Fingerboard Mountain and Greenwood Mine Fall Hike

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Tiorati Brook Trail: Blue blaze
Appalachian Trail: White blaze
Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail: Red blaze
Hurst Trail: Blue blaze
Long Path: Green blaze

Total Time: 2:20 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.1 Miles

Pros: Scenic, quiet area of park with historic mine
Cons: No remarkable views
Hike Type: Loop hike

Hiking Partner:
Yehudah Koblick

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/bPEdZjkBL8Yx3u1L9

This was a cold and cloudy lake fall hike. It had been very cold over the weekend, and in fact the rainstorm on Friday had ended as snow on top of the mountains, and there was still some residual snow on the top of the mountain. There was rain predicted for late afternoon, but the storm had arrived much quicker and arrived as soon as we got into our car at the at the completion of the hike. We were grateful for getting in just in time.

We parked at the Lake Tiorati parking area, and took the short Tiorati Brook Trail to the end at the combined Appalachian and Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail along the ridge above Fingerboard Mountain. We took this trail to Hurst Trail and veered off a short distance to the snow-covered shelter, and then went back to the Appalachian and headed down the mountain towards the Greenwood Mine. We explored the mine area, and then took the Surebridge Mine Road to the Long Path. We took the Long Path to Arden Valley Road, which has been closed all season, and walked along the deserted road back to the Tiorati parking area and then back to our cars.

Map of the Route

First Snow of the Season

View of Lake Tiorati from Fingerboard Mountain

Ascending the Fingerboard Mountain Summit

Me Climbing the Rock to the Top of Fingerboard Mountain

Scenery at the Top of Fingerboard Mountain

Fall Leaves Across the Fingerboard Mountain Ridge

Along the Ridge of Fingerboard Mountain

Bare Rockface Above Fingerboard Mountain

More Snow Along the Ridge

Appalachian and Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail on Fingerboard Mountain

Me on the Ramapo Dunderberg Trail

Yehudah Atop Fingerboard Mountain

At the View of Fingerboard Mountain

View Facing East from Fingerboard Mountain

Zoomed into the Above View

Trail Marker at the Hurst Trailhead

A Melting Snowman

Snow Atop the Fingerboard Mountain Shelter

Rope Near the Fingerboard Shelter, Presumably to Keep Packs away from Bears

Yehudah Ahead on the Appalachian/Ramapo Dunderberg Trail Split

Greenwood Mine Pit

The Main Pit at the Greenwood Mine

Mine Dumps at the Greenwood Mine

Greenwood Mine Swamp at the Long Path

Another View of the Above Swamp

Fingerboard Mountain to Greenwood Mine

Harriman State Park
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Tiorati Brook Trail: Blue blaze
Appalachian Trail: White blaze
Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail: Red blaze
Surebridge Mine Road: Unblazed
Long Path: Green blaze

Total Time: 1:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.8 miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Highly recommended
Points Of Interest: Varied scenery, Greenwood Mine
Pros: Very scenic area
Cons: Sound of motorcycles from nearby 7 Lakes Drive, Lack of panoramic view

Google Map of Parking:

View 2014 Hiking Locations in a larger map

The fall colors were really starting to show, and this was a great hike to view the foliage. It was a very cold day for this time of the year, and I regretted not bringing a sweater or light jacket. Though I was moving pretty fast and it was sunny so I stayed warm. I parked at the Tiorati Circle parking area, and took the short Tiorati Brook Trail up to the top where it meets the Appalachian Trail and Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail.

I took the combined Appalachian Trail and Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail south until the split near the Fingerboard Shelter, and then took the Appalachian Trail down the hill towards the Greenwood Mine. At the Greenwood Mine I took the Surebridge Mine Road for a short distance to the Long Path. I took the Long Path all the way to Arden Valley Road, and then walked along the side of the road up and over the hill back to the parking area.

Map of the Route.
Harriman/Bear Mountain Trails Northern Map

Bright Red Huckleberries on the R-D/AT 

Autumn Colors Along the Trail

The Trail Atop Fingerboard Mountain

Summit of Fingerboard Mountain

Another View at the Summit of Fingerboard Mountain

View at the Summit of Fingerboard Mountain

Beautiful Colors on the AT

Greenwood Mine Area

Swamp by the Greenwood Mine

Another View of the Swamp

Lake Tiorati at the End of the Hike

Another View of Lake Tiorati

Appalachian Trail and Long Path

Harriman State Park,
Orange County,
New York

Trails:
Island Pond Road: Unblazed
Appalachian Trail: White blaze
Long Path: Green blaze
Arden-Surebridge Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 5.5 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Scenic Lake, Rock Scramble, Good viewpoint, historical mine

Google Maps of Parking:

View 2012 Hiking in a larger map

This is one of the best, all-around hikes in Harriman state Park. It features all the best features of Harriman combined into one amazing hike! I parked the car on Arden Valley Road on the side of the road several hundred feet to the gated road to Island Pond. The road to Island Pond is locked and you can purchase a yearly pass from the State Park system, and this benefits mostly fisherman who want to go fishing in Island Pond. However, anyone can park on the pull-off on the side of the Arden Valley Road and hike to the pond.

After parking, I crossed the street and cut into the Island Pond Road, which took me to the Appalachian Trail right near Island Pond. Island Pond is a unique lake in Harriman in that it is entirely natural and not dammed like all the other large lakes in Harriman. I took the Appalachian Trail to the Lemon Squeezer, which is an interesting rock formation where you climb through a narrow notch within the rock, and partially climb up the mountain this way. Once I got past the Lemon Squeezer, I continued climbing. There is an excellent view right off the trail once you hit the top of the mountain (Island Pond Mountain), though you have to hike about 100 feet to the east off the trail and this view is not shown on any of the maps.

From the top of Island Pond Mountain started descending into the valley, where there is a well-marked intersection of two famous trails. The Appalachian Trail is perhaps the world's most famous hiking trail, and the Long Path is the most famous trail in New York State. The intersection contains a marker showing the distances of the trail terminus's for each of these enormous trails.

I continued along the Appalachian Trail and went along it as it descended towards the Greenwood Mine. The Greenwood Mine is an old historical iron mine from the 1800's, and you can see the cuts in the mountain here as well as extensive dumps and mounds of rocks from the old mining operations. The Greenwood Mine contains the most extensive dumps of all the old iron mines in the park. From the mine I veered off the trail onto the woods road that goes north from the mine parallel to the stream and along the side of a large swamp. This meets up with the Long Path, and I veered south onto the Long Path up the mountain, past the shelter, and along back to the intersection of the Appalachian Trail. From there continued straight along the Long Path, which goes along the side of a large swamp, and took this to the Arden Surebrige Trail, which I turned on to return passed the Lemon Squeezer and then the same route back to my car.

Map of the Route

The Entrance to the Lemon Squeezer

The Appalachian Trail through the Lemon Squeezer

Ascending the Lemon Squeezer

Island Pond from Island Pond Mountain.
Facing southwest.

Another view atop Island Pond Mountain. Facing West.

Southern view from Island

Signpost at the Junction of the Two Famous Trails:
The Appalachian Trail and the Long Path

Closeup of the Signpost.

Rock Pile in the Dumps of the Greenwood Mine

A flooded pit in the Greenwood mine

View from the Northern end of Surebridge Mountain. Facing north.