, including the Cascade Slide (people hike that?!), but the summit is marked by a large boulder, deep in the woods. A bit of an anticlimactic ending to our 9er journey. Luckily, Balanced Rocks more than makes up for that.
Hike 29: Hurricane Mountain
6.7 miles | 1,493 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★ Hurricane Mountain is often touted as one of the premiere non-high peak hikes in the High Peaks region. While a great climb and potential views for miles, the recent abundance of wildfires has covered much of New York state in haze. At the top of the fire tower, we could see the direction of mountains, like Vermont's Green Mountains, but we had to use our imagination to really make them out. That's the only reason I knocked the stars down to four.
Hike 28: Cathedral Rock
1.8 miles | 246 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★ After two days of moderately intense hikes in the Adirondacks, we needed a recovery but still craved views. The Adirondack Fire Challenge was on our list, consisting of 24 towers across the park and 5 in the Catskills. Many of the towers are spread widely across the park and involve a few miles and/or thousand feet of elevation. Not quite recovery. Luckily, we discovered Cathedral Rock was only a bit past Cranberry Lake and a short hike with plenty of payoff.
Hike 27: Indian Head
10.5 miles | 1,847 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★★ Not a high peak, but what I would consider one of the premiere hikes in the high peaks region. Many do this a quick stop on their way up (or down) Blake and Colvin or Dial and Nippletop. We orphaned Blake and have to do that pair again, but we always find ourselves too exhausted for just another half mile or couple hundred feet up. With the Adirondack Mountain Reserve's (AMR) newly created parking reservation system, this felt like a low stakes way to test the system.
Hike 26: Catamount Mountain
5.6 miles* | 1,572 ft gain | Difficulty: Difficult | Rating ★★★★ The hike to Catamount Mountain, a Lake Placid 9er, offers all the hallmark features of a high peak in a much smaller package. Rock scrambles, slides, cliffs, a false summit and beautiful forest trails. The trail head claims 4 mile round trip but with our zigzagging, we recorded 5.6 miles. And I can guarantee that extra 1.6 mile is completely real. This was the longest little mountain I ever climbed.
Hike 25: Buttermilk Falls
4.25 miles | 250 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★ The plan was to drive over to Buttermilk Falls just before dinner on Saturday night. Google gave us one set of directions, Waze another longer route. We assumed Waze knew something Google didn't about traffic or obstructions (it usually does, regardless of them being the same company) and went with it. 30 minutes later we arrived at a blocked road. So...we drove around to the other side. Also blocked. Apparently the direct road to the falls was blocked with "covid restrictions" according to the Delaware Water Gap's website. We learned later that they were rebuilding the parking lot.
Hike 24: Normanook Tower
3.9 miles | 650 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★ We camped. And I survived. Besides glamping on the Inca Trail, I've never really camped before. Unless sleeping in a tent in my friend's backyard counts. It's something we'll have to do as we get to the more distant Adirondack High Peaks - we're just not fast enough to conquer 20+ miles in a day - so decided to start small with car camping by the Delaware Water Gap.
Hike 23: Corbett’s Glen
2.5 miles | 148 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★ We spent the July 4th weekend road tripping upstate for our cousin's covid-delayed graduation party in Rochester. To extend the trip a bit, we stopped by the Finger Lakes for some wine, cider and hiking. Unfortunately, conditioned by the heatwave in the city, we didn't properly prepare for milder temperatures. Our planned hike to Taughannock Falls would have to wait. Luckily, we found a few hours to check out a local spot in Rochester while there.
Hike 22: Hartshorn Woods
6.0 miles | 614 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★ I'm not a beach person, but somehow being near the beach on a 90 degree day felt like the right hike option. We ventured down to Atlantic Highlands, a mile or so from Sandy Hook. Starting from the Rocky Point entrance, we followed the black diamond trail for most of the hike resulting in a long loop around the park.
Hike 21: Ramapo Valley County Reservation
3.6 miles | 633 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★ First hike of summer! Well technically the solstice was 12 hours after we completed our hike, but let's go by the day, not the hour. We were in New Jersey for a party, our first since the pandemic, and Father's Day so decided to take advantage of Sunday morning to get in a quick hike. Ramapo Reservation is only a 10 minute drive from where I grew up, so while I know the location well, I never took advantage of the trails in the way I should.
Hike 20: Prospect Park
4.35 miles | 213 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★ With a Friday off, I planned to attempt my first solo hike. But a couple of things changed my mind. I'm a bit clumsy so the idea of being in the woods, alone, and spraining my ankle or worse didn't really appeal. Plus for the first time in 15 months, I wanted to be with all the people. A wild, yet urban stroll through Prospect Park seemed to fit the bill.
Hike 19: Clarence Fahnestock State Park
7.0 miles | 591 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★★ Fahnestock is a beautiful, surprisingly quiet park. We had only been there once a few years back. It was a holiday weekend and we didn't see anyone in our 10-mile journey. Up by Cold Spring, New York, the Appalachian trail runs the length of the park. When my boss insisted we had a two week window to see the mountain laurel blooms, we knew we had to go.
Hike 18: Plateau Mountain
6.0 miles | 1,998 ft gain | Difficulty: Difficult | Rating ★★★★ 2000 foot gain didn't seem that bad over 6 miles. Until we realized the gain was all in that first mile. Aptly called Plateau, the mountain steeply climbed but then leveled out to a plateau, the wooded summit being less than spectacular. So why five stars? Well...sometimes it's not all about the destination.
Hike 17: Teatown – Kitchawan Trail
3 miles | 400 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★ We've adopted! We're already members of the New York New Jersey Trail Conference, but considering how much we depend on them for great trails, maps and resources, we wanted to give back a little more. So, after training and volunteer orientation, we have adopted the Teatown-Kitchawan Trail, affectionately called the TKT.
Hike 16: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
3.7 miles | 62 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★ It was a lazy weekend and we wanted to stay close to home. The idea of driving an hour or so up to the Hudson Valley, again, felt daunting. Little did we know that the 19 mile drive to Queens would still take us nearly as long, thanks to horrendous traffic. But with the temperatures in the 70s on the first day of May, it felt like a good time to head to the beach.
Fifty-Two Hikes 