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.
NYNJTC
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 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 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 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 15: Bear Mountain
4.4 miles | 1,165 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★ Bear Mountain. THE New York City hike. And we felt like we were there, right along side every one of them, especially on the way down. Somehow in my 14 years as a New Yorker, and nearly 2 decades of living next door in New Jersey, I never visited Bear Mountain. Not for a hike, not for the carousel or zoo, not even for the annual Oktoberfest.
Hike 10: Wawayanda State Park
7.8 miles | 1,309 ft gain | Difficulty: Medium | Rating ★★★★★ It was nearly a virgin trail. Last October the New York New Jersey Trail conference reblazed the blue trail, making it a full loop around Terrace Pond. Previously, you would have to take the blue to the yellow to the white...there was some red it there...and even still, not a full loop. This new trail was gorgeous and provided a variety of woods, water crossings and wide carriage like meadow paths, pretty much everything you can ask for in a single trail.
Hike 9: Butter Hill + Storm King Mountain
3.8 miles | 1,014 ft gain | Difficulty: Medium | Rating ★★★★★ "Bring spikes!" they all said. "Lot's of ice!" I trust my hiking community and arrived at the sunny, mostly dry trailhead prepared with our crampons, but couldn't figure out why. We tucked them into our backpack and started up the steep assent to Butter Hill, on our way to the top of Storm King mountain, with stunning view points along the way.
Hike 7: Bull Hill
5.7 miles | 1,391 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★ This was our first real climb we did this year. After almost a year of living mostly in a single floor apartment during the pandemic, climbing is HARD. Sure, when we're not hiking, I'm out walking or "running" (read: super-slow trot) but the reality is, my new normal is pretty flat. Running up or down flights of stairs to catch a train seems like a distance memory.
Hike 3: Iron Mines + Hogencamp Mountain
6.1 miles | 751 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★★ It's been some time since I last hiked in Harriman State Park. I mean, yes, the trails we hike starting from the Tuxedo, NY train station are still part of the park, but when I say IN the park, I mean deep in the park, winding down Seven Lakes Drive.
Hike 2: Carris Hill + Wyanokie High Point
7.4 miles | 1,289 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★★ We took the long path. Intentionally? unintentionally? I'm not entirely sure. It's not unusual for our recorded hike to be slightly longer than AllTrails, but a 20%+ difference is a bit much.
Fifty-Two Hikes 