Short Limekiln Mountain Loop

Harriman State Park
Rockland County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Tuxedo-Mount Ivy (TMI) Trail: Red blaze
Limekiln Mountain Trail: Unmarked

Total Time: 1:00 hours
Estimated Distance: 2.0 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly Difficult
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points Of Interest: Good climb in very remote part of park and excellent view

Hiking Partners:
Shimmy Rosenberg

Google Maps of Parking:

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Limekiln Mountain is one of my favorite short hikes. Its close, relatively short, has a solid climb, and affords and excellent view at the top. There are no official trails to the top, but a well-blazed unofficial trail which is very easy to follow. We started at the Tuxedo-Mount Ivy Trailhead on Diltzes Road in Pomona, right off Route 202. We took the beginning of the trailhead below the power lines, and then just as the TMI Trail leaves the power lines and into the woods, that's where the unmarked Limekiln Mountain Trail begins on the right side, climbing the hill on the right and then continuously up the mountain. Once it hits the top there is an expansive view east and south. You can see the Hudson River at Haverstraw, High Tor and South Mountain, much of Rockland County, and the Manhattan skyline in the distance. From the top instead of taking the same trail down, we did a bushwack along the south ridgeline and then headed down into the valley to the TMI Trail down by the brook, and then took the trail back to the trailhead.

Map of the Route

View from the Viewpoint Facing South over
the Rockland County lowland.

View from the Viewpoint Facing Southeast.
The mountains to the distance are the Palisades

View from the Viewpoint Facing East,
Facing the Hudson river and High Tor.

Me at the Expansive Viewpoint

View along the Ridgeline Before Heading Down Into the Valley.
Facing South Toward Panther Mountain and the Mahwah River Swamp.

Stockbridge Mountain

Harriman State Park
Orange County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Menomine Trail: Yellow blaze
Long Path: Green blaze
Lake Tiorati Trail: Blue blaze

Total Time: 1:45 hours
Estimated Distance: 4.2 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly Difficult
Level of Recommendation: Not Recommended
Points Of Interest: Very quiet part of the park

Hiking Partners:
S&M Rosenberg
Yehuda Koblick
Mordy Weiss

Google Maps of Parking:
Start:

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Finish:

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Stockbridge Mountain is a long mountain going across the northwest portion of Harriman State Park. It is a fairly quiet part of the park with few hikers visiting this area. This hike involves a good stretch of the Long Path which I had never hiked before, so I wanted to hike its length. However, I was a bit disappointed that despite its elevation there were no views. So while this trail is very tranquil, there are no views.

For the hike, we parked the first car at the Lake Tiorati picnic area by Tiorati Circle, and then all went further to the Silvermine Lake picnic area and parked there. (note: there is an $8 charge to park at both these places on Sunday's in the summer.) We hiked up the Menomine Trail, crossing Seven Lakes Drive and passing along the side of Lake Nawahunta. After this the trail climbs the mountain and intersects the Long Path. we headed south on the Long Path along the ridge of Stockbridge Mountain all the way down to Arden Valley Road, and then took the road to the short Lake Tiorati Trail back to the car.

Map of the Route

Lake Nawahunta, near the beginning of the hike

Our group of hikers, minus Shimmy the photographer

Typical forest scene above Stockbridge Mountain

Most of our group at the summit rock.

Jackie Jones Mountain

Harriman State Park
Rockland County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 1:45 hours
Estimated Distance: 3.3 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly Difficult
Level of Recommendation: Recommended
Points Of Interest: Old ruins, excellent view from Fire Tower

Hiking Partner:
Rachel Friedman


Google Maps of Parking:

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This hike goes up and around Jackie Jones Mountain. I started on the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail, on the route up to the fire tower. We passed the ORAK ruin, which was the old estate of the owner of Karo Syrup. From there continued along past the excessively tall Jackie Jones communications tower to the fire tower. I keep on finding the tower to be more and more rickety, with some of the wooden footboards totally loose. It is a real safety hazard if you are not careful, and I think it is only a short manner of time before they close it off entirely or demolish it. I climbed up to get the amazing view it affords, and Lake Welch which is pretty close nearby was buzzing with swimming activity being a nice and warm Sunday afternoon right before the summer.

Continued along past the tower on the Suffern-Bear Mountain trail, and then down the mountain to the intersection of the old Jeep Road, which we took east and then took a different unmarked yet maintained old woods road back to the Suffern-Bear Mountain trail, intersecting it, and then continuing down the paved road the goes to the communications tower. We took this road back down instead of the path because the hour was getting late.

Map of the Route

Old Gatehouse Ruin of the ORAK Ruins

Another ruin at ORAK

Fire Tower

A Busy Lake Welch Beach from the Fire Tower

Looking north towards Bear Mountain from the Fire Tower

Facing Jackie Jones Communication Tower from the Fire Tower

Hogencamp Mountain

Harriman State Park
Orange County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Hogencamp Road (unmarked blaze)
Dunning Trail (Yellow blaze)

Total Time: 2 hours
Estimated Distance: 3 miles
Level of Difficulty: Slightly Difficult
Level of Recommendation: Recommended for a good bushwack
Points Of Interest: Good bushwack, good views, historical mine

Google Maps of Parking:

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This hike is mostly a bushwack - and a very scenic one. I parked on County Route 106 right after the bend by Lake Kanawauke, to take the old road to Hogencamp. I took this for a short while passing some of the abandoned structures along the way from this old mining ghost town. Right before the bend in the old overgrown road there is a large clearing on the right, with the foundation of a large unknown structure. There is a cliff behind here which has a very good bushwack route up. I climbed the cliff, to where there is an excellent east-facing view of Lake Kanawauke, and this leads to an unmarked short trail to the Dunning Trail.

I took the Dunning Trail for a very short while, and then cut across up the Rocky area right after the stream to the summit of Hogencamp Mountain. The summit is covered by brush and rocky exposures, and lacks significant tree cover. This is due to the area once being the site of a huge forest fire. The summit of Hogencamp, along the ridge, is an incredibly scenic area with beautiful plants and a consistent view to the east. I strongly advocate the creation of a trail along this ridge.

Coming towards the Long Path, I descended in a valley that had a good cut-through route, and this led me to the northen point of the Hogencamp workings. I explored some of the many mine cuts and shafts in the area, and headed back south along the Dunning Trail. The Hogencamp Mine consists of many mining cuts and pits and is the most extensive of the ancient iron mine workings in the entire Harriman State Park. I always enjoy exploring this area. Headed back along the Dunning Trail, cutting off by the old Hogencamp Road towards Route 106, and then back to my car.

Map of the route

Old Foundation - Looking behind while ascending the bushwack cliff

View atop the bushwack.

View with the Little Long Pond in the distance.

Looking up to the dense brush climbing Hogencamp Mountain

View from the south summit of Hogencamp - Facing south.

Facing southeast.

Facing southeast.

Facing east with the traffic circle in the distance.

Large mine adit at Hogencamp Mine.

The big dangerous hole at Hogencamp Mine.

Buttermilk Falls County Park

West Nyack
Rockland County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Buttermilk Falls Trail (blue blaz)
White Trail (don't know the name of this trail

Total Time: 1:00 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.3 miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Recommended for a short but scenic hike
Points Of Interest: Small waterfall, easy-to-hike view

Google Maps of Parking:

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Buttermilk Falls provides for a scenic, short hike with a nice small waterfall and view. This is a very good hike for kids. The waterfall is not dramatic and is seasonal, meaning in the dry summer months it is really unimpressive. However, in wet seasons it provides a cute waterfall. We had recently received lots of rain so the waterfall was nice. Another nice thing about this trail is that you can do a complete loop.

We started at the parking lot on Greenbush Road, and hiked up the trail to the waterfall. Continued past the waterfall to the viewpoint, which faces west viewing much of Rockland County with the Ramapo Mountains in the distance. From the continued down until the White Trail, which we took back to the car.

Map of the route

Me on tree above waterfalls

Buttermilk Falls

View from the top, facing southwest.
The tall building in the center is Blue Hill Plaza.

Facing South towards Route 303.

Another view from the top

Mill Creek Marsh , Secaucus

Hudson County,
New Jersey

Hiking Trails:
Mill Creek Marsh Trail

Total Time: 0:40 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.4 miles
Level of Difficulty: Very easy
Level of Recommendation: Recommended as an ecologically scenic nature walk
Points Of Interest: Marsh terrain, birdwatching

Google Maps of Parking:

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It is not too often that I go hiking through a swamp. This hike is in New Jersey's well-known meadowlands, and lies within a five mile distance to the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan. I had a show in the Meadowlands Exposition that Sunday, and this hike is just around the corner. I had seen a path going through the swamp with planks and bridges many times while driving down the New Jersey Turnpike as it enters Secaucus. I was always curious about this path, and finally had the oppurtunity to hike here. I parked at the end of the shopping center where Park Plaza Drive curves into Mill Creek Drive. There is official parking for the trail here. The trail is a flat gravel path, and doesn't have much tree cover. It was a hot day which made it a bit uncomfortable out in the strong sun, and I was glad I brought along sunblock.

The trail goes right through the brackish marsh on an elevated path with many bridges, planks, and boardwalks. There are many interersting birds to see here, and the water abounds with small fish. The hike really smells like a swamp though. I took the eastern-sided route, went off on on the short dead-end spur, came back, and then took the western spur. The western spur goes parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike and has a a long boardwalk.

Entrance to the Trail

Looking at the path at the beginning of the Trail

Manhattan skyline in the distance behind the swamp

Another view of Manhattan skyscrapers, through the Cedar Tree Remnant

The Path through the Marsh

Large Boardwalk Bridge

Remnants of the old Cedar Grove

Hundreds of Swarming Fish in the Marsh

Campgaw Mountain County Reservation

Ramapo Mountain State Forest,
Bergen County,
New Jersey
Trails: Old Cedar Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 1:15 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.2 miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Recommended for a tranquil hike
Points Of Interest: Viewpoint and tranquil nature

Google Maps of Parking:

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Campgaw Mountain is a small mountain (or large hill, depending how you look at it) in Northwestern Bergen County. While it doens't contain any rugged peaks or exhilirating hiking, it does afford a very large network of tranquil and well-marked trails in a very small area. There is a small downlhill ski area with about a 200 foot vertical drop.

I parked in the northern end of the large parking lot near the ski lifts, and took the Old Cedar Trail up the mountain. The Old Cedar Trail is the longest trail in the park, and makes a complete loop, starting at the same point where it ends on the road. I climbed up the mountain and veered off at the top to take a look at the view by the top of the ski lifts. Continued back on the trail, going down and then going along the stream, down to the more developed park area at the bottom. From there headed along and continued past the lake, across the road, and along the brand new trail bridge back to the area where I parked.

Strange Pods on top of the mountain.
There are several of these and I don't know what they are for.

View from the top of the ski lift. Facing east.

From top of ski lift, facing northeast.

From top of Ski Lift facing north, with Sheraton Crossroads
Ramapo Mountains in view. The small jagged mountain in the
right center is Cheesecoate Mountain.

Power lines at the bottom.

Interesting trail marker along the Old Cedar Trail

Todd Trail Lookout

Ramapo Mountain State Forest,
Bergen County,
New Jersey

Trails:
Todd Trail: White blaze
Yellow Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 1:10 hour
Estimated Distance: 2.1 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Recommended for a short hike
Points Of Interest: Viewpoint and tranquil pond

Hiking Partner:
Rachel Friedman

Ramapo Mountain State Forest,
Bergen County,
New Jersey

Trails:
Todd Trail: White blaze
Yellow Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 1:10 hour
Estimated Distance: 2.1 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Recommended for a short hike
Points Of Interest: Viewpoint and tranquil pond

Hiking Partner:
Rachel Friedman

Google Maps of Parking:

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This trail is in a busy hiking area in the Ramapo Mountains of New Jersey. Though the parking area was full being a nice Sunday, the trail was very quiet. I parked on Skyline Drive near the top of the mountain, and took the Todd Trail slightly down the mountain along to the viewpoint. This viewpoint overlooks Oakland and the suburban sprawl further east. From the lookout headed back and then veered off on the Yellow Trail to Todd Lake. Todd Lake is a small yet very tranquil pond in the woods. It is full of Lily Pads and had more tadpoles in it than I have every seen before. After stopping at the pond we turned around and went back to the Todd Trail and headed back to our car.

Map of the Route

Approaching the Lookout on the Todd Trail

Lookout on the Todd Trail. Facing East.

Todd Lake