Long Mountain and Turkey Hill Lake

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Long Path: Green blaze
Popolopen Gorge Trail: Red blaze
Historic Fingerboard-Storm King Trail: Brown blaze

Total Time: 2:15 hour
Estimated Distance: 2.7 Miles

Pros: Good climb, excellent view, scenic lake
Cons: Trash at lake
Hike Type: Eight

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/AJHqFkmC9VnyBbY78

Hiking Partners:
Joseph Friedman
Elisha Friedman

This was a hot and humid Sunday in the summer. I opted for something in Harriman with a good view but not too long and strenuous, and this was a very good hike for that. We parked at the Long Mountain Parking area off Route 6 in the northern fringes of Harriman, and took the Long Path north to Long Mountain. We found some nice blueberries in the area near the beginning of the hike.

We continue on the Long Path, and where the Trail was recently rerouted snaking up the mountain, we took the old now shortcut trail that now had a brown marker titled "Historic Fingerboard-Storm King Trail." This was the original Long Path trail, and many years ago was a long distance trail that went from Fingerboard Mountain north to Storm King Mountain. However, when West Point acquired and restricted the property north of the area, the area became off-limits and trail closed. This shortcut trail is a memory to that trail. It's only a short distance back to the Long Path, which at the top of the mountain has a large rock area with a great view, overlooking Turkey Hill Lake, Bear Mountain, and Popolopen Torne. 

We then continued down the mountain on the northern side, down to the steep valley, and took the old unmarked road in the valley back to the Popolopen Gorge Trail at it's western terminus. We then took the Popolopen Gorge Trail to Turkey Hill Lake, and explored the lake shoreline a bit, and then headed back up on the Popolopen Gorge Trail. We then cut across on the unmarked trail up the hill to the parking area and headed back to our car.

Map of the Route

Signs at the Beginning of the Hike

Information Kiosk at the Beginning of the Hike

Long Path and FSK Path Intersection

FSK Path (Fingerboard-Storm King Trail) Historick Route Marker

Me Ascending Long Mountain

Long Mountain Facing South Overlooking Fingerboard Mountain

Me at the Southern Overlook at Fingerboard Mountain

Southern Part of Fingerboard Mountain

Fingerboard Mountain, Facing East

Turkey Hill Lake from Long Mountain, Facing Southeast

Me at Long Mountain

Long Mountain, Facing Northeast

View of Bear Mountain from Long Mountain

View of Popolopen Torne from Long Mountain

Torrey Memorial from Long Mountain

Long Mountain Rocky Summit

Me at the Long Mountain Summit

Explosion from Test Mortars at West Point to the North

Turkey Hill Lake with Bear Mountain in the Distance

Turkey Hill Lake

Another View of Turkey Hill Lake

Turkey Hill Lake Facing Northeast

Turkey Hill Lake Shore

Turkey Hill Lake Facing North

Turkey Hill Lake Queensboro Lake Loop

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.
New York

Hiking Trails:
Anthony Wayne Trail: White blaze
1779 Trail: Red blaze
Popolopen Gorge Trail: Red blaze
Timp-Torne Trail: Blue blaze
Fawn Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.4 Miles

Pros: Scenic lake and minimal
Cons: Proximity to highway and roads

Hiking Partner:
Shimmy Rosenberg

It has snowed a couple of inches of snow two days prior, and there was a large snowstorm predicted for the evening. The snow cover wasn't deep, but nevertheless created a pretty layer for the hike.

I had not been to this area in some time. It is at the far northern region of Harriman, an area not popularly traveled and often quiet. Turkey Hill Lake is one of the least-visited lakes in the park.

We parked at Anthony Wayne Recreation area, and crossed the Palisades Parkway on the overpass, taking the Anthony Wayne Trail to the 1779 Trail. We took the 1779 Trail to the outlet trail of the Queensboro Trail, where we then met the Popolopen Gorge Trail. We crossed the dam, which was overflowing, and took the path on the northern side of the lake and outlet stream to the Popolopen Gorge Trail.

We took the combined 1779 and Popoplopen Gorge Trail to Queensboro Lake, adjacent to the Police test shooting range, then crossing the Palisades at the Seven Lakes Drive overpass. We then took the Timp-Torne trail up the northern flank of West Mountain, and then went down the Fawn Trail, to the Anthony Wayne Trail, back to our car at the trailhead.

Map of the Route

Approaching Turkey Hill Lake

Frozen Turkey Hill Lake

Ma Turkey Hill Lake and Turkey Hill

Me at Turkey Hill Lake

Me at the Turkey Hill Lake

Turkey Hill Lake Dam

Bear Mountain in the Distance from Turkey Hill Dam

Me on Turkey Hill Dam

View from the Other Side of the Dam

Very Scenic Scene at Turkey Hill Lake

Shimmy at Turkey Hill Lake

Me at Turkey Hill Lake

Another View at Turkey Hill Lake

Queensboro Lake with West Mountain in the Distance

Turkey Hill Lake, Facing East

Turkey Hill Island

Pistol Range Warning to Stay on Trail

Queensboro Lake Dam

Bear Mountain from West Mountain on the Fawn/Timp-Torne Junction

View Before Descending West Montain

Long Mountain and Turkey Hill Lake Snow

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

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

Total Time: 2:00 hour
Estimated Distance: 2.6 Miles

Pros: Good climb and excellent view
Cons: None

Hiking Partner:
Shimmy Rosenberg

We had gotten a very strong winter Nor'easter storm, which gave heavy rain and strong wind in our area. It ended as snow with just minor accumulations. However, the higher elevations received a significant amount of snow, and we figured that a tall mountain on the northern flank of Harriman should have the most significant snow accumulation. We picked Long Mountain, which affords a great view, and is at an elevation over 1,000 feet. We parked at the Long Mountain Parking area, which had a tree fully across the parking area, though you could park until that point. At the start of the hike there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground, but as we climbed up the mountain, the snow increased, with about a foot of snow at the top of the mountain! I took the Long Path up to the mountain summit, which affords an excellent view.

The Long Path had recently been rerouted up Long Mountain along a more circuitous route. I took the new route up, and took the old original loop back down, making for a "lollipop" style hike. We then took the Popolopen Gorge Trail at its western terminus down to Turkey Hill Lake, getting some nice views of the lake, and then turned back around back up the Popolopen Gorge Trail. We then continued straight at the trail bend, bushwacking up back to the parking area.

As we were driving through Harriman on the way to the hike, we saw a large, majestic bald eagle perched on a tree at Seven Lakes Drive opposite Lake Tiorati. We got some good photos of it and include it here.

Map of the Route

Bald Eagle Perched on Tree above 7 Lakes Drive

Another View of the Bald Eagle

Tree Blocking the Snow Covered Parking Area

Forest Fire Danger Chart. Looks Like We're Off the Chart Today

Me at the Long Path Trailhead

Shimmy at Long Mountain

Shimmy at Long Mountain, Zoomed Out

Bear Mountain in the Distance, from the Summit of Long Mountain

Turkey Hill Lake from the Summit of Long Mountain

Long Mountain Summit

Turkey Hill Lake and West Mountain

Me at the Long Mountain  Summit with Turkey Hill Lake in Background

Me at Long Mountain Summit with Popolopen in the Background

Popolopen fom Long Mountain Summir

Me on the Rock atop Long Mountain

Shimmy on Long Mountain, Starting the Descent

Long Mountain View, Facing South

Turkey Hill Lake with Long Mountain in the Background

Another View of Turkey Hill Lake

Shimmy at Turkey Hill Lake

Ma on a Rock at Turkey Hill Lake 

Turkey Hill Lake and Bear Mountain

Shimmy at Turkey Hill Lake