Tag: #AllTrails

  • Hiking Review: Mianus River Gorge Preserve

    It had been a month since we had last been hiking. July was pretty busy with camps and trips and visiting friends, so as this weekend approached, I was pretty adamant that we were going hiking, damn it! Not that I had to coerce my family, but there was a thought that they might not be that into it. So, I went looking for a trail that wasn’t too far from home, which meant finding a place that was only about an hour drive time from the City. That’s how I chose Mianus River Gorge Preserve in Westchester County.

    My go to for trail finding is still the AllTrails app on my phone, and the site has not steered us wrong on our search of hiking spots. The app rated Mianus as “easy,” and I wouldn’t go that far, as there were some ups and downs on the trail for the gorge. “Moderate” might have been a little more accurate.

    That have been said, this place was a jewel. We got there at 11am, an hour later than we normally like to start a hike, but the trails were empty of people. Though we were not too far from a major road and a neighborhood, it was silent out there except for the sounds of the river and the forest. I actually found it hard to believe that a forest this untouched, it is one of the last old growth forests in the area, could exist so close to New York City. The river cutting through the land, and the embankment of the gorge was just beautiful to experience. Sadly, my pictures don’t do the Preserve justice.

    It had all the things we have come to like about hiking; the trails were all well maintained, which was good for the kid, the solitude of the forest was impeccable, and the trail head had plenty of parking.  The kid enjoyed spotting fish in the river, and the diversity of the fungi on the forest floor. For me and the wife, we enjoyed that the trails were rugged enough so that we felt like we were getting a work out.

    When we finished our hike, and had a picnic out of the back of our car. It was a littler after twelve noon, when people started to arrive and began to hike the trail. That lead us to believe that the late afternoon is the popular time there. As we watched other couples and families head out on the trails, we decided that Mianus River Gorge Preserve is trail that we want to do again. Maybe in the Fall.

  • Hiking Review: The Cornish Estate Trail

    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.

  • Hiking Review: Rockefeller State Park Preserve – David’s Loop and Swan Lake

    The Summer of Hiking is under way. At least it was on Saturday. We used the AllTrails app to look for a place to go, and though we enjoyed the Old Mine Trail from last week, it did take us over an hour to get there. The idea this week was to find something closer to home, which meant under forty-fine minutes to get there. The wife found a high rated trail, David’s Loop, which is in Rockefeller State Park Preserve.

    We got on the road by 9am, taking the Saw Mill Parkway, which isn’t know for being traffic free on weekends, but at that hour it was an easy drive. Exiting off the parkway, we made our way to Bedford Road where the trailhead was. We did have to park along the road, which wasn’t awful, but with a kid, it did make me a little nervous to walk there.

    The hike went well, even though it was a very hot day. Now, I wouldn’t necessary call David’s Loop a trail, so much as it was a well-maintained gravel path. For that reason, it was easy on us, and never felt too taxing. I did enjoy the fact that the forest made a canopy over the path, so we never felt the direct heat of the day. The Preserve itself was quite beautiful, and peaceful. We crossed at least two streams, which the kid got down and splashed in. It took us about forty-five minutes for us to reach Swan Lake. We had an early lunch picnic on the shore of the lake, and saw several different varieties of bird flying through the trees. We finished the loop back to the car, which was more uphill, and though the kid wasn’t happy about it, this was more of the “workout” part of hiking, which I was looking for. We made it back home in the City by 1pm, so all on all, it took us for four hours for our adventure, which still gave us enough of our day to do other things. Like nap on the sofa.

  • The Summer of Hiking 2021

    At the start of Summer 2020, as the pandemic was going strong, our family unit thought it was a good idea to take day trips on most Saturdays, and a few Sundays. The goal was simple, just get out of the City, and at that time the guidance was all good with going out to the woods and taking your mask off. Provided no one was around. This lead us to hike a few trails in New York, and Connecticut. We all enjoyed it and I even wrote about it last year.

    And we have been talking about doing it again. The Spring came, and we were still talking about it. I even got my AllTrails app up and running, and started looking for places we all could go, including the dog. But we just kept talking…

    Well, this weekend, we collectively got off our butts and did something about it!

    We went shopping!

    Down to the REI store at Broadway and Lafayette to get hiking boots and all-weather pants. Hell, throw in some socks while we’re at it. I had a feeling that the shoe salesman was upselling us when we were honest and said we were beginners, but I didn’t want to rock the boat, as everyone else was having a good time with trying the boots on.

    Now, it was a rainy mess up here in the Northeast over Memorial Day, but Monday was clear. We got in the car and headed out to the Old Mine Road Trail, which is rated moderate and good for kids and dogs. We had a good time and felt like we were being active as a family, which really is the point here.

    I also know myself well enough that if I spend money on an activity, I will follow through on it. Hence why I had to buy the boots; I got some skin in the game. Now, hiking is something that I have to do.