This week’s hike was the Cornish Estate Trail at the Hudson Highlands State Park and Preserve, just outside of Cold Springs, NY. This one had been on my radar for a while, as AllTrails and many other hiking sites have rated it highly. The trail leads to the Cornish Estate, which was built in the 1910’s, but burned down in the late 50’s, which eventually lead to the land being donated for a park. My hesitancy for going there was that all the reviews mentioned that it was a busy and popular trail. When we started this Summer project, we had wanted to find out of the way trails, that don’t get much foot traffic.
We went out on Sunday morning, and made the park around 10:45am. The parking lot for Little Stony Point Park was packed, and we got the last spot. At the trail head, there was a tent with, what I assume were, volunteers who offered maps, guidance, and bug spray. There were also some port-o-potties, a sanitization station, water for dogs, and a display for wildlife in the area. It was a nice way to start our hike.
The Cornish Trail starts off running somewhat parallel to Highway 9D. In some areas it’s only one person wide, and as we were a group of two adults, a kid and a dog, we let people pass us, so we could take our time. After a short hike, the trail runs into the concrete driveway that leads up to the ruins of the estate. And you are going uphill. Not that it was a difficult climb, but for our six-year-old, it seemed to go on forever! Once we made it to the top, our daughter loved exploring all the ruins. The park does a very good job having markers all around explaining the different parts of the estate, which did help conceptualize what it was like to live on that hilltop a hundred years ago. We had a picnic lunch in the ruins of the main house, overlooking the abandoned swimming pool, all the while wondering what it is like up there in Fall when the leaves change.
All in all, I get what the hype is all about. In one sense, the climb to the ruins does make you feel like you have found a lost gem of the Hudson Valley. The downside is that there are always people around you. Secluded, it was not. But even with that, it was a place we enjoyed exploring, and all wanted to come back again.
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