It was a good discovery while traveling through, with quite a variety. There is a playground,…read moretennis court, and a baseball field that are the main grabbers, and also, a lot of grass to explore around mainly with hills. Outside the park, a trail connects with O&W Rail Trail (west) and the Smiley Trail (east), meeting up with the Shawangunk Ridge Trail. The park itself is pretty good. I do wish though they would provide even more parking when it fills up and a path to connect between the upper parking lot to the games down below.

Great trail maintenance, accurate mapping, crystal clear water - I was impressed. We will return.read more

I made my Gunks debut yesterday and was pretty impressed despite the very meh weather situation…read more This is about 90 minutes from my HQ so probably right at the limit of a convenient day hike, and somehow I've never really been in this area before beyond travelling past it going up and down the NY Thruway. Definitely returning when the sun is actually out. I did the 8.7-mile Castle Point hike (my gut says it wasn't QUITE that long, but I don't want to argue with my book) from the Awosting parking lot down the Mossy Glen Trail (yellow blazes), making a left onto and up Blueberry Run (blue) to Castle Point itself, and then went basically straight down the cliff on the Scenic Trail (lavenderish and formerly light blue), down the Rainbow Falls Trail (orange) and finally making a right on the Lower Awosting Carriageway back to the parking lot. Wasn't crazy about the $10 fee to park - nature shouldn't cost anything - but it is what it is. It's really a shame the weather was crappy because I could tell that viewpoint at Castle Point is legit - it's sprawling and you can see for miles in almost every direction. That's a very cool spot and easily the highlight of the hike. There are some interesting viewpoints throughout the rest of the adventure, but I'd say they're primarily of rock formations and water features, which have their selling points but nothing beats a view at the top. I'm in decent hiking shape right now, and this was just not particularly challenging for me. The only part where I was even a little out of breath (and it was humid, so grain of salt in that regard) was on Blueberry Run, which was a pretty steady incline up, but really not hardcore at all from my perspective. The drop down from Castle Point on the Scenic Trail IS a little tricky and you really want to spend some time there figuring out where your foot is going to go next. Compared to other parks in the tristate area, this one definitely has more hazards, cliffs you could potentially fall down, etc. But same token, it has a ton of these completely flat carriageways as well. It rained while I was on the Rainbow Falls trail and I DID slip/fall on some of the rocks at one point, but that's on me since I willingly came over here knowing what the forecast was. Wasn't impressed by the Rainbow Falls themselves, and neither were the other hikers who were there at the time. Maybe it was just not an ideal situation for them, but it's been rainy the last few days so unclear when you should take advantage of the optics there. The trail blazes were EXCELLENT, easily some of the best I've ever encountered. Each official trail had an accompanying sign that not only gave you the name of the trail, but a map of the nearby area, the grade profile so you can see what types of inclines/declines you'll experience on that trail and tons of basic facts. Really well done stuff. The bathroom situation was pretty good as well, with ample restroom options in the parking lot albeit without plumbing. You get what you get, but I'll take a clean bathroom situation in a heartbeat, regardless. Okay wildlife sightings. The rain I'm sure kept some of the good quality shizzle away, but I got a cool shot of a black vulture and saw an edgy newt. Worth the trek and will return for further investigation shortly.

Short (1.5 mile from Shaft 2A Road) hike to waterfall. Last…read moretime I was here was during the height of the pandemic. The trail was virtually empty. Sometimes trail is closed for restoration; check before you go.

This trail is an easy to follow and relatively short trail. It is about 1.5 miles out and back…read morefrom the parking lot. We went on a Saturday, but it was not crowded at all. It was about 10-15 walk from the parking lot to see the lower fall. The fall was good, but would be better if it had more water. Ices on the wall from overnight, but they were melting during the day as the weather was in the 40s. The steps toward the upper fall were icy due to the melting ice, so I did not get to the upper fall with my kids. Will definitely come back on a warmer day to go up to the upper fall.

Nice park with a covered patio area. We rented it out for a party and it was a great experience…read more I'd do it again.

For a state park it is decent. I originally came to do Freeletics (workout) and allow my four year…read moreold to play. As I walked around and noticed the bees, broken equipment, and lack of upkeep I was disappointed. The soccer fields look beautiful, you would just think safety for the swing sets and health of our youth. I will come back because there is so much potential.

This is a nice little hike to get to see some cool things. However, you do have to pay $5 per…read moreperson and sign a waiver because it is a private owned hike. The hike itself is fairly simple and shouldn't take more than an hour. It is more of a nice walk to get to an awesome view of the surrounding area. If you are up for a little more adventure you can explore the rock formations and caves that are right next to the view. This is definitely a good place for beginner hikers to go but still has a view that all skills would love to see.

A short hike up the hill leads to breathtaking views. I'm told there's sometimes a fee to hike up…read morewhich may be a weekend thing because the entrance was not manned on Wednesday afternoon. "No littering or smoking!" It's unfortunate this is something that needs to be posted but humans love to leave their trash and destroy all things natural and beautiful. Needless to say, whatever you bring up with you should also return down with you. The hike up is only 10-15 minutes depending on your speed with a few moderately steep areas. Closer to the top there are larger steps (rocks) requiring a little bit of climbing to hoist yourself onto the very tip top of the overlook. Very peaceful and very few people on the weekdays.

Beautiful landscape, beautiful flowers, beautiful vibe. The arboretum is such a glorious place to…read morevisit.

It's still a little early in the season to see an abundance of flowers and nature. This place once…read moreeverything is in full bloom is amazing. Nice place to come and be with nature. Not a lot of crowds, plenty of places to have a picnic if that's your thing. The flowering trees are already dropping their leaves and turning green. Tulips are starting to sprout up everywhere. I like coming here to take take photos and hang out. I'm teaching my kids how to photograph and working on their posing skills.

Nice bench to sit on and view the falls, there are quite a few steps (for those with issues…read moreclimbing stairs). Then another path through the woods (that the park has been updating with new stone and water drainage system) - lots of rolling hills.

This is a cool, out of the way place to explore on a hot day. The trail to the falls is an easy…read morewalk through the woods and the views are terrific. The adjoining park and public pool area is an obscure place, perhaps because the town (Blenheim) has a history of being saddled with disasters (floods and natural gas explosions) during its several hundred year history -- and is quite remote from populated areas. The foot of the falls is loaded with beaver chewed creek wood and fossil bearing rock (great for prospecting with kids) -- and the nearby pools and picnic areas are cheap and clean -- quite sophisticated really. We always stop here to explore with our boys when we are in the area.

ETA: I have since learned that the $35 is to park at the mountain house which is apparently more…read moreexpensive than parking at the preserve. :)

New Paltz / Gardiner, NY - I have hiked and biked through the Mohonk Preserve many a times over the…read moreyears, in all seasons, and it is one of my favorite wild places! Some of the trails I love the most are the Bonticrou Crag & Table Rocks (breathtaking views; the rock scramble is fun and challenging but there is an easier way up via the Bonticou ascent path), Labyrinth & Lemon Squeeze, and Sky Top Trail by the Mohonk Mountain House. On weekends and in the warmer seasons/good weather especially, the parking lots fill up early (like by 8:30-9am). There are 5 main trailheads, and the day use fee is at current writing $15 for hikers or $20 for cyclists/climbers/horseback riders (children 15 & under are free). At the heart of the preserve lies the Mohonk Mountain House, which is actually a private property. The area around the mountain house is amazing but unfortunately it is rather arduous to visit for many due to the parking lot distance, as it's a bit of a hike in from the preserve's trailheads (pleasant & easy, but about 4.5 miles in so that's ~9 miles roundtrip), unless you're a paying guest at this all-inclusive resort property and are allowed to park in the on-site lot. I've done it both the hard & easy ways, so to avoid sweat if not tears, I'll let my Yelp community in on some hacks of less strenuous ways to see the mountain house and its surroundings (short of paying $1Kpp as an overnight guest)... 1. $ - You can buy a $35 hiking day pass, to park at the "closer" parking lot at the Gatehouse, which is still 2.1 miles out from the mountain house (4.2 miles roundtrip, but better than 9 miles). 2. $$$ - Be a day guest and book a dining or spa experience at the property, and you can park on site. 3. $ - Visit during their special annual events like the gingerbread house competition in December or the tulip festival in April-May, passes for which are a much more affordable $15-$35 (2025 rates). This allows you to park at the mountain house and not have to hike in. So there! Mohonk Preserve is one of the most beautiful places in the Hudson Valley, with so much incredible scenery (including fall foliage!) and things to do - hiking, biking, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, row boating, and even a via ferrata though that's only for hotel guests - and is a dream for outdoor lovers!

This is an extremely good walk/hike. "Easy" in terms of difficulty, this trail starts off on an…read moreeasy 1/4-mile walk down a meandering crushed-gravel path to a wooden gazebo, then down some grassy hills to the Hudson River "lookout" point. From there, you can venture into the woods for a 3/4 to a mile "easy hike" surrounded by trees, trickling stream & a few furry animals, like squirrels & chipmunks, collecting acorns. Kid friendly, this is a great walk/hike for the whole family.

Dreamy any walk you choose to start on during any season. Beginner's level. Nice view of the Hudson.read more