Harriman State Park

i posted this on Adkforum too but thought this would be a good place to get some answers too. i'm on long island in college and have been itching to hike and was wondering if anyone knew anything about this park cuz its probably the closest park that i would have transportation to. if anyone has any info on the park or hiking it, i would love to hear it.

You can buy maps and get a lot of info here about Harriman. It's a fairly nice place that both the AT and the Long Trail pass through, and there lots of lakes, hills, and rock formations to explore. There are also a lot of interesting ruins in the woods as well, old cemetaries, firetowers, etc. It has a large amount of trails and old woods roads, and I think it was the first section of the AT to be officially designated as such.

I find that it's a good place to get a quick hike in when you don't have enough time to get to the Catskills. It's definitely worth exploring, great views of the Hudson Valley!

http://www.nynjtc.org/sitemap.html

Harriman is a nice local hike/ski/kayak for me, as Fred mentions, the AT, and Long Path go through the park, but they have other long trails that one could make a weekend out of it, from the Sebago-Bear Mountain trail to the Ramapo Dunderberg those could be thru hiked in a weekend or a long dayhike. NYNJTC has the maps and a very good book on the trails, highly recommend the book if you're interested in history. Unlike many guidebooks which are just hiking guidebooks, the harriman book has a good history of how the park was started as well as hiking info. There is a new edition coming out soon though.

If you need specific ideas, just email me or post here, I've hiked extensively through the park when I have a 1/2 day to hike and one can X-C ski there when there is snow or Kayak on the lakes on 7-lake's drive. Legal MTBing there is weak though, the only valid trails are basically fireroads around Anthony Wayne.

Jay

check out ADKLI they organize trips..pretty cool people,, i'm in plainview

check out the AMC ( http://www.amc-ny.org/scheduleonline.shtml ) they hold many hikes in harriman every weekend.

Harriman State Park and Bear Mt State Park are contiguous and jointly consist of 56,000 acres, a really huge park, considering it's proximity to the NYC metropolitan area. It has 43 marked trails and probably twice as many unmarked ones, thirty three lakes and ponds, 19 abandoned mines and the remains of the Dunderberg Spiral Railway. Don't just wait for three day weekends to go to the Daks or the Whites, get out and explore this park. There is public transportation available both to the Bear Mountain Inn and to the trailheads along Rt 17 in Suffern, Sloatsburg, Tuxedo and Arden by bus from the NY Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Might as well mention Sterling Forest... Wildcat Mtn, the Furnace Loop, etc.

Harriman/Bear Mtn are in the same mapset from the NYNJTC... Sterling Forest is another.

Then you have East Hudson (Fahnestock, Breakneck Ridge...) and the West Hudson (Storm King, Shunemunk,...)

There are mass transit options on East Hudson via the train and Harrriman is bus/train to Sloatsburg. Sterling forest would be a bus line.

Jay

You can also get to Bear Mountain by train, at least on weekends, taking the Hudson line to Manitou and then walking about forty minutes along the tracks, across the bridge, and through the inn grounds. There are two trains from NYC in the morning, and two return trains in the afternoon.

great info guys, keep it coming. i've seen some of the maps in some of the outfitters in the city and i've gotta get my hands on them. next year i'm planning on being in manhattan for college so i'm hoping to get out and do some hikes and overnighters. how long does it take by bus/train to get there usually?

From the Port Authority, 1-1:30 hours. Depending on the #of stops and where you are headed.

Right now there are two trains from Grand Central to Manitou and Breakneck Ridge, on weekends only: 7:51, arriving 8:59 and 9:12, and 8:51, arriving 9:59 and 10:12. Return trains leave at 4:55 and 5:08, arriving at Grand Central at 6:26. The later train leaves Breakneck at 6:55, Manitou at 7:08, and arrives at Grand Central at 8:26. These times will change slightly in the summer, not more than five or ten minutes.

The Breakneck stop leaves you across the street from several trails into the Hudson Highlands park. The Manitou stop leaves you about a mile from Anthony's Nose, the Appalachian Trail, and the Bear Mountain Bridge.

There is also a Harlem line train from Grand Central to the Appalachian Trail near Pawling, but I don't have the times for that.

The Short Line runs a bus from the Port Authority to Bear Mountain Inn, departing 8:45 and arriving 10:15. Return buses are at 3:19 and 5:19. The Short Line also has other stops near Harriman. This is a very slow, uncomfortable, and expensive way to go.

did you get that info from a site, and if so do you have the link?

soco7tyx7 said:

did you get that info from a site, and if so do you have the link?

Click to expand...

Metro-North train schedules: www.mta.info
Short Line bus schedules: www.shortlinebus.com

Other info: New York New Jersy Trail Conference, www.nynjtc.org

You can also get to Harriman thru New Jersey Transit.Have a friend who gets off at Tuxedo Park.This is in the southern part of the park.Just remember that this place gets very crowed during the summer and other peak hiking times.This park is also a great place to start learning how to do off trail wandering as it is pretty open country with pretty easy ups and downs for the most part.

Another approach would be to join the local AMC chapter (New York and North Jersey Chapter). They send out a booklet every few months with literally tons of hikes in the area, many accessible by public transportations, and others using car pools. Each one is rated as to length, difficulty and hiking speed, so that you usually won't find yourself over your head (or under your head).

Pb

I know a bunch of Harriman hikers, I don't know if this is official policy but it seems bushwacking is kind of frowned upon there. There is a Yahoo Harriman hiker's group and the leader there I think posted a bushwack off the Silvermine area and I think some ranger got word of it and kind of gave them some grief about it.

This is besides the fact that Silvermine is an area where they have organized Orienteering events... The AMC might even put one on in there...

Jay

are there any good trails near the the bear mountain inn?

Bear Mt Inn is a base for many good trails. Just a few suggestions:

• A short loop up Bear Mt via the Major Welch and Appalachian Trails. It is about a 1200' climb to the Perkins Observation tower.
• Use the Popolopen Gorge trail to access the Timp-Torne Trail. You can cross the recently reopened bridge over the gorge, and then climb the Torne which has some nice views.
• Or for a longer route follow the Timp-Torne Trail in the opposite which will take you over West Mt to the Timp. There are many connecting trails for longer or shorter hikes that will bring you back to Bear Mt. Inn.
• The 1777E and Cornell Mine Trails will take you to Bald and Dunderberg Mountains. Dunderberg has a lot of history with the remnants of the unfinished incline railroad. There is also a bus stop on the south side of the mountain which provides better access to the railroad remnants.
• If it is a nice day the walk over the Bear Mt Bridge is scenic. Then follow the Appalachian Trail and the Camp Smith Trail to climb Anthony's Nose which overlooks the eastern end of the bridge.

If you are heading out on your own you will want to acquire the NY/NJ Trail Conference Harriman-Bear Mtn. Trails map set. With the maps you should have no trouble finding your way around the trails.

I used to live very close by Harriman and used to hike there all the time. It's a GREAT park. It's amazing how much wildlife is there, especially given it's relatively close proximity to NYC.

You'd need a car to get to this trailhead for this hike, but it's an awesome one and everytime I've done it, I've had the trail virtually to myself:

Park at Kakiat County Park off of Rt. 202. The park is imbedded within Harriman, so it's pretty much the same. Take the Kakiat trail up to the Suffern-Bear Mt. Trail, and then Conklins' Crossing to Pine Meadow Lake.

It's a neat hike because you have some good, steep climbs, beautiful forests, rocky outcroppings, views of NYC in the distance, and there is a really neat abandoned stone house on Pine Meadow Lake that is God knows how old.

HIGHLY recommended. Best of luck and enjoy!

The Major Welch trail to Perkin's Tower is Major Steep.

Anthony's Nose on the east hudson is a beautiful spot and a very popular dayhike with the locals. The last time I was there, an Air Force C-130 came flying by almost level with the viewpoint. Most likely going down the hudson from Stewart Airport. 5 minutes later, it flew back up!

West Mountain is a nice place, past the fire escape, down the Cat's Elbow, a long hike to Pyngyp is pretty nice. This past winter, I did an overnighter from the parking lot by the 1777 trail. Over west mountain and following the SBM trail, I camped out on the summit of Pyngyp and returned the next day.

Another option if you like some history is to hike to Doodletown. There is a great book on the history by Elizabeth Statler that you can get from the NYNJTC or Campmor or probably the bookstore at the visitor's center on the Palisades Parkway.

P.S. lots of ruins on Pine Meadow Lake, get the book Harriman Trails published by the NYNJTC, it mentions the history of the camps that were around Pine Meadow, including some CCC camps..

Jay