Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: Chimney Top from Moneyhole Access at Fahnestock Park

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Chimney Top from Moneyhole Access at Fahnestock Park

Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park
Putnam Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Moneyhole Mountain Access Trail: Green blaze
Moneyhole Mountain Trail: Yellow blaze
Chimney Top Trail: White blaze
Catfish Loop Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 1:45 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.9 Miles

Pros: Quiet, scenic area, with an excellent view
Cons: None

I used to go biking at Clarence Fahnestock State Park during my teenage years. It's been a long time I visited the area, and decided to reintroduce myself to the area and hike some of the trails here. This is the first of my visits I'll be doing at Clarence Fahnestock State Park. As we are within the Coronavirus pandemic, I have been hiking along and looking for quiet areas to do my hiking to maintain social distancing. This proved to be a good hike for that as it was very quiet throughout the hike.

I parked on South Highland Road, a narrow dirt road, on the side of the road at the Moneyhole Access Trailhead. I took the Moneyhole Access Trail north as it sidelined the Philips Brook on the side of the ridge. I took this trail to the Moneyhole Mountain Trail, and then to the Chimney Top Trail, which is a dead-end trail to the top of the mountain. The end of the trail, where the view is, contains remnants of an old chimney, and has a sweeping view to the west and north.

I then turned around back on the Chimney Top Trail to the end, and then took the Moneyhole Mountain Trail north for a short distance, through a thick pine grove, which I then took to the Catfish Loop Trail. I took the Catfish Loop Trail east, climbing another ridge to a cool rock formation with a view, and then descending. Neat the Moneyhole Mountain Trail, I cut across a very short distance to the Moneyhole Mountain Trail and took that trail back to the Moneyhole Mountain Access Trail which I took back to my car.