Long Path at Florence Mountain

Harriman State Park
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Long Path: Green blaze

Total time: 1:25 min
Estimated Distance: 2.2 miles
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Level of Recommendation: Not Recommended
Points of Interest: View of Woodbury Commons
Pros: None
Cons: View is of built-up area, power lines throughout area, and old road instead of path

Google Map of Parking:


This was my final hike in Harriman/Bear Mountain State Parks prior to my completion of all marked trails. I know this was going to be a boring and uneventful hike, but it had to be done. I parked on the side of Route 6 immediately before the divider and its descent down the mountain. I crossed the street, and walked along the road to the east to complete the part of the Long Path that goes on the side of the road. I then turned around and continued west on the Long Path on the route towards the outside of Harriman. The path follows an old road, presumably Route 6, prior to the routing of its current route. In many places the double yellow line is still visible, albeit faded. About halfway down there is a view facing west overlooking Woodbury Commons which is immediately below the mountain.

I continued to the end of the path where it hits the road. It was disappointing to see the other end of the trail at the dead end has no parking signs all over the place. There is plenty room to park here for someone who wants to hike, and I don't know why they put those signs up. I turned around upon hitting the road and took the same trail back. Since this was a short and uneventful hike, I drove down Route 6 for a second hike at the Lake Massawippa Area, which i'll describe in the next post.

Map of the Route.
Harriman/Bear Mountain State Park, Northern Map

The old Road Where the Long Path Goes.
You can even see the Original Double Yellow Striped Divider

Where the Path and Power Line Meet.
The View Is Just Beyond the Bend.

View of Woodbury Commons from the Power Line Intersection

Looking Towards Mt. Aramah to the South

Zoomed Out View of Woodbury Commons from Under the Power Lines

End of the Road at the Border of Harriman.
Note the "No Parking" Sign

A View of the Road that Concurs with the Long Path Outside of Harriman

Long Mountain & Howell Mountain with Commsar

Harriman State Park
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Long Path: Blue blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.5 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly difficult
Level of Recommendation: Recommended
Points Of Interest: Long Mountain climb and view, Howell Mountain View, Lake Massawippa
Pros: Good climb with good views, lake
Cons: Lots of ticks

Hiking Partners:
Commsar Search and Rescue Members

Google Map of Parking:
Note: The new Google Maps Engine doesn't allow me embed the maps I have created. It only allows me to embed the entire map set! So what I did for the embedded maps was just zoom in as much as possible, and parking areas are in the middle of the screen. I apologize about the missing marker - Google doesn't let you do this anymore (or they did a remarkable job of hiding it!)

Start:


Finish:


On this hike, I led a group of members from Commsar (Community Search & Rescue) on a hiking training mission on various terrain in the park. We did a two car hike. One car was at the trailhead for Long Mountain/Turkey Hill, and the other car by Lake Massawippa. We started the hike at the Long Path, and took this trail up to the summit view of Long Mountain.

Long Mountain has an excellent view, and it also overlooks Turkey Hill Lake. From Long Mountain, we headed back down and continued along the Long Path. This part of the trail is at the northern end of the park boundary and further north is West Point property. It seems to be following a former wide path, which I presume was at one time telephone wires.

We continued along the Long Path up and over Howell Mountain, and at the stream in Brooks Hollow we cut across and bushwacked to wards the dam over Lake Massawippa. From the dam we crossed over the east side of the Lake and took the unmarked path through the old ruins here.

Mapf of the Route.
Harriman/Bear Mountain Northern Map

Me Ascending Long Mountain

View Ascending Long Mountain

COMMSAR Search & Rescue Members on Our Training Hike
Near the Summit of Long Mountain

Popolopen Torne from the Summit of Long Mountain. Facing E/NE.

Turkey Hill Lake from the Summit of Long Mountain. Facing SE.

Long Mountain Summit Facing North

Me at the Long Mountain Summit Facing North

Zoom In to Popolopen Torne and the Adjacent Mountain in West Point Property

Along the Wide Trail Area of the Long Path, Prior to Ascending Howell Mnt.

Atop Howell Mountain

Late Season Foliage Atop Howell Mountain

View From Howell Mountain Facing West

View from Howell Mountain Facing Southwest

Commsar Members at the Brooks Hollow Dam on Lake Massawippa

Lake Massawippa from the Dam

Lake Massawippa with Late Season Foliage

Ruins Along the East Side of Lake Massawippa

Lake Massawippa, Facing West

Long Path: Blackcap Mountain to Brooks Mountain and Hollow

Harriman State Park
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Long Trail: Green blaze

Total Time: 3:15 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.8 miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Slightly recommended
Points of Interest: Brooks Mountain, Lake Massawippa
Pros: Quiet area, View of Lake
Cons: Road Walking, Beginning part of Long Path boring, bushwack at end overgrown

Hiking Partner:
Shimmy Rosenberg

Google Map of Parking:

View 2014 Hiking Locations in a larger map

This hike is on the northernmost fringes of the park, and one of the quietest areas. We parked in the parking area off Route 6, right before Route 293. This is the official fishing parking area for Barnes Lake and Lake Massawippa. We took Route 6 west towards the Long Path, where it meets route 6 at the intersection of Op Charlie Road, which is part of the property of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

We took the Long Path heading east, and for this part of the hike it follows parallel to Route 6 coming the same direction. It also straddles the side of a long fence which eventually ends. We continued along the trail as it turns north on to the side of Blackcap Mountain. At this point of the hike we got stuck in a thunderstorm. We had heard the thunder in the distance, and we realized we would be stuck in the storm. We hunkered down under a large rock with a slight overhang. Though we did get wet, this prevented us from getting totally soaked. It rained very hard for about 10 minutes.

Once the storm passed on, we continued on the Long Path, went down the mountain and crossed over Route 293, and climbed up to Brooks Mountain. The Long Path goes along the narrow ridge and then climbs down north of the Lake Massawippa. At this point we bushwacked along the side of the brook to the dam at Lake Massawippa. We then took the unmarked trail along the western side of the lake back to Route 6. This trail has become overgrown since the last time I was here, with many downed trees presumably from Hurricane Sandy. We then hiked the short distance along Route 6 back to the car.

Map of the Route

Posted Signs To Stay off West Point Military Academy

Hunkering Down During Thunderstorm

Crossing Over the Power Lines

Rock Scramble on Blackcap Mountain

View Atop Blackcap Mountain

View Atop Blackcap Mountain

Long Path on the Brooks Mountain Ridge

View Atop Brooks Mountain

Me Atop Brooks Mountain

Lake Massawippa from the Dam

Long Mountain And Turkey Hill Lake

Harriman State Park
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Long Path: Green blaze
Popolopen Gorge Trail: Red blaze
1779 Trail: Blue blaze

Total Time: 2:20 hours
Estimated Distance: 4.5 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly difficult
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Sweeping view atop Long Mountain, Turkey Hill Lake
Pros: Good climb, excellent view, and scenic lake
Cons: Path at the nd end of route overgrown

Hiking Partners:
Moshe Reich
Eli Shulman

Google Map of Parking:

View 2013 Hiking Locations in a larger map

This hike was at the peak of the autumn foliage. I made sure to do a hike with both good views and a pretty lake. We parked at the trailhead parking crescent on Route 6 where it meets the Long Path. We took the Long Path down to the valley, and at the intersection with the Gorge Trail, made a left on the woods road in the valley. Where that road hits the Long Path, we climbed up the mountain to the top, where the Torrey Memorial is. This part is a good climb. We then continued and climbed down the mountain on the other side, and at that same intersection we were at before, we took the Popolopen Gorge Trail all the way down to Turkey Hill Lake. The trail follows the southern part of the lake. After the dam we went on the woods road that connects to the 1779 Trail, and then took this trail past the public works area and then along a different woods road parallel to Route 6 but in the woods. This path has recently become very overgrown and is hard to follow. It is not recommended due to this. The woods road steadily climbs until it is right near the parking lot of Route 6.

Map of the Route.
Harriman/Bear Mountain State Park Northern Map.

View from Atop Long Mountain. Facing North.

Turkey Hill Lake From Atop Long Mountain.
Facing Southeast.

Me Atop Long Mountain, with the
Bear Mountain Plateau Behind me. Facing East.

Me Atop Long Mountain. Facing South.

Foliage Scenes Atop Long Mountain

Facing Southwest From Atop Long  Mountain.

Facing South from Atop Long Mountain.
Route 6 Cuts Across the Swamp in the Distance.

Approaching Turkey Hill Lake

Moshe Posing At Turkey Hill Lake

Me at Turkey Hill Lake

Turkey Hill from Across Turkey Hill Lake

Long Mountain Intense Foliage Behind Turkey Hill Lake

Looking Towards the Outlet of Turkey Hill Lake

Ribbon Snake Sunning.