The Klara Sauer Trail is wonderful, connecting Long Dock Park to the beginning of Dennings Trail,…read moreand also Madden Brett Park via the Dave Miller Connector Trail. The trail lasts 1.1 mile, running parallel to the Hudson River, with different viewpoints along the way, viewing the river. In the north end of Klara, there's a strip of sand that runs along the river, with enough room to sit up some chairs and take everything in. It's like a mini beach if you will. At the southern end of the mini beach, there's a trail that connects back to Klara. Along the way, the trail also comes across the former Beacon Line, which can be walked on to make a lot of space for walkers, and that section is filled with cement. In cool seasons, expect to see many people on the Klara Trail. I still enjoy this trail, and making this stop is well worth it.

I really love this state park. Parking is $10. There is an area to bbq, an area to rent pedal…read moreboats, a hotel, a pool, area to purchase food and hiking trails. I usually go just to hike and enjoy the views. What I like is that the trail is always clean with clear signs on where to walk up which creates a safe hike. There are different levels of difficulty of trails so you can either select a moderate trail or challenging one. There is a large grass area where you can sit and enjoy a picnic or take a walk around the lake.

Avoid at all costs while they are doing construction. It's impossible to actually get to a trail…read morehead. And there is no one in any of the offices to actually offer help. They should have warned us many trails closed or detours when we paid the parking fee. While not much I would have skipped the $10 feet since we actually didn't do anything during our trip as all the trail heads were too far

This cave is actually Fulmer mine area. Enjoy the hike up the mountain. Extremely hot, that day so…read morewe stood at the mouth of the cave to cool down! Area known for being a source of hematite. Will hike around the area again as there are several trails to hike. Delaware river is at the base and got a nice view of tubers enjoying the river along the way. We'll have to try that too sometime.

Great hike! I would recommend this hike to everyone. Very nice views. We did the whole loop and was…read moreworth it

This was a very quiet and accessible hiking point with a few options for trails with some views. We…read morewalked around and got lost for a bit while trying to go to the top of the rock but it was really nice along the way. We walked by at least two huge reservoir areas. The only thing about the trails are that they deviate from the paved path and you have to look out for the colored markers which takes you "off" the paved path but is the right way to go. We ran into some locals on the way and they were all so so helpful in giving us advice on navigating the area. I personally loved that this area wasn't too packed with people. If you park in the official lot, it's $5 and the people in the front were very nice. There's multiple points to park not so legally too if you want to risk that.

I'm an avid hiker and Black Rock has got to be my least favorite hike despite the mountain having a…read morevast amount of trails to hike. I hiked the entire outskirts of this mountain grabbing all the view points which aren't many but the few that it has were pretty darn nice but in my opinion not worth going out of your way to hike. The trails are well maintained but for some reason I'm just not a huge fan of these trails. I do however frequent Storm King mountain across the road which I visit very frequently so why not stop by here more often, I just can't pin point why I don't really like these trails. Maybe it's not super hard that's why I'm not a fan. I always recommend checking it out for yourself because maybe you'll love this place.

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.

I visited Hudson Highlands State Park for the first time to hike the Blue Trail, also known as the…read moreCornish Trail. It was only my third time hiking, and that's when I realized how much I love hiking. I definitely plan to hike more often. The Blue Trail is considered beginner-friendly, I found parts of it a bit challenging because of the incline. Still, the effort was worth it, the view of South Beacon Mountain was absolutely beautiful. The hike itself was a great experience, especially with friends. Near the train station, there are small shops where you can grab food, drinks, or any last-minute supplies. There are also restrooms by the station and portable toilet near the trail areas. I would definitely come back to hike there again, maybe do the red trail.

One of the best hikes that I have gone on this year! Initially, we were going to do the Bull Hill…read moreFull Loop which is an estimated 3-4 hours. This is definitely a moderate trail. If you go in the winter, take caution with the ice when climbing to the top. After about an hour into the trail, you will see a sign to continue on the Full Loop or the Short Loop. When we reached that point, we switched to the Bull Hill Short Loop. It took around 3 hours to complete. The trails have beautiful views! You will see other hikers, but everyone keeps a safe distance. Take time to stop and enjoy the surrounding. There are portable toilets at the beginning of the trail with hand sanitizers if you need to use a bathroom.

As far as hiking trails go in the immediate NYC-metro region, this is one of the best in terms of…read moreviews and a good choice for moderate aerobic exercise. From the hilltop peaks your sightline on a clear day follows the winding path of the Hudson River and then extends for miles along the east and west horizons. Arrival to the trail is by car or train. There's no parking lot at the main two trailhead entrance/exit points so cars park alongside the road next to these markers for about half a mile each way. Arrival by metro-north train drops you off at Breakneck Ridge station, though worthwhile to double check whether it stops here on off-peak weekdays and winter months. There are a few main options for trail difficulty and length. The short loop takes 1 hour though doesn't ascend the main peaks, the long loop takes 3 hours and involves a pretty arduous (steep rock scramble for hiking novices) climb up to reach 2 main peaks, the Break Neck to Cold Spring route includes the rock scramble portion of the long loop and the takes 4 hours. There are other combinations of trails you can take, and park services has done a good job of posting trail markers so you don't get lost. My friend and I took the long trail and on a clear fall Saturday morning tons of other hikers had the same idea. The rock scramble was about 30 minutes of continuous steep ascent, some parts of which you need to push or pull yourself over boulders so a decent level of physical fitness, a good sense of balance and shoes/boots with good traction are a must. This part of the trail is one-way meaning for ascent only--descending would be rather dangerous if other people were trying to climb up at the same time--and especially bc on certain parts there's only 1-2 routes uphill with a clear path and good grip (at least for inexperienced rock climbers like me). There are signs warning not to take this route if you have a fear of heights. The second peak along the long loop requires similar rock scaling though there's an option to go up via a side route which was still steep but involved less scrambling. The rest of the loop is mild and mostly downhill though you do need to be careful of dusty (or muddy) patches and loose rocks and pebbles causing slippery slopes. Make sure to bring enough water if you're doing the longer trails, and ideally a snack to replenish some energy part way. No rest stops or bathrooms on the trail (it is after all a hiking trail in the woods) so plan accordingly! Dogs are allowed and I saw some on and off leash.

So the novice in me (and I use that term very loosely) decided to embark on this journey without…read moreeven knowing that a scramble was. The views at every point, the nice breeze amidst the summer heat, and the friendly folks along the way made this a highlight of the summer. Oh, and hiking snacks came in clutch