Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: Cheesecote Pond

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Cheescote Mountain,
Cheescote Town Park,
Rockland County,
New York

I had gone to Cheesecote Mountain to explore all the unmarked trails there several weeks earlier, but got rained out and had to leave earlier. So I had decided to return on a nice do and more thoroughly go through the trails. Parked on Cheese Cote La. and took the short path to Cheesecote Pond and the Long Path. Then took an unmarked trail north to the summit, where there were great views of Horse Chock Mountain and the Jackie Jones tower. Continued on the unmarked path, not knowing where it would leave me, until it ended at a narrow paved road. This road looked very newly paved and I took it south, and it led me back to the pond where a new parking lot was being constructed there. Apparently they will be developing this park and providing car access. Hiked around the lake and back to the short path to my car, then circled the mountain and found the road that climbs the mountain. This is a very recently paved road and they are now allowing vehicular traffic all the way up to the pond from Willow Grove Road. This new road is very interesting, being very narrow and curvy, and ascending about 400 feet.

Cheescote Pond from the Long Path

Looking west from the summit to Horse Chock Mnt.

Jackie Jones Mnt with tower from summit.
Looking west.

Looking northwest to Willow Grove Rd.
as climbs up the mountain

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Cheesecote Mountain

Cheesecote Town Park,
Ramapo Mountains,
Rockland County, NY

Was raining much of the day and was still very foggy when I left in the afternoon. I had checked the radar before heading out and there were severe thunderstorms heading towards us - so I had to plan the hike to be back before the thunderstorms arrived.

Parked on top of Cheescote Mountain on Cheescote Lane, which is a developed neighborhood of newly construction million dollar homes. The trailhead is in a cul-de-sac surrounded by some of these homes. It's a really strange place to start a hike. From the road took the short gravel trail to Cheescote Pond, where I picked up the Long Path and headed for a short while east. There is some construction going on here and it looks like they are trying to develop the park around the pond area. I certainly hope they keep it wild the way it is now. From the pond headed off the trail onto one of the many unmarked woods roads in the path towards the summit of the mountain. Started heading down the mountain but was getting nervous about the weather so bailed out and headed back the way I came. Did a little cut-across on a different path towards the Long Path, and then took the Long Path back to Cheesecote Pond and back to the trailhead.

This was a very eerie hike. The fog was extremely dense and it was lighly drizzling with hardly any visibility. I could hardly see where I was going navigating through the dense fog. At one point I passed some old ruins which really looked really ghostly in thick fog.

At the beginning of the hike.