Reeves Brook to North Hill Loop

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Reeves Brook Trail: White blaze
Seven Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Hillburn-Torne-Sebago Trail: Orange blaze
Kakiat Trail: White blaze
Stony Brook Trail: Yellow blaze
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:05 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.9 Miles

Pros: Very scenic hike with good scrambles, great scenery, and nice views
Cons: End of hike on Pine Meadow Trail is very busy, parking is busy on weekends
Hike Type: Loop
Level of Difficulty: Difficult

Map of Route:
https://goo.gl/maps/S1ei6xSZRNHzjraP7

This is a favorite hike of mine. The weather was also great making this a really great hike, with a good climb, some nice scrambles, and multiple views. Parking is always a challenge here on weekends, so its best to get here early. I parked on the side of Seven Lake Drive, and took a short shortcut trail to the Pine Meadow Trail and Reeves Brook Trail. As busy as the area is, few people venture up the Reeves Brook Trail, a very scenic trail alongside the Reeves Brook steadily climbing up North Hill.

The climb passes some small cascades along the way, and intersects with the Seven Hills Trail, where there is a steep scramble along the side of a cliff up North Hill. I climbed the scramble on the Seven Hills Trail, enjoyed the view, and continued along trail alongside the cliff until it descended to the Quartz Brook and then ascended once again up Chipmunk Mountain. This mountain has sparse tree cover and affords same great views as well.

I continued along the Seven Hills Trail to the Hillburn-Torne-Sebago Trail, which I took down the mountain the Pine Meadow Brook. I crossed the brook on the trail bridge, above the Cascade of Slid, and then took the Kakiat Trail down alongside the brook. The bridge is out, with a warning, which kept this trail rather quiet. It is still easy to cross along the rocks and the makeshift planks that were placed in the water back to the Stony Brook Trail. I took the Stony Brook Trail to the Pine Meadow Trail, along the side of the brook, which I took back to my car.

Map of the Route

Reeves Brook Flowing Over a Small Cascade

Strange Rock that Looks Like a Turtle on the Reeves Brook Trail

Another Small Cascade on the Reeves Brook Trail

Large Isolated "Whale Rock" on the Reeves Brook Trail

Rocky Ascent Along the Reeves Brook Trail

Steep Scramble up North Hill on the Seven Hills Trail

First View on the North Hill Scramble on the Seven Hills Trail

Final Ascent to North Hill on the Seven Hills Trail

View from North Hill After the Scramble, Facing Southwest

View from North Hill After the Scramble, Facing West

View from North Hill After the Scramble, Facing North

Another View from North Hill Above the Rocky Cliff

View Towards "Almost Perpendicular" and the Gas Line From North Hill

Me at North Hill

Another View of Me on North Hill

Daters Mountain and the "Almost Perpendicular" Cliff from North Hill

Smooth Rocky Ledges Along North Hill on the Seven Hills Trail

More Rocky Ledges and Views on North Hill

Large Exposed Rock Face on North Hill

Seven Hills Trail Ascending Chimpumk Mountain Summit

Large Bedrock Exposure on Chipmunk Mountain Summit

View Before Descending Chipmunk on the Seven Hills Trail

Bridge on the Hillburn-Torne-Sebago Trail Crossing Pine Meadow Brook

View of the Pine Meadow Brook from the Above Bridge

Sign on the Kakiat Trail Warning that the Bridge is Out

Cascade of Slid Waterfall from the Kakiat Trail

Washed Out Bridge Area at the Stony Brook Trail

North Hill Area Harriman State Park,

Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Reeves Brook Trail: White blaze
Seven Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Hillburn-Torne Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange blaze
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze
Stony Brook Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.0 Miles

Pros: Solitary hike, good climb, good scramble, great views
Cons: None

Overall this is one of my favorite hikes in Harriman. I had not been to this area in a while, and wanted to stay more local while still doing a great hike. While most of the snow had already melted, the deeper valleys still had snow, and many of the trails were icy. I had brought my footgear with cleats which really made the difference hiking on the ice.

It was a very cold day, and I had to dress in many layers. I parked at the trailhead, which was very empty for a Sunday. I took the Reeves Brook Trail up to its intersection with the Seven Hills Trail, and took the steep scramble up the cliff here to the North Hill view. I then continued past the gas  line, and up to the Chipmunk Mountain summit. I descended on the HTS Trail, and then took the Pine Meadow Trail to the Connector Trail to the Stony Brook Trail, and then back to the Pine Meadow Trail to the parking area.

Icy Conditions at the Beginning of the Trail

Small Waterfall on the Reeves Brook

Reeves Brook Waterfall Zoomed Out

Scramble Up the Seven Hills Trail

Going up the Scramble

Reeves Brook to North Hill LoopHarriman State Park

Rockland County,
New York
Hiking Trails:
Reeves Brook Trail: White blaze
Seven Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Racoon Brook Hills Trail: Black blaze
Hillburn-Torne Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange blaze
Pine Meadown Trail: Red blaze
Pine Meadow Connector Trail: Unblazed
Stony Brook Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 2:15 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.85 miles
Level of Difficulty: Difficult, especially in the snow
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Several good views, serene area, good workout

Hiking Partner:
Debbie Koegel

Google Map of Parking:

View 2013 Hiking Locations in a larger map

It had snowed again the previous week, and this was a great snow hike. The weather had warmed up to the 40's, but there was a high wind advisory. We parked at the Reeves Meadow area on 7 Lakes Drive, and immediately turned up to the Reeves Brook Trail. We took the trail to the intersection of the Seven Hills Trail, which we took south to the Torne View. This is excellent view, however we couldn't stay here too long because the howling winds were chilling our bones at this very exposed area.

From the Torne View we took the Raccoon Brook Hills Trail, at its eastern terminus, and then took the trail up to the Pulpit view. From there we took the HTS Trail north, and then descended the mountain by the Pine Meadow Brook. From there we took the Pine Meadow Trail to the unmarked Pine Meadow Trail Connector down to the Stony Brook Trail, then back to the Pine Meadow Trail and back to the car.

Map of the Route

Approaching the Torne View

Torne View. Facing Northwest.

 

Me at the Torne View

Climbing up past the Torne View

Me at the top of TorneView

View at the Pulpit

View at North Hill Summit.
Looking Northeast to Halfway and Diamond Mountain.