Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: Fire Tower

Showing posts with label Fire Tower. Show all posts

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Long Path to Big Hill and Jackie Jones

Harriman State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York

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

Total Time: 1:50 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.6 Miles

Pros: Quiet and scenic area, nice view
Cons: Fire Trail Closed
Hike Type: Two Car Hike
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Hiking Partner:
Yehudah Koblick

Google Maps of Parking:
Car 1: https://goo.gl/maps/ZV4hwrBHJXBwPSjT7
Car 2: https://goo.gl/maps/wbTvZPimUoLYJZeXA

Map of the Route

Long Path Marker Near the start of the Hike

Long Path

Long Path with Mountain Laurel

Wooden Bridge on the Long Path

Historic Site of a Plane Crash in 1974

Yehudah at Big Hill

Big Rock at Big Hill

View at Big Hill

Shelter at Big Hill

Approaching the Fire Tower on Big Hill

The Gated Off Jackie Jones Fire Tower

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Lake Welch and Fire Tower

Harriman State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail: Yellow Blaze

Total Time: 1:00 hour
Estimated Distance: 2.2 Miles

Pros: Scenic Lake, quiet area
Cons: Fire tower closed
Hike Type: Loop
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/vTYYoBu6Wdq5CyK27

I hadn't been to the Fire Tower in a while, and wanted a short and quick hike as it was the day before Rosh Hashanah and I was short on time preparing for the Holiday. I had heard that the Jackie Jones Fire Tower had been closed, so I wanted to check it out. The Fire Tower was recently refurbished (See https://www.harrimanhiker.com/2018/12/refurbished-jackie-jones-fire-tower.html) after having been briefly closed.

I was disturbed to hear this news, and was even more disturbed to see this indeed was the case. There was a big locked fence around the entire structure, and it seemed like it was closed for good. This has been a great hike with a great view for so many years, and I don't understand by what right the tower had been closed. If something needed to be fixed, it should have been fixed, not closed. Us hikers have enjoyed this hike and the tower for many years, since our youth, and this should not suddenly be closed without access.

I parked at the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trailhead, and walked along Kanawauke Road towards Lake Welch. After the dam I went to the shore of Lake Welch and took some pictures. I then took the path along the phone line up Jackie Jones Mountain, which took me to the Fire Tower. As I was not able to access the Fire Tower, I headed down the mountain on the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail, passing the ORAK ruin and heading back to my car.

Map of the Route

Lake Welch Dam

Lake Welch from near the Dam

Trail from Lake Welch to the Fire Tower

Large Glacial Rock at the Top of the Ridge Near the Fire Tower

Fire Tower

Locked Gate Around the Fire Tower.
This is Sacrilegious!

Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail on Jackie Jones Mountain

Friday, September 24, 2021

Jackie Jones Fire Tower and Minisceongo Falls

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 1:35 hour
Estimated Distance: 2.6 Miles

Pros: Great view on tower, impressive waterfalls
Cons: Communication tower mars pristine view
Hike Type: Out and back
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Hiking Partners:
Elisha Friedman

Map of Route:
https://goo.gl/maps/FfKqJasfhXcQ52tC6

This was a beautiful September day, and the air was clear with bright blue skies after getting several inches of rain the previous day. This was a great hike for a nice view as well as a good waterfall. We parked at the parking trailhead at the entrance to Harriman State Park at the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail, and took the trail up the mountain through the ORAK ruins. We climbed passed the Jackie Jones communication tower and then to the Fire Tower, and climbed to the top and took a small break at the top and took some pictures there. The sky was exceptionally clear and the 360 degree view from the top of the tower was remarkable.

We then turned around and took the trail down, and we took the unmarked trail parallel to the Minisceongo Brook down to the waterfalls. This waterfalls is, in my opinion, the largest and most impressive in Rockland County, and is really unknown, with no official trail and not being on the map. I hope it stays this way! With the large amount of rain, the waterfalls were quite impressive, with several small cascades and the main drop which has an upper and lower section. After descending to the bottom of the waterfalls we returned back to our car.