Diamond Mountain - Halfway Mountain Loop

Harriman State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York

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

Total Time: 2:45 hours
Estimated Distance: 4.5 miles

Pros: Scenic area, great scrambles and views
Cons: Parking on weekends difficult, lots of people in the beginning
Hike Type: Lollipop 8 Loop
Level of Difficulty: Difficult

Hiking Partners:
Elisha Friedman

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/W7CAyXQEZB2ukLWW7

Map of the Route

Mostly Dry Cascade of Slid Waterfall
(No Rain for Entire Month Will do This)

Cascade of Slid Main Cascade (Dry)

Crossing Pine Meadow Brook on the HTS Trail

Rock Cave Along the Pine Meadow Trail, near the 7 Hills Trail

Diamond Mountain, Lower Part, View At the First Scramble

Diamond Mountain Lower Part Scramble

Glacial Erratics on Diamond Mountain

Diamond Mountain Main View

Manhattan Syline from Diamond Mountain View

Halfway Mountain

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

South Hill and Torne View Loop

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
7 Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Hillburn Torne Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange blaze
Reeves Brook Trail: white blaze

Total Time: 3:10 hour
Estimated Distance: 5 Miles

Pros: Great climb with sweeping views
Cons: None

Hiking Partner:
Shimmy Rosenberg

On my last two hikes to Ramapo Torne, I had noticed South Hill to the northwest with large rocky exposures. I had determined to check out the area for hike, and this was our opportunity. The weather was seasonally cold, but it there was a bright sun and blue sky. We parked at Reeves Meadow at Harriman on Seven Lakes Drive, and took the 7 Hills Trail from its beginning. I then bushwacked up the ascent to the first part of South Hill, and then climbed down through a notch and back up to the main part of South Hill, where we had some great views of the surrounding area.

We then climbed down the hill on the southern edge of South Hill, to an unmarked trail that connects to the HTS Trail. We took the HTS Trail north for a short distance to the 7 Hills Trail, which we then took up and climbed the mountain to the Torne View. At the top, we continued along the 7 Hills Trail northbound looking at the views to the right and the left. We continued along the trail, went down and up to the Torne View, which offers sweeping views of the entire area. We then took the 7 Hills Trail to the Reeves Brook Trail, going back down towards the parking area and back to our car.

Map of the Route

First View from South Hill

View from South Hill Facing North

View of Torne View from South Hill

Me at South Hill

Another View of Me on South Hill

Me on South Hill, Facing North

South Hill, Facing North

View of Ramapo Torne from South Hill

Dwarf Pine on the Southern South Hill View

View Descending South Hill, Facing South

Another View Descending South Hill

Trailhead of the HTS Trail at the 7 Hills Trail

On the View Between Ramapo Torne and Torne View

On the Upper Ridge on the 7 Hills Trails

Me on the 7 Hills Trail

Continuing Along the 7 Hills Trail

Me on the 7 Hills Trail Before Descending into the Notch

7 Hills Trail Before the Descent

Shimmy Descending the Notch on the 7 Hills Trail

Facing Ramapo Torne

View from Torne View, Facing South Hill

Zoomed in to South Hill

Another View at South Hill