North Hill Area Harriman State Park,

Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Reeves Brook Trail: White blaze
Seven Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Hillburn-Torne Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange blaze
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze
Stony Brook Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.0 Miles

Pros: Solitary hike, good climb, good scramble, great views
Cons: None

Overall this is one of my favorite hikes in Harriman. I had not been to this area in a while, and wanted to stay more local while still doing a great hike. While most of the snow had already melted, the deeper valleys still had snow, and many of the trails were icy. I had brought my footgear with cleats which really made the difference hiking on the ice.

It was a very cold day, and I had to dress in many layers. I parked at the trailhead, which was very empty for a Sunday. I took the Reeves Brook Trail up to its intersection with the Seven Hills Trail, and took the steep scramble up the cliff here to the North Hill view. I then continued past the gas  line, and up to the Chipmunk Mountain summit. I descended on the HTS Trail, and then took the Pine Meadow Trail to the Connector Trail to the Stony Brook Trail, and then back to the Pine Meadow Trail to the parking area.

Icy Conditions at the Beginning of the Trail

Small Waterfall on the Reeves Brook

Reeves Brook Waterfall Zoomed Out

Scramble Up the Seven Hills Trail

Going up the Scramble

Raccoon Brook Hills Reeves Brook Loop

Harriman State Park
Rockland County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze
Stony Brook Trail: Orange blaze
Kakiat Trail: White blaze
Raccoon Brook Hills Trail: Black blaze
Reeves Brook Trail:White blaze


Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 5.5 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly difficult
Level of Recommendation: Recommended
Points Of Interest: Scenic gorge, good climbs and views
Pros: Very scenic, varying terrain and flora
Cons: Beginning part of trail is always very busy

Google Map of Parking:

View 2013 Hiking Locations in a larger map

The weather was unseasonably cold for late May, and I had even considered bringing a light jacket. In the end I wore just short sleeves, and was indeed cold. I parked in the busy Reeves Meadow parking area, and took the Pine Meadow Trail to the Stony Brook to the Kakiat Trail. The water level was very impressive due to the excess rains, and the Cascade of Slid was particularly fierce.

I continued up the Kakiat Trail to its second intersection with the Raccoon Brook Hills Trail, and took the Racoon Brook Hills Trail to the Pulpit. From there continued to the Reeves Brook Trail, where I took this trail in its entirety back to the trailhead parking area.

Map of the Route.
Map: Southern Bear Mountain Harriman State Park Trails.

Small cascade right before the gas line crossing

The raging Stony Brook

Cascade of Slid

Waterfall by Cascade of Slid

Pine Meadow Brook above the Cascade of Slid,
with the Washed Out HTS Trail Bridge

Large Blueberry Meadow atop the Raccoon Brook Hills Trail

Gas Line from the Raccoon Brook Hills Trail.
Facing east towards Kakiat Park

View from atop near the end of the Raccoon Brook Hills Trail.
Note the Manhattan Skyline in the Distance

Another View Facing South.

Washed Out Part of the Trail near the End of the Raccoon Brook Hills Trail.
There Was No Way to Avoid the Water

View near the Pulpit Viewpoint. Facing South.

Me near the Pulpit Viewpoint

Waterfall Along the Reeves Brook.
This is usually a trickle, but the heavy rains made this quite impressive.

Reeves Brook to North Hill LoopHarriman State Park

Rockland County,
New York
Hiking Trails:
Reeves Brook Trail: White blaze
Seven Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Racoon Brook Hills Trail: Black blaze
Hillburn-Torne Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange blaze
Pine Meadown Trail: Red blaze
Pine Meadow Connector Trail: Unblazed
Stony Brook Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 2:15 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.85 miles
Level of Difficulty: Difficult, especially in the snow
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Several good views, serene area, good workout

Hiking Partner:
Debbie Koegel

Google Map of Parking:

View 2013 Hiking Locations in a larger map

It had snowed again the previous week, and this was a great snow hike. The weather had warmed up to the 40's, but there was a high wind advisory. We parked at the Reeves Meadow area on 7 Lakes Drive, and immediately turned up to the Reeves Brook Trail. We took the trail to the intersection of the Seven Hills Trail, which we took south to the Torne View. This is excellent view, however we couldn't stay here too long because the howling winds were chilling our bones at this very exposed area.

From the Torne View we took the Raccoon Brook Hills Trail, at its eastern terminus, and then took the trail up to the Pulpit view. From there we took the HTS Trail north, and then descended the mountain by the Pine Meadow Brook. From there we took the Pine Meadow Trail to the unmarked Pine Meadow Trail Connector down to the Stony Brook Trail, then back to the Pine Meadow Trail and back to the car.

Map of the Route

Approaching the Torne View

Torne View. Facing Northwest.

 

Me at the Torne View

Climbing up past the Torne View

Me at the top of TorneView

View at the Pulpit

View at North Hill Summit.
Looking Northeast to Halfway and Diamond Mountain.

Torne View

Harriman State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York

Trails:
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze
Reeves Brook Trail: White blaze
Seven Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Pine Meadow Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:40 hr
Estimated Distance: 4.75 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
Level of Recommendation: Recommended
Points Of Interest: Torne View, Pristine Scenery

Google Maps of Parking:

View Hiking Blog Localities in a larger map


This was the first really cold hike of the season. It has been unseasonably warn until now, but I really had to bundle up for this hike. I parked at the Reeves Meadow hiker's trailhead, and took the Pine Meadow Trail for a very brief moment and veered off at the Reeves Brook Trail. This trail slowly climbs the mountain through a very scenic forest route on the side of the small Reeves Brook. I took the Reeve's Brook Trail to the Seven Hills Trail, which I then took south to the Torne View. The Torne view is an excellent one. From there continued along the notch right before the HTS Trail, and then descended the mountain on the Seven Hills Trail, and took this route al the way back to the Pine Meadow which is right by Reeves Brook.

Map of the Route.

People Descending the Scramble on the 7 Hills

View from Torne View. Facing northwest.

Another view from the Torne View. Facing West.

View From the Torne View, facing south
and High Torne Mountain.

View above the notch, facing the Torne View. Facing north.

View from mountain below High Torne.
Facing south towards the landfill.

View from mountain below High Torne.
Facing east at the Power Lines.

Ramapo Torne

Harriman State Park,
Rockland County,
New York

Trails:
Reeves Brook Trail: White blaze
Seven Hills Trail: Blue blaze
Hillburn Torne Sebago (HTS): Orange blaze

Total Time: 2:00 hr
Estimated Distance: 4.5 Miles

Hiking Partner:
Yehuda Koblick


The fall foliage was almost completely over, though this was a very nice late autumn day. I had last done this trail around 2 years prior in the winter in the snow, but I had only done the route coming down the good scramble. I had always meant to return here when the weather was nice to climb up the scramble, and this was the oppurtunity.

We started at the Reeves Meadow Visitors Center off 7 Lakes Drive near Sloatsburg, and headed up the Reeves Brook Trail for a short duration. Where the trail turns and crosses the stream we continued straight along the unmarked trail which intersects the 7 Hills Trail. From there continued on the 7 Hills Trail along the pretty scenery and Mountain Laurels until the intersection of the HTS trail terminus. At that point we took the HTS and took it up the mountain to the really nice scramble ascending Ramapo Torne. This mountain has a very jagged top with a great climb and outstanding views in 3 directions. From the top summit view, we descended down on the 7 Hills, and then took this route back to the trailhead.

Map of the Route.

Yehuda at the beginning of the scramble on the HTS

The lower view at Ramapo Torne. Facing north.

Me climbing the giant rock slabs below the summit.

Me climbing through a crevice in the rock slabs.

View from the summit. Facing west towards the Thruway.

Me at the summit.
Facing northeast with the Torne Valley landfill below.

View of the landfill. Facing South from summit.

Yehuda at the summit

Facing south towards the Ramapo Valley
and Sheraton Crossroads

Russian Bear.
Facing north from summit.