Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: 7 Hills Trail

Showing posts with label 7 Hills Trail. Show all posts

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Diamond Mountain Ridge

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
7 Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Kakiat Trail: White blaze
Hillburn Torne Sebago Trail: Orange blaze
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:00 hours
Estimated Distance: 4 Miles

Pros: Good climb, great views
Cons: None
Hike Type: Loop

Hiking Partners:
David Koegel
Debbie Koegel

Map of Parking:
Car 1: https://goo.gl/maps/rHtp8iaJkwvmfqSb6
Car 2: https://goo.gl/maps/W7CAyXQEZB2ukLWW7

This was a nice day, with bright blue skies and relatively mild temperatures for the season. We parked our first car at Reeves Meadow on Seven Lakes Drive, and then drove together to Sebago Boat Launch, where we parked our second car and started the hike. We took the 7 Hills Trail up the mountain, up until the Diamond Mountain Ridge, passing along many trail intersections along the way and across the rocky areas. After the summit, we descended along the steep scramble to the valley, taking the Kakiat Trail to the HTS Trail, which we took briefly across the Pine Meadow Brook on the new bridge. We then took the Pine Meadow Trail all the way down to the car. We noticed the Reeves Meadow Visitor center, long abandoned, had been refurbished and reopened, with bathrooms and a small visitors center.

Map of the Route

Lake Sebago from Diamond Mountain

Manhattan Skyline from Diamond Mountain

Diamond Mountain

Trail Intersection

Reeves Meadow New Store

Inside the Reeves Meadow New Store

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Lake Sebago and Diamond Mountain Loop

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail: Red blaze
Hillburn-Torne-Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange blaze
Diamond Mountain Tower Trail: Yellow blaze
7 Hills Trail: Blue blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.1 Miles

Pros: Scenic lakes, good climb and views
Cons: None

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/Lek5rPvMmgmRfDs37

Hiking Partner:
Rayzi Friedman

It was a beautiful late spring day, and I had wanted to do a good climb with good views. Harriman State Park has been very busy during this period of time with the Coronavirus still closing many things and causing many people to hike.

The Lake Sebago Boat Launch was full, even at 9:20 AM, so I parked right outside the boat launch on the side of the Road at Seven Lakes Drive. The police were giving tickets to people parked on the sides of Seven Lakes Drive, but parking right outside the parking area on the side of the road was permitted here.

We walked on the unmarked shore path of Lake Sebago, going south, past the old beach. We then walked on Seven Lakes Drive for a short distance across the dam at the outlet of the lake. Right after the outlet we took the Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail parallel to the brook, for a short distance. We then took the HTS Trail steeply up the mountain to the top of Diamond Mountain.

We met with the 7 Hills Trail, and took the concurrent 7 Hills and HTS Trails south to the summit of Diamond Mountain. We then turned around for a short distance, and took the Diamond Mountain Tower down the mountain, passing the view facing Pine Meadow Lake. We took the trail down towards the Pine Meadow Trail, and then took the trail back up the mountain again, in its entirety. We then took the 7 Hills Trail north along the Diamond Mountain Ridge, past Monitor Rock, then up Halfway Mountain and then down the mountain to the parking area.

Map of the Route

Lake Sebago

Zoomed at at Lake Sebago

Me at the Old Lake Sebago Beach

Another View of Lake Sebago

Kayaker at Lake Sebago

Another View of the Kayaker at Lake Sebago

Family of Baby Geese at Lake Sebago

Dam at Lake Sebago and Seven Lakes Drive

Cool "Whale Rock" While Ascending the HTS

Rock Scramble up the HTS

Large Bedrock Exposure on the Top of Diamond Mountain

Freshly Bloomed Mountain Laurels at Diamond Mountain

Me on Diamond Mountain

Manhattan Skyline in the Distance from Diamond Mountain

Zoomed out from the Above View

Another View at Diamond Mountain

Me at the Diamond Mountain View

Pine Meadow Lake from the Diamond Mountain Tower Trail

Me at the Diamond Mountain Tower Trail View

Group of Hikers at the Pine Meadow Lake Overlook

Pine Meadow Lake in the Distance

View of Lake Sebago in the Distance from Diamond Mountain

Zoomed into Lake Sebago from Diamond Mountain

Monitor Rock

Sunday, June 30, 2019

Halfway Mountain & Diamond Mountain

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.
New York

Hiking Trails:
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze
Stony Brook Trail: Yellow blaze
Kakiat Trail: White blaze
Hillburn Tone Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange blaze
7 Hills Trail: Blue blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.9 Miles

Pros: Scenic area, good climb, great views, and blueberries
Cons: Lots of people at beginning part of hike on weekends

Hiking Partners:
Josef Friedman
Shimmy Rosenberg

This area is one of my most favorite area in Harriman State Park. It features incredible views with nice climbs and scrambles. The weather had been quite hot, and this was no exception.

We parked at Reeves Meadow, which was already quite busy despite being the morning, and took the Pine Meadow Trail to the Stony Brook Trail along the brook. The bridge across Pine Meadow Brook at the junction of the Kakiat Trail was broken and out of commission, with a sign by the pile of wood from the bridge that we will be rebuilding it soon. The water level was low enough to easily cross the brook on foot.

We continued along the Kakiat Trail to the Cascade of Slid waterfall, and then took the HTS Trail up to the view. This view is becoming quite overgrown with less to see. We then continued up the steep rock to the top of Diamond Mountain, at the intersection of the 7 Hills Trail.

There is a great view here, and it remains impressive along the 7 Hills Trail all the way to its descent back to the deep valley of Pine Meadow Brook. We continued along the 7 Hills Trail, crossing the brook, and then taking the Pine Meadow Trail all the way back to the parking area.