Popolopen Loop Bear Mountain State Park

Orange County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Timp-Torne Trail: Blue blaze
1777-1779 Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 1:30 hours
Estimated Distance: 2.7 miles
Level of Difficulty: Difficult but short
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Good scramble and outstanding views 
Pros: Good scramble up mountain, panoramic views
Cons: You can hear the noise from the Palisades Parkway the whole time.

Hiking Partner:
Avigael Friedman

Google Map of Parking:

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Popolopen is one of the best short hikes in the area. It climbs steeply up a rocky scramble to an outstanding view, but its a pretty quick round trip hike. The whole hike can be done in about 45 minutes. We had planned to park on Mine Road at the trailhead where Popolopen climbs the mountain, but there was a truck with a modular house on it making a delivery blocking the entire road. It didn't look like they were moving any time soon, so I just parked my car on the side of the road right there and took the combined Timp-Torne/1777-9 Trail where it emerges from the road. This more then doubled the length of the hike, but this part is very easy. We took the trail to the western spur of the trail, which is the better loop to climb up Popolopen. We then took the other route down, and went along the trail confluences back to the car.

Map of the Route.
Harriman/Bear Mountain State Park - Northern Map

View While Ascending

Ditto

View from the top facing the Bear Mountain Plateau.
Facing South.

View Facing Southwest Towards the Palisades Parkway

Me at the Top

View Facing North

View Facing Southeast Towards the Hudson River,
The Bear Mountain Bridge, and Anthony's Nose

Over the Mighty  Hudson

Classic Popolopen View of the Bear Mountain Bridge and Anthony's Nose

Dunderberg Via Cornell Mountain

Bear Mountain State Park
Rockland County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Cornell Mine Trail: Blue blaze
Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:45 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.3 miles
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Great view atop Dunderberg
Pros: Excellent view, good climb, and overall scenic area
Cons: None

Hiking Partner:
Zev Feder

Google Map of Parking:

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Dunderberg Mountain is one of the most prominent mountains in the Highlands Region. It juts out into the Hudson River with very steep sides all around. This hike featured climbing up Dunderberg from the northern approach of the mountain on the Cornell Mine Trail. The first part of this hike is moderate and very scenic, passing some small waterfalls on the side of the cascading brook. It then hits a very steep point where it climbs to the top of the mountain. Near the top the trail ends at the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail.

We took the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail east for about 600 feet, where there is really nice view. The view faces north with the entire Bear Mountain in view, part of West Mountain, and Anthony's Nose across the river. We then continued on the Ramapo-Dunderberg a little bit more until we realized we were out of time and had to turn back. We returned along the same route.

Map of the Route

Zev walking along the R-D Trail near the summit

 

View from the Summit of Dunderberg. Facing northwest.

Another view from the summit facing north.
Looking towards the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River.
Note the vulture soaring above.

Zev at the summit, with Bear Mountain behind him

Me at the summit, with Bear Mountain behind me

A very large black rat snake slithering across the R-D Trail

Waterfall along the side of the Cornell Mine Trail

Popolopen Gorge Loop And Brooks Lake

Fort Montgomery,
Bear Mountain State Park,
Orange County,
New York
Hiking Trails:
Timp-Torne Trail: Blue blaze
combined together with the:
1777-1779 Trails: Red blaze
Brooks Lake Trail: Red blaze
Popolopen Gorge Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:15 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.2 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly Difficult
Points Of Interest: Beautiful gorge and lake in historic area
Pros: Beautiful terrain, deep scenic gorge, pretty lake
Cons: Close to homes and right near highway, making hike loud and not as natural

Google Map of Parking:

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This hike is in the deepest gorge in the area. Unfortunately it is right near the busy Palisades Parkway and goes along the road and behind houses for part of the hike, which takes away from the scenic nature. However, the area is indeed beautiful and worthwhile of an excellent hike.

I parked in the Fort Montgomery Historical Site parking area off Route 9W, right after the Bear Mountain Traffic Circle. The Timp-Torne Trail and historic 1777-1779 Trails start here, and  go in conjunction for much of the way eastward on this hike. The trail goes underneath the Route 9W bridge that spans across the gorge. It then hits Mine Road, crosses it, and meets up with the Brooks Lake Path.

The Brooks Lake Path is a small trail fully encircling the natural and scenic Brooks Lake. I took the loop around the lake, and then back to the Timp-Torne Trail and 1777-1779 Trails. I took this until the Timp-Torne Trail veers up to climb Popolopen Torne, and the comes right back down a few hundred feet down the trail. At this point trail crosses the brook on a brand new bridge. From here I took the Popoplopen Brook Trail all the way back, and cross the brook over Route 9W.

Map of the Route

Bear Mountain Bridge and Anthony's Nose
at the Fort Montgomery Parking  Area

Beginning of the Timp-Torne and 1777-79 Trails

 

Route  9W Bridge over Popolopen Creek

The hiking trail going underneath the bridge

Abandoned Structure near Brooks Lake

Brooks Lake, facing west.

Brooks Lake, facing south with Bear Mountain  Rising in the Rear

Boardwalk at the inlet of Brooks Lake

Sturdy bridge over Popolopen Creek

Large Waterfall over the dam at the end of Popolopen Creek
This waterfall is much more impressive than it appears in the picture

At the end of the hike, view on top of the Popolopen Bridge on Rt. 9W.
Facing  east where the Popoplopen Brook enters the Hudson River.
The Bear Mountain Bridge and Anthony's Nose are in the distance,
with the active railroad bridge and Twin Forts trail bridge.

Fingerboard Mountain & the Bottle Cap Trail

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Trails:
Hurst Trail: Blue blaze
Appalachian Trail: White blaze
Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:15 hr
Estimated Distance: 2.8 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Recommended for beautiful flora
Points Of Interest: Beautiful and lush trees and plants

Hiking Partners:
Gary Greenstein

Google Maps of Parking:

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This was a hike in late autumn, and the first hike with all the trees already having shed their leaves. However, this hike goes through a beautiful area of Harriman State Park rich in different plant types such as evergreen Mountain Laurels, colorful lichen, and green pine and hemlock forests. So despite the leaves gone in most of the trees, this hike was still very colorful. We parked off Seven Lakes Drive off the entrance to Camp Thendara, but we got a notice on the windshield stating that it's illegal to park here. Glad there was no ticket and the car wasn't towed.

We took the short Hurst trail up to the Fingerboard Mountain shelter where it hits the combined Appalachian and Ramapo-Dunderberg Trails. Continued on the Ramapo-Dunderberg after the split, taking it all the way down to the Bottle Cap Trail. The Bottle Cap Trail is an unofficial trail with it's markings using bottlecaps, hence it's name. This trail is not recommended for inexperienced hikers due to its overgrown state and easyness in missing the markers. I was on this trail about three years ago and found it much easier to follow in the past then it was now. All the downed trees and flooding from the recent severe storms have taken a big toll on this unmaintained trail.

We took the Bottle Cap all the way to the end where it nears 7 Lakes Drive and then went back to our car.

Map of the Route

Ascending the Hurst Trail, Looking Towards the Shelter

Gary Reading the Trail Intersection Sign

On Top of Fingerboard Mountain. Facing West.

Gary Atop Fingerboard. Facing East Towards Lake Tiorati.

Lake Tiorati From Fingerboard Mnt.

Amazing Colors on the Mountaintop

More Amazing Colors. The Bright Red Plants are Blueberries.
Blueberries are late foliage plants.

Me Atop Fingerboard with the Red Blueberries

Fingerboard Viewpoint, facing southeast.
Jackie Jones Tower is in the Distance.

Bottle Cap Trail In the Valley.
Note the Marker on the Tree.

Rare Autumn Snow Hike

Pine Meadow and HTS Trails,
Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Trails:
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze
Stony Brook Trail: Yellow blaze
Hillburn-Torne-Sebago Trail: Orange blaze

Total Time: 2:20 hr
Estimated Distance: 3.4 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Very Difficult due to climbing in snowy conditions
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Beauriful river path, amazing views

Hiking Partners:
S&M Rosenberg

Google Maps of Parking:

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This hike was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It combined fall foliage togethor with a over a foot of snow. We had gotten a freak snowstorm in the end of October, the biggest ever by far on record (snow does not happen at all this time of the year!), and the trees still all had their leaves on them. Aside from the trees fallen and losing power for almost a week, the setting of the white snow with the fall foliage was absolutely incredible.

This was the backdrop of our hike. We parked at the Reeve's Meadow trailhead off 7 Lakes Drive near Sloatsburg. We actually got a spot in a parking lot despite this being a Sunday. I guess the snow scared people off. This parking lot is always full with cars parked lining all the way up and down 7 Lakes Drive on a typical Sunday. The weather was also extremely cold for October and we had to bundle well. I was not used to this as I still hadn't put on any coat yet for the season.

We went along the Pine Meadow Trail, to the Stony Brook Trail, and then where it crosses the Pine Meadow Brook we took the unmarked spur trail back to the Pine Meadow Trail. From there we continued till the HTS Trail, which we turned right on to climb up the mountain. The view here is really good, and the panorama of snow and bright fall colors for miles and miles was amazing! And on top of the mountain there was a remarkable two feet of snow! We turned around from there and went back down the HTS back to the Pine Meadow Trail all the way back to our car. This hike was definitley my most memorable hike this past year.

Hiking Map of the Route

Seven Lakes Drive Approaching Reeves Meadow Trailhead

Me and the Rosenberg brothers at the Trailhead

Me navigating through downed trees

The colorful trees and the snow. On the Pine Meadow Trail.

A bright blue sky adds to the color.

At the Gas Line crossing on the Stony Brook Trail

More amazing colors, on the Stony Brook Trail.

Ascending near the Pine Meadow Trail opposite Cascase of Slid.

Ascending near the mountain on the HTS Trail.
 Note the wet snow covering everything.

View from the summit viewpoint. Facing northwest.

Another view from the summit. Facing southwest.

Shimmy at the summit. Facing north.

Me at the summit.

Relaxing in 2 feet of snow.

Summit view - facing northwest.

Trees along the Pine Meadow Trail

At the descent at the Gas pipeline on the Pine Meadow Trail