Mark F 7/19/22 Mark F 7/19/22

Bull Hill (Mt Taurus) Hike, Cold Spring, NY

Trail Description: Bull Hill (Mt Taurus) is a loop trail that offers amazing views of the Hudson River and surrounding mountains in the Hudson Highlands such as Storm King and Breakneck Ridge.

Trail Info:

Where: Cold Spring, NY Distance: 5.4m (3-4 hours) Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult Trail Type: Loop Features: Views, Mountains, Valley, River, Ruins

How to get there:

The trailhead is north of Cold Spring village along Route 9D by about a mile. The parking is shared with Little Stony Point. The location you may see searching on google map will be the Washburn Trail, which is where the hike begins.

Click here for parking lot coordinates

Hiking Tips

There are multiple trails, can choose short or long route.
Stick to a loop trail and connecting to other trails to get back. The terrain is steep going up, probably not fun going down…unless that is your thing!
Parking lot is small, fills up very quick on weekends!

The Hike

Starting at the parking area, you have a decision. How long do you want to hike? To be completely honest, my intention was to take the short route but I ended up hiking about the same as the full loop somehow. So, this is the short loop with a little twist. To begin, start trekking on the right to the white marked trail, the Washburn Trail.

The trail follows through the woods along a road at first with a gradual incline. This will lead to an open area with a sign to take a sharp right to continue on the trail.

This is a well marked trail and there are many signs for all the viewpoints.

The first few miles are pretty steep before you reach some viewpoints.

The first viewpoint will be a view of the Hudson River with Breakneck & Storm King Mountain in the background. Shortly after, the second viewpoint provides views of Cold Spring & West Point in the distance.

Continue along the white trail markers as the trail incline increases. There will be more views to take in. Eventually, the trail reaches an intersection. The short loop will be to your left following the yellow marker and the full loop is straight ahead following the white trail. I wanted to reach the summit view of Mt Taurus so I went straight here. Continue on this trail and you will notice some rocks with the word “View” painted with arrows pointing up. This will lead to the astonishing views from Bull Hill (Mt Taurus).

From here, I retraced my steps back down to the intersection and hopped on the yellow marked trail (Short Loop). You could continue on the long loop as well.

Once on the yellow marked trail, there continues to be awesome views such a clear shot of Storm King Mountain.

Follow the yellow marked trail until reaching signage for the red marked trail to connect to. There will be a stream to your right and a bridge to pass. Follow that and the blue marked trail will connect quickly and this will lead you all the way to the parking lot. There will be gradual decline in switchbacks and will become flat pavement for the last mile or so. Along the blue trail, the ruins of the Cornish Estate can be explored as well but this was a very crowded day so I decided to skip that.

This is a fun hike with so many viewpoints and exploration. It is certainly not easy with a lot of steep inclines the first few miles but the views are nonstop you won’t even notice the difficulty. This is definitely one of the better marked trails and there are many trail options to make the hike your own. Fantastic day hike!

HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.

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Walkway over the Hudson

Walkway Over the Hudson. What an amazing view! This isa bridge for walkers and runners and bikers only in the Hudson Valley in NY. A beautiful view of the Hudson River.

Trail Description: The Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park is the world’s longest elevated pedestrian walkway.

Trail Info:

Where: Walkway over the Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY Distance: ~2.5m (1.5-2 hours) Difficulty: Easy Trail Type: Out and Back Features: Bridge, Hudson River, Views, Beach

How to get there: This is the address I used for the West entrance on the Highland side. Once you approach the area, you will see the parking.

87 Haviland Road
Highland, NY 12528

If you would like to park at the East entrance in Poughkeepsie, this is the address to enter:

61 Parker Ave
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

This link is helpful also, https://walkway.org/visit/frequently-asked-questions/.

Hiking Tips:

The Highland side has more parking.
Can be very crowded. Plan accordingly.

Walkway over the Hudson, Hudson Valley, New York

The Hike:

You know what they say, your girlfriend is always right. I can’t argue with that. While in upstate NY recently, Nichole suggested we would visit the Walkway Over the Hudson over a local hike. A simple walk over a bridge I say. Come on, I need stouter material for the blog. Some knowledge I was not aware of, the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park is the world’s longest elevated pedestrian walkway. You read that right, in the whole entire world! The walkway extends 1.28 miles and hovers 212 feet over the Hudson River connecting Ulster and Dutchess counties in Poughkeepsie, NY. On this walkway you will see great views of Poughkeepsie, Mid-Hudson Bridge and Hudson Highlands. This has been open to the public only since 2009. I was skeptical but once I got there I was enthusiastic. I said to her, “Why haven’t we done this already?!? This is awesome!”

We decided to park on the Highland side as this tends to be easier to park with less of a crowd and ample parking. As I say about most outdoors activities in the Hudson Valley, prepare for a crowd. We went later in the day on a Sunday, so it wasn’t too bad. The NYC visitors probably needed to jump on a train to head back to the city.

As we made our way through the parking lot, we crossed train tracks and strolled through an open area where restrooms are located, multiple food trucks, and other vendors. A very cool spot to hang out before or after your walk.

Soon after we stepped on the bridge, I immediately saw the amazing views of why so many people visit this walkway. I saw the Mid-Hudson Bridge to my right and an open view of the Hudson to my left. The entire walk consisted of wonderful views. My head was on a swivel. For those curious about being on a bridge so high up, it feels very secure. The concrete makes this feel like just another sidewalk. Aside from the amazing landscapes views, this is definitely some great people watching material. You will see people walking dogs, baby strollers, running, power walking, bike riding, roller blading, you name it. And, lots of selfies. Beneath the bridge, you may see barges, boats, or some annoying person on a loud jet ski perusing the Hudson.

The walk can be as far as you like. You can stop anytime bridge and turn around to head back. We walked to the end of the bridge and back. If you live nearby, this is a great way to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors without too much demanding activity. Also, this is ADA compliant. There is an area to take an elevator up (closes certain times of the year). I would be a regular for sure. There are great pictures to be had here. Another successful exploration in the books and more lessons learned. Always listen to your girlfriend.

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Storm King Mountain, New York

If you are looking for a great hike with awesome views in the Hudson Valley, Storm King Mountain is one of the best hikes in the area. Located in upstate New York, the trail will get your heart pumping but you will be amazed at the summit view from the top.

Trail Description: Storm King Mountain offers one of best views in the Hudson Valley. The hike includes an initial steep hike to the top of Butter Hill, but the gratifying views at the top are worth the effort.

Trail Info:

Where: Storm King Mountain, Cornwall, NY Distance: 2.7 miles (2.5-3 hours) Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult Trail Type: Loop Features: Ruins, Mountains, Views, River, Views, Bridge

How to get there:

Heading south on Rt 9W from Newburgh, cross under the overpass for Angola Road. You will begin climbing a hill (in your car!) and on your left you will the parking lot for the Storm King Mountain. However, you can’t make a left here because it is an illegal turn. Continue driving a few miles until reaching the exit at Rt 218/Rt 293. Get back on Rt 9W and circle back to the parking lot. If you type in this address: 1750 US Rte 9W, Cornwall=on-Hudson, NY 12518, this should sufficient enough for the GPS.

Hiking Tips

Get there early for a less crowded trail.
Start on the orange trail in the beginning (not the white trail).
Pay close attention to when markers change colors
Bring hiking poles

THE HIKE

During the summer, I made a list of hikes I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year. Somehow, some way I was going to make them happen. I wanted to end the year hiking awesome and challenging trails. Storm King Mountain was high on my list. I came across this hike first on Instagram, of course. The pictures looked stunning. Since I do frequently travel to the Hudson Valley area, all I had to do was make the time. The hike does look intimidating but it wasn’t that bad. I would have liked better weather on this day, as it was a tad cloudy with overcast. But, the hike was really fun and awesome views nonetheless.

This hike is really popular. Get there earlier or try a weekday if you can. There were already a lot of cars and a shuttle bus of tourists by 930am. After we got our gear ready, the trailhead was to our left facing the woods. We saw the white trail on our right. I read hopping on the orange trail was the way to go. And, that was 100% accurate. It is more difficult in the beginning but I rather have fresher legs climbing up. The orange trail starts off steep right away. I found this part super fun. It was strictly a steep incline climbing up. The rocky path was taking us up to Butter Hill. Looking back, we witnessed some cool views of the highway as it started to disappear.

Start with the Orange!

Steep incline immediately.

Once all the climbing was done, we reached some small ruins. Keeping the orange markers in our sights, we continued up toward Butter Hill. A little more views started to appear. There is an important decision to be made on the trail. The Orange Trail abruptly ends as the blue Yellow Trail markings appear (you will see blue marking first) . Turning right at this junction, lead us on the correct path. I have read this is a point in the hike where people take a left and get lost. One more time, turn RIGHT when the Orange Trails ends or your day hiking will be regretful.

When you see this...

Turn right toward the blue marker.

We reached Butter Hill in about a half an hour from the start of the hike. This is the highest point of the hike at 1,375 feet. Continuing forward there still was some uphill stretches as the blue/yellow trail moseys across the mountain. There are intersections where the blue/red marked trail is on your left. However, you want to turn right on the blue/yellow trail you will see a small cairn. It is easy to get off track with all the intersecting trails. You will see a blue-blazed, don’t fall for it. Just stick to blue/yellow trails at this point.

turn right toward the yellow blue trail.

From here, the hike took us to the northern end of Storm King Mountain. Not quite the money shot view. Just a little tease of what it is next .

A little bit past this spot, we reached a rocky field in the open and BOOM. Stunning landscape. There are wide views of Newburgh Bay, Bannerman’s Castle, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. On a clear day, the Catskills are visible. We could see some sail boats in the Hudson River as well. A very cool summit view.

After taking an excessive amount of pictures, we hopped back on the blue/yellow trail. Going down, we noticed some more cool overlooks on our left looking at the town of Cold Spring and getting a smaller glimpse of the summit view. I recommend taking a look. Shortly after the awesome view, the White Trail markers will appear. Taking a sharp left around the mountain with a U-turn, we started on the White Trail. And soon after, the trail will be blazed with blue and white markers. BUT, then the blue markers will fade and this goes back to only white markers. And now, the white markers will take you back to the parking lot. There is one last steep uphill climb before the parking lot to give you a nice good-bye and keep your heart pumping.

Hop on the White trail.

The last trail switch. Blue to White.

That's what I call a bang for your buck hike. The hike was very challenging, the hike wasn't too long, and there a multiple magnificent views for photo opportunities. And, I had a blast hiking it. The trail route we took was about 2.7 miles and took us under 3 hrs, including probably 30 mins of me taking pics. There are some very steep inclines but nothing your average hiker can't overcome. As long as you start the hard way first, the hike ain't so bad. This is one of the best hikes in the Hudson Valley hands down. I am happy to check this off the list, but now I want to go back!

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