North-South Lake, North Point, The Catskills, NY
Trail Description: This great day hike in the Catskills at North-South Lake utilizing multiple trails offers stunning views such as Artists Rock, Sunset Rock, Newmans Ledge, and North Point. Also, some popular features such as Ashley Falls, Badmans Cave, and more.
Trail Info:
Where: Haines Falls, NY Distance: 7.0m (4-5 hours) Difficulty: Difficult Trail Type: Loop Features: Views, Mountains, Valley, Lake, Water, Cave, Catksills, Hudson Valley
How to get there:
93 North Lake Road, Haines Falls, NY 12436
https://goo.gl/maps/9rUFAjK3PieRJY7U9
Put the address above in your GPS. You will need to drive through the state park to find the trail. As you get closer, you will pass Scutt Road on the right, then go past the guardhouse. Turn right onto the first fork around the lakes heading south. Follow this road passing a big parking lot on the left until you reach another big parking lot at a dead end, past the pavilions. Park in this area and the trail will start in the back corner.
Hiking Tips
Not great phone service, so make sure to screenshot a map. Or my guide!
Lots of signage throughout trail, but keep an eye on the trail markers.
The Hike
This is a long one folks. Make sure you have all the snacks and hydration necessary on this hike. Once you are ready to go, head to the back right corner of the parking lot for the start of the trail, away from the picnic pavilion and lake area. There will be a gate with a stop sign. Go around the gate and start your trek on the yellow trail toward the old Catskill Mountain House, the first of many sites and views on this hike.
There will be a junction with the blue trail. Continue to walk straight across the field at the area of the old Catskill Mountain House. Off the ledge of the field will be the first view of the hike overlooking the Hudson Valley.
Turn around and head back toward the junction across the field. Stick to the right and continue following the blue trail until you see the North Lake signage. Past the guardrail with a stop sign, cross another parking lot to re-enter the woods & head straight across to find the blue trail. I did not see a sign (could have missed it) but just keep an eye for the blue markers.
Pass the picnic tables and this will lead to walking along a chain link fence to the right. At the end of the fence, there is a view off a porch ledge. Keeping straight on blue, the next item to pass is a registration box.
From here, the hike will begin to have an incline. In about 10 minutes will be the first viewpoint, Artist’s Rock. The first of many views on this hike.
Continue on the blue trail as the trail gets steeper toward the next viewpoint, Sunset Rock. There will be a set of cliffs above on the right. Sunset Rock viewpoint sits above these cliffs. The trail will eventually get you there. There will be a sign to hop on the yellow trail for Sunset Rock in 0.2 miles.
Keep a lookout for the markers, then turn right onto the yellow trail. The views will just open up and another incredible view will be had. But this isn’t Sunset Rock quite yet. Keep along the yellow trail and in a few minutes there will be a big rock to the right. I was actually too enamored with the view, I did not take a picture of the rock! But it will be pretty obvious & there is a sign. This area will have the best views of the hike. There will be views of North-South Lake with the Catskills in the background. Pretty jaw dropping in my opinion.
From here, retrace your steps from the yellow trail back to the blue trail. Turn right at the blue/yellow junction to rejoin the blue trail. There will be signage for Newman’s Ledge, 0.2 miles away, and North Point, 1.6 miles away. The trail will get steeper but in minutes you will reach more awesome views off of Newman’s Ledge.
In about 0.6 miles the next point of interest is Badman's Cave following the blue trail.
Continue on the blue trail as it becomes steep then levels out in an open area before re-entering the woods. In 0.6 miles there will be a junction with the red marked Mary Glen’s Trail. The red trail will need to be used but for now continue on the blue trail toward North Point. There will be a sign showing only 0.3 miles to North Point. The ascend for the next 0.3 miles is one of toughest in the hike. There will be a sign for North Point. The views will be beautiful as the Catskills will be right in your sight.
After you soak in the last of the amazing views, begin to head back toward the junction with the red trail. Take a right to hop on the red trail. This will be a rocky, steady decline as you eventually reach the sign for the North Lake Campsite, which will be another 0.6 miles. This will lead around the lakes onto the paved roads of the campsite. Continue to follow the red trail as you cross a footbridge over a stream. There will be a sign for Ashley Falls off the yellow trail if you wanted to take a look, it was very short but no waterfalls on this hot day in the middle of the summer.
Continue on the red and take a left on the road by the campsites. Then it will be almost a mile until you get back to the parking lot. At least it is a flat surface to end! Whew, what a hike. Tough but so many views.
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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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.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search City or State here.
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Hiking the Breakneck Ridge Trail, New York
Trail Description: The Breakneck Ridge hike is one of the most challenging trails in the Hudson Valley. The mountain is known for rocky terrain, steep rock scrambling, and beautiful views of the Hudson Valley. This trail is immensely popular due to its easy access.
Trail Info:
Where: Cold Spring, NY Distance: 3.7 miles (3.5-4.5 hours) Difficulty: Strenuous Trail Type: Loop Features: Views, River, Mountains, Rock Scrambling
How to get there:
Typing the location “Breakneck Ridge Trailhead” into Google Maps will take you near the parking areas. There are multiple parking spots along State Road 9D, just park where you can north of the tunnel. There is a small lot near the trailhead and a larger lot further down.
For those concerned about parking/driving, this hike is accessible via train. There is a MTA to the Breakneck Ridge train station that is within walking distance to the trail on weekends only.
Hiking Tips
Go on a weekday to avoid the crowds, if possible. Go early on weekends.
Be prepared to rock scramble & use your hands to scale the cliff.
Not dog friendly (unless small dog that you can carry or your dog is a mountain climber)
The Hike
After parking, make sure you are walking along the right hand side of the road. The trailhead starts to the right of the tunnel, where there is trail signage and maps.
There are 3 trail route options for Breakneck Ridge. There is a sign explaining this at the beginning of the trail. The options consist of the short loop (2 hours) ,the regular/classic loop (3 hours), or the trail back to Cold Spring (4 hours). This guide will be the option we took which is the full classic loop.
There is a set of rock stairs that will bring you to the sharp ascent. Follow the white trail markers and start climbing! The terrain on the trail is pretty hard right away. There is a very steep ascent and I needed my hands and knees to get me through this portion of the hike. If you did bring hiking poles, I would suggest securing the poles to your backpack here as they will not be helpful. Depending on your level of climbing up, this can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
Keep climbing until you reach the flagpole. You will see Pollepel Island with Bannerman’s Castle to your right, along with views of Storm King Mountain straight ahead across the river.
After taking in the views and enjoying a break, continue to follow the white markers as the incline continues. This part is less intense but still some rock scrambling. There is an area in the trail where you can choose to go steeper or take the easier ascent marked with X with an arrow pointing left & right. The easier route was definitely welcomed after the steep climb.
Continue to climb higher and there is another viewpoint with the flagpole far in the distance from above.
Keep climbing until there are no more bluffs and cannot continue further.This is where you head into the forest. The next few miles are much, much easier. You could go back down the way you came but it’s a tough way down and you will be greeted with a traffic jam of many hikers ascending up.
Continue on white markers & ignore the yellow marked trail for now.
There will be a fork eventually. Look for a turn off to the red marked trail (tough to miss red marking on rock). Follow red trail down a gradual descent through woods.
Depending on your pace, the red trail will dead end in about 30-60 minutes where you take left onto yellow trail (Wilkinson Memorial Trail) and keep going downhill and follow all the way to the parking area.
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.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search City or State here.
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Poets’ Walk Park, Red Hook, NY
Trail Description: Poets’ Walk Park is an easy jaunt through scenic meadows that offers wonderful views of the Hudson River and Catskills.
Trail Info:
Where: Red Hook, NY Distance: 2.4m (1.5 hours) Difficulty: Easy Trail Type: Loop Features: Views, Mountains, Water, River, Bridge
How to get there:
776 River Road, (County Road 103) Red Hook, NY
https://goo.gl/maps/y9V6GaXcWxRzqd6P9
Hiking Tips
Walk the entire loop. Many see the views of the bridge initially and turn around.
Not great phone service, so make sure to screenshot a map. Or my guide!
For trail map, click HERE.
The Hike
As I continue to look for the best bang for your buck views, I really don’t think it gets better than taking a stroll through Poets’ Walk Park in the fall. The Hudson Valley is full of amazing landscape and mountainous views. Most of those views require challenging hiking. However, a leisurely stroll in Poets’ Walk Park offers stunning views of the Catskills and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.
From the parking lot, begin walking on the gravel road by the trail signage. Continuing straight through the open field will lead you to a gazebo structure. Walking through the gazebo, there is the first “oh snap” view of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge with the Catskills looming in the background. There is a neat little wooden bench to take a seat and enjoy the views.
The trail will split from here, where the loop begins. Either direction will bring you back to this spot. We chose left heading toward the river. Some great views of Catskills to the right and a closer view of the bridge to the left. The loop will begin on the right and suddenly you will find myself thwarted into the woods. There will be a few bridges to cross. If you need a moment of solitude, the Summerhouse gazebo area is a good spot to take a seat and look out into the mountains above the river.
From the Summerhouse structure, just retrace your steps back to the trail split and head on back to the parking lot. Easy peasy. The skies cleared on our the way back and the fall colors really popped. Just incredible views.
Depending on how long you choose to explore, take pictures, and enjoy the benches, this shouldn’t take more than an hour and half, give or take. Definitely one of those places I considered keeping to myself but the place was crazy packed. There is no secret here. It’s a spectacular park to visit for stunning views.
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.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search City or State here.
SEE OTHER POSTS IN ARCHIVE
RECOMMENDED POSTS
RECENT POSTS
See the latest on Instagram and follow @HIKINGFORDONUTS