Jordan Pond Loop Trail, Acadia National Park

Trail Description: The trail is an easy hike that circles Jordan Pond with many opportunities to explore the shore and observe wonderful views.

Trail Info:

Where: Mount Desert, ME Distance: 3.4m (1.5-2 hours) Difficulty: Easy Trail Type: Loop Features: Views, Mountains, Pond, Water

How to get there:

The Jordan Pond North Parking Lot is located on the left side of Park Loop Rd at the Jordan Pond House. There is another lot next to the restaurant for additional parking as the lot fills up quickly.

https://goo.gl/maps/oQGDyrrCaNHjccsb8

Hiking Tips

• Weekends are super crowded. Beware! Parking can be tough.

• Post hike, eat at the Jordan Pond House. Get a popover & blueberry lemonade!

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The Hike

One of the more iconic landscapes you will see at Acadia National Park is Jordan Pond. If you find yourself in Acadia, this has to be added to your list of things to check out. The shoreline of the pond has amazing views of The Bubbles, two glacially sculpted mountains at the northern end of Jordan Pond. The views are great all times of day, especially sunset and stargazing at night. Not only are the views spectacular, but the rewards of delicious food at the Jordan Pond House is almost worth the visit alone. 

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This was my very first trip to Acadia. I was not a happy camper to show up to nothing but fog. However, as I am learning, planning trips for national parks is impossible. You take what you can get from mother nature. Even though it was foggy, my wife and I decided to circle Jordan Pond as intended. We did have a few moments where the fog began to lift for some cool views on the pond and a tease of that fall foliage we drove 6.5 hours for! But that dissipated rather quickly. Even so, the eerie look was pretty cool. 

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The beginning of the trail can be found at the end of the field at the Jordan Pond House.  The trail will be split as you approach. We chose to head right to stroll along the east side first. This section of the trail is more level. There are some bridges to cross over the streams that flow into the pond. As we made our way to the left side, there is a dirt trail, boulders, and a wooden plank path through the wetlands. The last 0.5m of the hike was on elevated boards, which I thought was a really cool way to protect the ecosystem. There are various points on the trail where you can hop off and explore the pond's shores. Other than that, the trail is well-marked and pretty self-explanatory. 

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The other great thing is that you do not need to really hike that entire trail to see some amazing views. The Jordan Pond House practically overlooks the pond. We did not get a chance to eat there the first day so we came back the next day and the weather was beautiful. I walked around the east side again briefly and I was able to see the stunning views I came here for.

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Make no mistake, the views are as advertised. BUT do not, at any circumstance, miss out on a popover from the Jordan Pond House. By far, the best meal I have ever had in a national park. That popover with the jam and butter and you have to get the blueberry lemonade, magnifico! We actually tried the bison meatloaf sandwich too. Pretty damn good.

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For views like this in a national park, this is as easy as it gets for a hike, or leisurely stroll. The trail is for everyone including children & dogs. It’s a great starter hike to get blood flowing or cool down after some more treacherous trails. This is a classic Acadia hike that should be added to your National Park bucket list. The view of the water with the curves of The Bubbles in the background is quite memorable. And, when you finish, it’s time for a popover!

HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change 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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Jones Mountain Preserve, New Hartford, CT

Trail Description: The Vista Trail is a red-blazed loop that circles the Jones Mountain Preserve.  Most of the trail is an old carriage road that leads to summit views overlooking New Hartford and the Farming River to the north.

Trail Info:

Where: New Hartford, CT Distance: 2.5m (1.5 hours) Difficulty: Easy Trail Type: Loop Features: Views, Mountains, Valley

How to get there:

161 Steele Rd, New Hartford, CT 06057

You will see the parking lot located on the right coming from Route US-44W.

Hiking Tips

• For trail map, click HERE.

• Stay on the trails. Lots of hunting areas surrounding.

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The Hike

Once entering the nature preserve from the parking lot, there is a footbridge crossing. There will be a fork for the start of the red blazed trail. This is the Vista Trail that loops around the preserve. Going right will lead you to the summit view. After about 0.3m there is a sign with an arrow toward the peak to follow.

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This part of the hike is the most difficult. There is a gradual incline with an elevation gain of 367 feet as you make your way toward the carriage road. This will last for 15 minutes or so. Reaching the carriage road will occur at about 0.5m and it is fairly easy from here. At 0.9m there is another footbridge crossing.

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This will bring you to the summit of Jones Mountain at 1.5m. The lookout is a splendid view of the Farmington Valley West to New Hartford.

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Continue on the red loop for the rest of the trail. Due to storms, there is a road closure at the time of our hike. This forces you to hop onto the white trail inside the preserve. The white will lead back to the red and right to the parking lot.

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Based on what I saw online, there are some monuments and mill ruins along other trails in the preserve if that interests anyone reading this. We chose to just tackle the summit view.

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I am enjoying finding new hiking trails in Connecticut. This trail is fairly easy, has a good view, and will get your heart pumping a little bit. Any one looking to get into hiking or just need a break from a strenuous trail, I would suggest this. Fall is officially here as I write this post. This would be a good fall hike as well once the leaves change. Get hiking!

HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change 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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Pine Knob Loop Trail, Sharon, CT

Trail Description: The Pine Knob Loop Trail is located in Housatonic Meadows State Park and Housatonic State Forest. This short, challenging trail connects to the Appalachian Trail. The hike will bring you to a beautiful vista view of rolling hills over the Housatonic River valley.

Trail Info:

Where: Sharon, CT Distance: 2.8m (2 hours) Difficulty: Moderate Trail Type: Loop Features: Views, Mountains, Valley, River

How to get there:

By google mapping, “Pine Knob Loop Trail” this should lead you to the trail parking area. Link below.

https://goo.gl/maps/36Fa5oy7HjjrHTZP9

You will see the parking lot located on the left coming from Route US-7 N. There is a visible sign as well. The lot can fit 15-20 cars.

Hiking Tips

• Go counter clockwise if you like your knees!

• Not great phone service, so make sure to screenshot a map. Or my guide!

• Due to storms, some trees are down with trail markings. Just make sure to keep an eye out.

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The Hike

Beginning the hike, the trail leads directly into the woods. There is a small brook to cross that leads to the fork of the start of the trail, where you will see the blue blazed trail sign. Prior to the hike, my wife and I did some research and counterclockwise was recommended based on our findings. We prefer to go up an incline & scramble then come down on a steep decline. This is the knee friendly option and safer in my opinion (lessons learned). Also, I like to get the hard stuff out of the way. Staying straight at the fork on the blue blaze trail is how we started. The steep incline starts gradually about 0.4m into the hike. Really get the blood flowing out the gate.

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The terrain will be a bit of a strenuous incline then leveling off with a small decline and then right back to steady uphill climb. Nothing your average hiker can’t handle.

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At 1.1m, this is the time to catch your breath when you reach the first sneak peek of views. Then it is all worth it when you see the spectacular vista view of the hills and mountains of the North West valley of Connecticut. From here you can see Bald Mountain, Bread Loaf Mountain, Woodbury Mountain, DudleyHill, and Whitecomb Hill. Really impressive view.

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After absorbing the stunning views, continue back onto the blue trail until this connects with the Appalachian Trail that is the white trail marking at about 1.3m. 

Connecticut has had a plethora of storms lately so there are many trees down. Some had trail markings on them so be mindful of that. Otherwise, this is an amazingly marked trail and easy to follow. At 1.7m, you will see the rolling hills view again from the east. This view is blocked by some trees but is still amazing nonetheless.

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At 2.1m, the blue and white trail will go separate ways. Turn left on the blue trail to finish the loop. We noticed a hatch brook that appears to have water cascading down on certain days but it has been dry lately. Nothing to see on this day. The rest of the hike was a fairly easy stroll through the trees and forest.

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The Northwest part of Connecticut is unexplored territory for me. Based on my research, this area of CT offers many great hiking trails. The Pine Knob Loop Trail was my first experience in the area. And, I was not disappointed. The trail was not busy at all. We saw more people once we connected to the Appalachian Trail portion. I would highly suggest hiking poles for this trail. The hike offered various degrees of difficulty and an amazing summit view. This would be a great fall foliage hike. Also, there are two wineries within 15 minutes from the hike if you need to persuade a hiking companion. Looking for something different, check this one out!

HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change 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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Kaaterskill Falls Trail, The Catskills, New York

Trail Description: The Kaaterskill Falls Trail is short hike to a stunning waterfall in the Catskills.

Trail Info:

Where: Haines Falls, NY Distance: 2.3m (1.5-2 hours) Difficulty: Moderate Trail Type: Out and Back Features: Views, Mountains, Waterfall

How to get there:

Note, you will lose service as you get closer. I put in my GPS:

103 Laurel House Road, Palenville, NY 12463

Depending which direction you are coming from, you will turn onto N Lake Rd off RT 23A and follow up to Laurel House Road. In roughly 2 miles, turn right on Laurel House Road where you will find the upper trail parking lot.

Hiking Tips

• Start at the upper parking lot.

• Make sure to check out the views from the platform.

• Summer water levels may be low and rainy periods may be muddy.

• Be safe. Multiple people have got hurt jumping in the falls, or worst, fallen off the top of the fall and died.

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The Hike

A trip to the Catskill Mountains in New York has been on my immediate bucket list.  The abundance of hikes and mountain peaks to be seen caught my eye. Since this is not a long drive for my fiancé and me, we picked a weekend, laced our boots, and hiked until we couldn’t any longer.  The one obvious choice to hike is the ever popular Kaaterskill Falls Trail.  Being mid-July and not much rain, the fall wasn’t going to be as cool as in the rain season. But this was the only weekend we could go and it was still worth the hike. I always do my research ahead of time and noticed there were multiple parking lots. The more popular lot seems to be the lower which looked like a train wreck. We drove by it. The parking is miserable with tons of cars in the highway on a narrow strip parked in the road. I would be concerned walking back to my car. The better option is the upper falls lot off Laurel House Road, where there is a platform you can see the falls from above. As long you can there before 10-11am on the weekend, there should be enough parking. The other thing in my mind was the crowd. I suggest doing this hike very early on weekends or if you can on a weekday.  The lower falls are popular for swimming in summers. We started this around 9am and it was pretty crowded, especially at the lower trail.

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Once we parked in the lot on Laurel House road, there is a gravel path to the kiosk of trail info where the hike begins. From here, we proceeded to take the Yellow Trail on our left.  In short time, the Blue Trail will be on the left. We continued on the Yellow Trail to the right heading to upper platform for views of the falls. This portion of trail was developed and improved in 2016 to make it safer for everyone to hike. While this may be manmade, I think that was essential for this trail. If not for all the new steps and paths, people would get hurt and there is way more to offer on this trail for everyone. And, the platform offers a new perspective with remarkable views of Kaaterskill Falls. I am glad I did not start from the lower trail!

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After checking out the platform, we retraced our steps back to find the intersection for the Blue Trail. This will lead to a bridge crossing that will lead to another intersection. From here, turn right toward the Lower Falls. This is where difficulty of the trail increases but not too bad. To proceed along to the Lower Falls, we proceeded to head on the Yellow Trail. There will be more signposts to veer onto other trails if you want to adventure but we just wanted to see the falls. As we descended closer to waterfall, you can hear the crowd of people below as you get closer on this hot summer day.  There was a side trail venturing to our right where the falls are up close. You could actually get in the water and take a picture under them.

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We returned back to the fork and proceeded to descend down the steps to lower part of the waterfall. Once we reached the bottom, you can see both sections of Kaaterskill Falls. We climbed up on some rocks to get closer. And, of course I hiked with a donut. Hence, obligatory donut and waterfall shot. We stopped at a local donut shop about 10 minutes away from

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The crowd was a lot to deal with. We headed back retracing our steps back onto the Yellow Trail until we reached the bridge again. Then take the path toward the parking lot. As I mentioned previously, this was non-rain season so the fall was not as robust. However, it is one of the must hike locations in the Catkskills. I ensured my first trip included Kaaterskill Falls.

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HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change 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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Colorado Road Trippin’ for Donuts

In my years of traveling, Colorado has been my favorite state to visit for the food, the beer, and the outdoors/hiking. I still have barely scrapped the surface. On my third visit this spring, I drove over 1000 miles and visited 7 cities. My prior trips did not consist of too much donut research. Hence, there were many donut shop visits along the way on this trip. This is not a best of list by any means. There are lots of donut shops in Colorado. In this post, I will be sharing my experiences of the donut shops I visited during my trip. SPOILER ALERT, Colorado has some great donuts shops.

Voodoo Donuts Denver, CO

The first stop off the plane was Voodoo Donuts. The popularity of this donut shop makes it a must try.  Once you walk in, you see and feel how different this is than a standard donut shop. There is a hip and fun vibe going on. There’s a big selection of unique flavors and types of donuts. They are known for a raspberry filled donut shaped and decorated like a Voodoo Doll and their wittiness. The crazy options I chose were the Chuckles, chocolate frosting dipped in hot chocolate cocoa powder with peanuts and caramel and chocolate drizzle, and the ODB, chocolate frosting with Oreo cookies and peanut butter. In addition, I had to the get the Voodoo Doll, Plain Glazed, Double Chocolate Cake, and Maple Bar.

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City Donuts, Denver, CO

City Donuts has a few locations spread out through Colorado near the Denver area. This was your standard old school donut shop. The customer service was fantastic. The person working went into detail on how their donuts were made and the history of the company.  Appreciated it because it gave me time to decide what I wanted. Unfortunately, I was pretty full from breakfast but I settled on the Maple Glaze and Chocolate Frosted with sprinkles. Super fluffy and tasted homemade. Pretty big sized donut as well. And, they hooked me up with some free donut holes.  The bag the donuts came in was a great touch.

Amy’s Donuts, Colorado Springs, CO

The stand out donut shop in Colorado Springs has to be Amy’s Donuts. This shop had my head on a swivel. Not even over exaggerating, there were over 50 different flavor combinations. To narrow it down was a tough task.  They covered the basics but then went over the top with wild toppings and flavor combinations like Almond Banana Caramel, Butterfinger, and Maple Bacon Fudge. The final decision was the Maple Turtle, Reese’s Pieces, Nutella Crumb, Bizmallow Caramel, and S’mores. And, a Raspberry filled glazed bar to complete the spectrum of donuts. They will pipe in the jelly fresh when you order. Big fan of that. The verdict, the Maple Turtle was amazing as it sounds.

Montrose Donuts and Deli, Montrose, CO

The perfect hiking for donuts location. Located 15 minutes outside of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, you must visit Montrose Donuts and Deli. When I walked in, I was delighted to see all the options. They had bear claws, old fashion, cake, yeast, cinnamon bun, bow tie, cruller, French cruller, fritter, bars, and filled donuts along with muffins and more baked goods. And, a glazed buttermilk bar. What?!? I had to try this. Best donut of the trip. Tasted like a delicious and sugary glazed biscuit. Along with the glazed buttermilk bar, I also tried the chocolate cake sprinkle, bow tie glazed, blueberry glaze cake, cinnamon crumb, old fashion maple, and cinnamon crumb glaze fritter. The donuts were all pretty delicious. Highly recommend for your hiking for donut needs.

OMG Donuts, Arvada, CO

Located in a small plaza driving through Arvada, I found myself at OMG Donuts. This is another small business, old school shop cranking out the classics.  Very friendly. I got there late afternoon and they still had some good options. I went with the Plain Glazed, Double Chocolate Cake, Maple Bar, Chocolate Frosted and Red Velvet. The red velvet cake stood out to me for some reason and that was the best decision I made. One of the best cake donuts I have EVER had. Wow, super moist and the flavor was on point. The chocolate cake was good also, super chocolaty almost like eating a chocolate cake. The yeast donuts were fluffy and light. This was a great donut shop find.

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HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change 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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24 Hours in the Black Canyon at the Gunnison National Park

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is one of the least known national parks and that is a travesty. I admit, I wasn’t too familiar with this park myself.  Located in western Colorado, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison did not gain National Park status until 1999, making it the second youngest national park in the U.S. The Black Canyon is named so because the walls are often covered in shadows making them appear black. These steep walls were formed over 1.7 billion years ago. Another awesome note on this park is that it contains 12 out of the 48 mile-long canyon of the Gunnison River.

For most national park or outdoors enthusiast, you want to experience as much as possible in your travels. Planning trips can be difficult and offer time restraints. Exploring most national parks you need anywhere from 3 days to two weeks. On my recent Colorado road trip, I planned for one day at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. There is a North and South Rim. This guide will be for the South Rim only. This rim is more developed and accessible. Can you explore the entire South Rim in 24 hours? The answer is yes. The best time to visit is April to November. We stayed in Montrose, which is about 15 minutes from the park. The downtown is pretty cool. Oh, and there is an amazing donut shop, Montrose Donut and Deli Shop. The best donuts I had in Colorado. Get the biscuit donut. I digress…..

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The South Rim is comprised of a modest 7 mile loop with 12 spectacular overlooks.  I suggest to stop at each overlook. A lot of the overlooks do require walking a short trail but nothing strenuous. I would not miss out on Painted Wall, Cedar Point and Sunset View.  There are multiple hikes on the South Rim. I went out of my way to do them all and to be honest, if you are stressing for time, skip the hikes. If camping is your thing, there are campgrounds here.  Lastly, do NOT leave the park without driving down East Portal Road. I cannot recommend that enough. There is no crowd concern at this park. I counted maybe 30 people on a Friday in mid-May. I read the peak of the visitors stroll through in July. There are even less visitors on the North Rim, which is a 3 hour drive from the South Rim. However, the views are even more dramatic from the North Rim. The scenic driving was amazing. This park should be way more popular. The views were ridiculous. One of the best experiences I had in a national park. Here’s my guide to the South Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

How to get there

Black Canyon’s South Rim is about 14 miles from Montrose and 63 miles from Gunnison. To get there from Montrose, travel 7 miles north on CO Highway 347 from the intersection with U.S. Highway 50 east of the city.

Viewpoints (South Rim)

The first viewpoint that visitors will see entering the park is Tomichi Point. This is right off the side of the road, no hiking needed.  The second viewpoint, Gunnison Point, is located right behind the visitor center. A short path down some steps leads views of the canyon facing northwards. The view is more vivid than Tomichi Point and there is sneak peak of the ravine.

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Tomichi Point

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Gunnison Point

The next viewpoint is about two miles down the road at Pulpit Rock Overlook. There is a 134 yard trail leading to this area. The canyon really opens here with the river in view as it curves around a 90 degree bend. Cross Fissure View offers a different a unique look at the canyon. The river is not visible and most of the canyon is hidden. There is a view of overlapping ridges and crevasses from multiple angles. This viewpoint is a 357 yard walk.

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Pulpit Rock

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Cross Fissures

Rock Point is a less traveled path at 294 yards.  The longer the path the less visitors you will see. Devils Lookout is the longest path at 607 yards. This path goes right the edge of the rims for great views including the river and the valley. Both this and Rock Point lie above the narrowest part of the entire canyon.

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Rock Point

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Devil's Lookout

Chasm View is one of those jaw dropping views. This is a very short path off the road above the steepest part of the whole canyon.  Painted Wall View is almost adjacent to Chasm View. This may be the most well-known viewpoint.  Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado at 2,250 feet and a half mile across. 

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Chasm View

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Painted Wall

Every viewpoint from here on is a must see. Cedar Point is a 303 yard path overlooking the lower canyon.  This is a spectacular view as you can see 1.5 miles of the river, flowing rapids, and some greenery below. Next up, Dragon Point offers very similar views. The widening ravine enclosing colorful waters of the river. This can be reached by a path of 300 yards.

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Cedar Point

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Dragon Point

Sunset View was one of my favorites. This is the westernmost viewpoint along the South Rim road. There is large parking area along with restrooms and picnic tables. This a great place to soak in amazing views of the canyon. This is the longest stretch of V shaped canyon. The last viewpoint is another mile down the road, High Point.  There’s not much to this but you have to pass this in order to turn around and head back. 

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Sunset View

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High Point

The Hikes (South Rim)

At the end of South Rim road, there is a parking lot where the Warner Point Trail begins. This a 1.5 mile out and back that takes you to the furthest overlook on the South Rim.  The trail starts flat with views of green fields 1,000 feet above Bostwick Park. The trail begins to climb slowly then drops and ascends again before reaching the final viewpoint. This overlook offers stunning views of the San Juan Mountains, West Elk Mountains, Uncompahgre Valley, and the canyon. If you choose a hike in the South Rim, this would be the one I suggest.

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Warner Point

The Oak Flat Loop begins by the visit center.  The trail is narrow and traverses down a steep slope. This offers a peek at the landscape below the canyon’s rim. This is the most challenging hike in the South Rim with steep uphill and downhill portions. In total, the loop is 2 miles.

Rim Rock Nature Trail starts at the visit center or the Campground Loop C entrance. You can even hop on this trail from Tomichi Point. This relatively flat hike takes you along the rim of the canyon for views of the Gunnison River and sheer walls of the gorge below. This can be between 1-2 miles.

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Oak Flat Loop

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Rim Rock Trail

East Portal Road River Access

Located right at the entrance/exit to the park, you will see the access for East Portal Road. This is a 5 mile road with a significant decline (16% grade) with hairpin turns taking your car to the base of Black Canyon. This is the only way to get down into the canyon. Once arriving at the bottom, the views from down below are gorgeous.  The picturesque surroundings of the beautiful lake and the cliff walls of the canyon from up above are majestic. By far the coolest experience I had in the park. I was just in awe. I read a lot of things online and it made it sound dramatic and dangerous to drive down. Any car/van can handle it. Vehicles with an overall length (including trailer) greater than 22 feet are prohibited. Trailers may be left unhitched and left at a parking area at the campground entrance. This road is closed in the winter. Just be smart about driving down. It took us about 30 minutes. This is a bucket list type event. Don’t chicken out!

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The drive down into the canyon.

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HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change 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

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• Donuts 7
• Hike 48
• Hiking 48
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• Travel 24
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Sam’s Point and Verkeerderkill Falls Trail, New York

Trail Description: Sam’s Point Reserve offers panoramic views of the Shawangunk Ridge along with exploring a 180 foot waterfall. 

Trail Info:

Where: Ellenville, NY Distance: 6.2 miles (3-4 hours) Difficulty: Moderate Trail Type: Out and Back Features: Views, Mountains, Valley, Waterfall, Ice Caves (optional) 

How to get there:

400 Sams Point Rd Cragsmoor, NY 12420 

This will take you right to the parking lot. Parking costs $10. There is a kiosk to pay near the visitor center.

 Hiking Tips

• Parking lot opens at 9am. If parking lot is full, you have to wait until someone leaves. Plan accordingly as parking is limited.

• Did not include the Ice Caves on this day. Would add an additional 1.1 miles to the hike.

• Use bug spray for ticks and sunscreen when sun is out. Most of the hike is the open.

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The Hike

The next hike in the Hudson Valley to check off my list is Sam’s Point. I anticipated great views but there was much more to this hike than I thought. Until I researched recently, I didn’t realize a waterfall was part of the hike. Veerkeerderkill Falls is the tallest waterfall in the Shawangunk Mountains at 180 feet. And, there are even ice caves on this trail. Sam’s Point is part of Minnewaska State Park, but the parking is located at a different location than the park’s entrance. We left early in time to beat the 9am opening and there were already quite a few cars in line. Once parked, there is a kiosk to pay for parking and there is a visitor center at this lot, where there are 2 restrooms.

After packing up our gear, we headed toward the trailhead. Walking around the gate took us on the main trail, Loop Road. There is an intersection almost immediately to choose from, veering right will take you to Sam’s Point. The other option is the Huckleberry Pickers’ shacks. Tempting but we will pass on that. Heading up the fragmented road, there is a slight incline as altitude gains up the switchbacks. In short time, we came up to a massive rock with a cliff above, which we learned later is the top of Sam’s Point. At about a half mile, the first view was on our left on top of a rocky platform.

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Loop Road will even out and we had an option to keep straight toward the waterfall or turn left toward the short trail to check out the view from Sam’s Point. It was pretty crowded and I just wanted to beat everyone to the waterfall so we saved Sam’s Point for the end. A short distance off Loop Road, we saw signs on our left to head toward Verkeerderkill Falls on the aqua blazed trail. If you wanted to check out the Ice Caves, continue straight from here. We couldn’t fit those in today, so we headed toward the waterfall.

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 I did not anticipate the cool landscape we would be hiking through on this hike. Strolling along the trail you will the see rare dwarf pine trees offering very unique scenery. In addition, there are wide views of the Northern Shawangunk Ridge along this part of the trail. The trail will head downhill slightly. This isn’t terrible but the fact that it gets rockier, makes it a bit more challenging. As you get closer to the waterfall, there is a steep descend down.

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Eventually, we came upon a stream above the falls. Depending how high the water is on a given day, you may have to follow upstream to cross. We made our way to the cliff overlook and we were greeted with a large crowd. Then, I turned around and saw the amazing view of Verkeerderkill Falls! The water was flowing pretty well on this day. This is nice spot to take a break and relax.  However with the crowd and popularity of the hike, we absorbed the fall briefly and started retracing our steps back.

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We finally made our way over to Sam’s Point. The views are outstanding. From the cliffs, you can see the Shawangunk Ridge and Wallkill Valley. Lots of space to take in all the scenery, grab a snack, or take a selfie. There were lots of selfies going on around us. Before we left, I had one thing left to do. I was waiting for the perfect moment. Mostly, I was waiting out the 20 plus Cub Scout group that were yelling and running around.  In addition, there was this one kid (like in his 20s) with his mom who kept taking selfies and would NOT leave until he got the perfect one for Instagram. Come on dude. Once they left, I saw my opening and proposed to my amazing girlfriend! Even though I made her trek 6 miles on her birthday and endure 20 minutes of freezing wind atop Sam’s Point, she said yes. I didn’t realize how packed this overlook would be at all times. Sorta risky move. No backup plan. But in the end, everything went as planned. Then, we joyously made our way back down to the parking lot.

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This hike has a lot of meaning for me going forward but this was a dynamite hike. When you can explore different landscapes and come across multiple features that this trail offers, there is not much more you can ask for in a hike. This is a great place to visit to spend the day.

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HIKING FOR DONUTS

Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change 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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