What can I say? This is the creme de la creme of Westchester hiking. Tons of trails to choose from, dogs mostly run off-leash, there's bridges, streams. Gorgeous on our 34-degree hike. 5 stars!!!! read more

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation - Hiking Near Me

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My 1st time here after a snow storm, worth the drive from eastchester, 30-36min. Free parking during the winter seasons, there's a fee for parking during the warm weathers . I can see it's a place to be for hiking/trailing / biking/ exploring nature. I came here for tubing/sledding, a lot of snow/fresh snow. Not crowed , this place is a gem, hidden secretly. The fam had fun, good work out, alot of hills. Portable potty everything . A lot of history in this park. read more

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This is our favorite place to do (very) early morning birdwatching. We come here in all 4 seasons.

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is the largest park in Westchester County, with over 40 miles of trails. It's actually closer to me in Connecticut than it is to a lot of people in New York. There are tons of trails here, of all sorts of difficulty levels and length. When we were here we hiked the Fox Hill trail loop, which is a pretty short but pleasant loop that lets you see a good variety of landscape, from forest to meadow. There is camping here in lean-to type camps, a museum, an art gallery and even a kid's playground. The only drawback is that there's a fairly steep entrance fee if you don't have a Westchester Parks pass, and the only way to get one is if you live in the county. Still, it's definitely worth a visit for going on a nice long hike. read more

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation - Insect Hotel - Hiking Near Me

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I was online searching for this 5 mile star loop-- it turns out it's the red loop trail. And the starting point is Michigan Road Parking Area. Park and start here if you are planning on doing the 5.6 mile red loop trail at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. This red loop within Ward Pound Ridge is truly what they say-- it is well maintained and the signs posts with numbers are amongst the best I've ever seen on a hiking trail. Would definitely recommend hiking here as a relatively flat easy hike Below is what Westchester magazine had to say about this trail ------------------------- https://westchestermagazine.com/life-style/the-5-best-hiking-trails-in-westchester/ 2. Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Pound Ridge, up to 860 feet Ward Pound Ridge is the "crown jewel of parks in Westchester County," Christopher declares. The five-mile Star Loop, a broad and well-maintained trail that looks out over the Cross River Reservoir, reaches about 665 feet. The trail also sweeps past the cave of the Leatherman, the itinerant 19th-century "über-hiker" and leather worker of Westchester lore. "You almost have guaranteed wildlife sightings," adds Catherine. read more

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If you are looking for extensive, well-marked hiking trails, some challenging and some not so much, as well as wild life, camping and more - this park is it. The 4,315-acre park makes Ward Pound Ridge Reservation the county's largest park $10 without a Westchester County Park Pass and $5 with the pass. Open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to dusk, year-round The park is also home to a museum (we did not stop in) which hosts weekend nature interpretive programs in every season. The park's administrative building houses the Gallery in the park, where exhibitions of work by accomplished regional artists are held throughout the year. Situated near the park's entrance is the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) Gallery. This gallery exhibits changing exhibits of paintings, photographs and other works by established, up-and-coming, local and regional artists. Get out and enjoy! read more

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation - The Turkey - Hiking Near Me

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Cool spot. Lots of great trails in good condition. Beautiful streams, gorgeous bridges, a wild flower garden and even porta-potties. Camping is available as well. Lots of different options as far as trails go. You definitely want to take a map and pay attention to the topography aspect as some of these trails have somewhat rigorous inclines and declines.' I will definitely be back. read more

Nice place to walk around. Lots of stunning natural space to explore. I've been here many, many times and I don't think I've seen it all just yet. Even so, I still find the scenery to be incredibly beautiful. 10 out of 10. read more

Great hiking trail near westchester/ridgefileld area. This park is not too far from NYC -- only 90 minutes away. Since I have visited Devil's Den, so I wanted to try some other parks in the area. I was actually gonna go to one in Wilton, but because of traffic, I picked his park instead, and man I made a right choice. This park was kind of empty today, and I didn't have to pay for a parking fee. I drove all the way to the end of Michigan Rd parking lot. I decided to take Fox Hill trail (FH) which is 2.5 miles long. If you look at the map, I took the left branch first, then hiked up all the way to Brown trail (Br). The hike on the left branch was easy and peaceful. You get to see the meadow and a parking lot. Lol. The walk along the river was pretty nice though. After you make a right turn off the river, the trail starts to get strenuous all the way up to the top of Fox Hill. Anyway, don't get too surprised by the Magic Stairs. I will definitely go back again to try some other trails, maybe the green one. read more

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Awesome place to hike. Great place to walk with family or dogs. There are good short routes & longer routes too. Trails are well marked. read more

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation - Stream at Ward PR - Hiking Near Me

I've lived in Ny for over twenty years and never knew about this quite secluded spot! You can camp out over night and or just come for the day for a family BBQ! While we were there (July 4th) the park police stopped by our shelter and notified us that the night (6:30pm) before there was a black bear spotted at our shelter! The City girl in me no longer wanted to walk the dog through the trails! Pros: Great place to enjoy the outdoors! Don't forget to bring your dog! Be sure to call to book your own personal shelter reservation. Cons: Be ready for natures animals! Black Bears spotted!! read more

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This place is huge and so so beautiful! The attendant (an older woman) was so kind and helpful in suggesting a trail for us (five humans)and our four dogs. The trail was easy to follow, well marked, and essentially abandoned. We had a great hike and will definitely be back. It is ten dollars to park so make sure you have cash or check! read more

I really like this place. It's definitely a good introduction to hiking, especially for those of you with young families or heavy and out of shape friends. The trails are easy to follow and just the right amount of rigorous. read more

This reservation was amazing! $10 entrance fee on the weekends and free during the week. Plenty of parking and the trails were so fun to follow. I ended up doing a 4.25 mile walk/hike during my first visit. The views were even better, hiking alongside the river or walking along a farm and seeing the horses, or just all the beautiful trees and rocks. I thankfully got a map of the reservation online but the indicators of the trails were all along the paths and pretty simple to follow. I really felt like I was hiking, going up and down paths, crossing bridges and streams, climbing a little bit up the side of a hill. It really is such a great experience to be able to leave all the hustle and bustle of life and just be by yourself with your thoughts, or jamming out to music, while becoming one with nature. I hope to definitely visit again and try more trails! read more

Just a great escape, never a crowd. Biggest park in Westchester, so large and so close to NYC.

4,315 acres making this the largest park in the county. The terrain is diverse and the landscape appealing, especially since there are miles of hiking trails. For those less ambitious there are areas for picnicking, lean-to camping, and fishing as well. Cross-country skiing is top notch here in the Winter! Open seven days a week from 8 AM until dusk. Parking fees: $5 with Park Pass, $10 without Park Pass. read more

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My summer adventure for this year was a barbecue deep in the mountains of Westchester. Pound Ridge is definitely a trek from the city and I wouldn't even begin to dream of coming here without a car. My friends have cars and clean licenses, so I was lucky enough for them to invite me to their barbecue. Pound Ridge is a beautiful park. It's clean, gigantic, and has a bunch of cool streams and parts to explore. They have camping available, but I don't know about all that! Because of its size, it's a great spot for when you don't want to be bothered by people. The chances of you getting overcrowded by other groups is very slim, compared to parks further south near the big cities. Brotip: You're allowed to visit this park if you're not a Westchester resident! You just have to pay more for parking, $10 I believe. read more

Getting to the top of that mountain was, of course, a piece of cake! Why was it so easy? Because I had a map, the trees were labeled, and all we had to do was follow it. read more

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation - Getting to the top of that mountain was, of course, a piece of cake! - Hiking Near Me

I have been going to the reservation for about 30 years !! It's big, beautiful, clean and I could talk about how much I love it there I would run out of characters lol read more

One of the best kept parks in the state! It hasn't changed since I was a kid! Picturesque is an understatement, always groomed, great trails and beautiful fields for long afternoon naps!! LOL , never get tired going there. read more

It's a great place to camp and hike. I have two issues, though. Parking fees are ridiculous, especially for residents. Second, the anti-bicycle rules are equally ridiculous. I can understand (not really, but) mountain bikes. But road bikes? Come on. read more

There's something special about this place.. It's hard to find a park where you have a mix of busy and low traffic trails but this is it. It's a pretty large park and varied enough for all skill levels. The numerous streams and bridges are nice additions. For those that don't like to pay to park... $10 (the price of ONE lunch) is worth it to support keeping these kinds of places available to the public. I will be back to camp.. The lean-to's I saw were nice and large enough to fit a small tent read more

I went for a hike with my husband and dogs over the weekend and it was the worst experience! The preserve is infested with ticks! My dogs were covered with ticks and one of them had several tick bites! On top of that the trails are not marked well and were very muddy!!!! I will never go back there again! read more

Great place to hike for beginners. It's the largest park in Westchester! Get there before 9 AM to avoid paying the parking/entrance fee.

I love hiking the trails in this park, but many dog owners there (from my experience) do not obey the leash rule. Some call their dogs back before they "invade your space". Some apologize afterwards. I think these dog owners do not appreciate the fact that some people have dog issues. I do not blame the dogs (who are naturally curious), but I feel one's personal space should be respected, especially while expecting peace in the woods. This review will probably not sit well with dog owners... I understand that. read more

This is a place I have visited MANY times! As a teen, this was our go to place for camping and it has beautiful trails. Recently I decided I wanted to plan a local camping trip with my friends and their kids who aren't really campers so I immediately thought of pound ridge since that's where I got started and my last trip there was easily 15 years ago..Well...id like to say we will be going there, however- I looked up the number on westchester county site, where it is advised that reservations are made only over the phone. So I called and attempted to make a reservation. The man in charge stated they do not take reservations over the phone whatsoever. I told him the westchester.gov website said otherwise and he basically said "oh I didn't know that-but that's not how we do it"...sigh..."ok, sir, how do I reserve a site?" This man actually said I can "feel free" to come IN PERSON(45 minutes away!) lol, or I could "go ahead and just mail in a check with a note saying the date and site you wish to reserve"...so I asked the obvious question of what if the site I want is reserved? "We just assign you a different site" wtf? That isn't really reassuring when you are planning a camping trip with a bunch of kids who have never been..I pointed out that this process is inefficient at best and asked what if the whole place is booked on the date chosen? "You can pick another date then" um, no..how about I don't waste my money or time? To be clear, I'm an avid camper and ive use reserve america to plan trips in multiple states or have been able to make arrangements over the phone so I know this rigamarole is unnecessary. So I got off the phone with that rude idiot and called the office at another nearby westchester county park, Sal J Prezioso Mt Lakes park(another of my old "go to" places) and got a very nice lady on the phone who VERY HAPPILY took my reservation OVER THE PHONE and THEN explained that she would have to pencil me in for the date and site I requested and mail me the reservation form and I would have to mail back the form with the check, as they can't take payments over the phone-fine no problem! Thank you for your help! She made it so simple! Now why is it that 2 parks, 20 minutes away from each other have the same operating policy but such different outcomes? Who knows, I guess it depends how much of an ass the person in charge is..But save yourself the aggravation of dealing with a Barney fife-esque ranger and head straight to Sal Prezioso park! read more