Big Hill and Breakneck Pond

Harriman State Park
Rockland Co, NY

Hiking Trails:
Long Path: Green blaze
Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail: Yellow blaze
Breakneck Mountain Trail: White blaze

Total Time: 2:00
Estimated Distance: 4.3 miles

Pros: Quiet area, nice view, scenic lake
Cons: None
Hike Type: Lollipop Loop
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Google Maps of Parking:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/QsjW5cduviqD5bMA8

I parked on St. Johns Road at the Long Path trailhead parking, and took the connector trail from the road to the Long Path. I then took the Long Path  southbound through the Mountain Laurel forest, and then crossed Beaver Pond Brook on the wood trail bridge and into the Pine forest. I then passed the plane crash site (see the plaque below) along the trail and then climbed up the mountain to Big Hill.

I enjoyed the view at Big Hill and took a short break at the shelter, and continued south on the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail to the Breakneck Mountain Trail, which I took for a short distance to the unmarked trail that goes down to Breakneck Pond. After enjoying the views at Breakneck Pond and walking through the AMC Center, I walked along the road back to the Long Path which I took back to my car.

Map of the Route

Trailhead Parking at St. Johns

Connector Path to the Long Path with Mountain Laurel

Long Path Intersection

Mountain Laurel Forest

Beaver Pond Brook Bridge

Flight 6231 Crash Site Memorial

Fire Still Ignited in the Shelter Fireplace

Inside the Big Hill Shelter

Glacial Stone at the Big Hill Shelter

Big Hill Shelter

Me at Big Hill

Third Reservoir

Suffern-Bear Mountain-Big Hill Intersection

Breakneck Pond

New AMC Area in Harriman

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Breakneck Pond Loop Trail: Unblazed
Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail: Red blaze
Breakneck Mountain Trail: White blaze

Total Time: 2:00 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.4 Miles

Pros: New hiking area and scenic pond
Cons: No good views

Hiking Partner: Shimmy Rosenberg

AMC Outdoor Center is a new project opened this summer in the old Camp Lanowa in Harriman along Breakneck Pond. The old camp was entirely restored with rustic cabins, and a swimming and boating area in the lake. We wanted to get some information about this place and check it out. So we headed off to the area, took the Old Turnpike, which was partially restored, and parked in the field designated as a parking area.

We walked along the road to the cabin area from the parking lot, and went in to the office to ask some questions about the center and get some brochures and details. After walking around the area, we took the new Pond Loop Trail around the lake. This trail was very recently created, and is not yet officially marked. It only has ribbons tied around trees at this point. Our plan was to cut across to Pine Meadow Road and then take the Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail to the Breakneck Trail. However, I was disappointed to learn that the new Breakneck Pond Loop trail doesn't connect to the main Harriman Trail system! Perhaps they want to keep this separate, though its a very easy and short bushwack to the main trail system, which we soon discovered.

After crossing the inlet of the lake, we bushwacked to Pine Meadow Road, took the Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail, and then took the Breakneck Trail in its entirety at the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail. At that point there is an unmarked trail going down the mountain back to the AMC area. We took this trail down, and went through the AMC Center area and headed back to our car.

TMI Trailhead-Breakneck Mountain Loop

Harriman State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Tuxedo-Mt Ivy (TMI) Trail: Red blaze
Breakneck Mountain Trail: White blaze
Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail: Yellow blaze
Red Arrow Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 3 hours
Estimated Distance: 6.6 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly difficult
Level of Recommendation: Recommended for a quiet, natural hike
Points Of Interest: Solitude, Breakneck Mountain, Mountain Laurel Forest, Third Reservoir
Pros: Very quiet part of park, Scenic natural area
Cons: Lacks good panoramic views

Google Map of Parking:

View 2014 Hiking Locations in a larger map

This hike was a longer than usual hike in a remote park of the park. Though there were three other cars in the  trailhead, I didn't see anyone on the trail the entire time, which is unusual especially considering this was a Sunday. The snow was still gone, and the weather was a bit warmer than seasonal, and there was no snow whatsoever.

I started at the Tuxedo-Mt Ivy Trail on Diltzes Road right off Route 202 near Ladentown. I took the trail up the mountain on the newly routed trail, and continued along this trail past the Red Arrow Trail and past the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail. At this point there is an extensive mountain laurel forest, which affords nice evergreen color to the otherwise drab brown. I continued past Woodtown Road and all the way to the intersection the the Breakneck Mountain Trail.

Breakneck Mountain is at a relatively high elevation, with nice rocky exposures, but it lacks good vistas and scrambles. The Breakneck Mountain Trail goes along the length of the ridge. I took this trail in its entirety to the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail, and then took that trail east. The Third Reservoir is right there, and it was mostly frozen over. I continued along the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail to the Red Arrow Trail, took the short Red Arrow Trail in its entirety, and then returned back down the mountain and back to my car on the Tuxedo-Mt Ivy Trail.

Map of the Route. Harriman/Bear Mnt State Park Southern Map

View While Ascending the Mountain.
Facing East Towards the Hudson River at West Haverstraw 

The Same View as Above, Zoomed Out.
Limekiln Mountain is Across the Valley

Green Mountain Laurel Forest on the TMI Trail

Beginning of the Breakneck Mountain Trail

Temporary Clearing of the Clouds, Interesting Photo Perspective

Bare Rock Faces Along the Breakneck Mountain Trail

Summit of Breakneck Mountain

Grassy Area Atop Breackneck Mountain

Third Reservoir from the SBM Trail

Another View of the Third Reservoir