Trail Conditions Forum

Can anyone update on the snow depth in or around Hudson Highlands after this spat of rain and warm weather? Would love to do some trail running next weekend if things have cleared up, but don't want to venture up from the city if the snow's still knee-deep! Thanks

I would love it if more people provided comments on hikes/trail conditions especially after snow storms. X-countried at Ward pound Ridge today on the red trail. Just a few people had been out before us - just one on part of the red trail, so we did some trail breaking. Great base - 12" at least, very good conditions and absolutely perfect weather. I was surprised to see a sign posted at the start of the red trail stating that, when snow covered, the trails are reserved for skiers and not hikers. There were a lot of snow show tracks - fine with me as there is plenty of room on red/yellow/green trails for both.

1/4/2011 Hello to all and welcome to a new year. Brother & I completed the walk across the Orange County Valley in late December, just prior to Christmas and the snow storm. We now have roughly 112 miles under our belt since Jan. 2010. Looking forward to continuing the journey. Had more parking problems in Bullville and on Shawana Lodge Rd. No one wants hikers or non-residents to park in the area. Definitly do NOT try to park at the base of Flaherty Rd. by the SRT trailhead. Resident complained about hikers in the past. Glad we asked permission, even though we were rejected. Hopefully we headed off more ill will that seems to exist in this area. We ended up parking on the roadway right-of-way just south of the final ascent of the ridge to the SRT. Not a lot of room but at least there is parking. Hike from Highland Lakes State Park to Bullville was good. Park is a local jewel in this rapidly over-developing area and a nice relief from the road walking in this section. We are glad someone had the foresight to purchase it in the 1960's. Beavers by the pond the Path passes in the park are very industrious. We were amazed how many trees they have taken down and furthermore the way in which they fell the trees and the size of the trees felled. In particular, the beavers mainly fell the trees by circularly gnawing the wood away from the tree they are working to fell. In several cases they changed their tactics by gnawing through the tree from one side to the other. We are curious how they fare when they get to the end and the tree falls. Do they hear the sound of the fall or feel some vibration and know to move away? No former beaver remains were observed by these trees so they obviously know something we do not.... Ran into horseback riders in the park, who constantly reminded us that hunting is not allowed in the park. Many seemed relieved when informed that we were just hikers passing through the park. This seems to be a problem for the Park. Locust trees seemed numerous along the road section of this area prior to Bullville. Some fairly large ones at that. It's not clear if they were planted or are native to the area. Pizza store at Bullville is good, worth stopping for lunch or food. The service station & convenience store across the street were really generous in allowing us to park in their lot for both shuttles we performed in this area to walk the Path. Bullville to the SRT trailhead was a repeat of the road walking characterizing this area in the valley. Alot of development and continued development. No where but the road to eat lunch and no "rest" areas along the way. Had a couple of situations with local dogs not contained to their owners property. There were one or two tense moments. The views of the Wurtsboro Ridge from the former Shawan-Gun Airport were great. So were the views of the valley as one ascends the ridge towards the SRT trailhead. While there were nice areas in the valley during the walk and certainly alot of interesting history, I believe some improvements to the trail may want to be considered in this section. The Long Path Guide forward states the following about the Long Path, "Second, the trail shows how public and private interests can work together to preserve our open spaces. The trail passes through more private land than any other trail maintained by the Trail Conference. This would not have been possible without us learning how to interact with private landowners and other environmental groups to obtain rights-of-way for the trail. Third, by forming the Long Path North Hiking Club to construct the northern parts of the trail, it showed how we could create more trails to be maintained by the Trail Conference and create public support through trail construction." I think our organization may need interact more with private landowners and the County in the valley. Our experience was not stellar and found this area to need more outreach to the local public to understand the benefits of the trail through their "neighborhood", the trial's low impact and to make passage through the valley a little more enjoyable and easy for the hikers passing through. That being said, has anyone been up on the SRT from Wurtsboro to Cragsmoor? We are trying determine how much snow is there and if the trail is easily passable. 12.5 miles is not an easy section with snowshoes for a day trip.

Great snowshoeing at High Point, NJ for the past two days. Friday afternoon, snowshoeed Cedar swamp and part of Monument Trails. Today around the Steeny Kill Lake and took the Steen Kill to Monument Trail then to Lake Marcia. Snow is melting.

Anyone been to Harriman since the storm? I'm wondering how much snow is on the ground, particularly in the Tuxedo/Sloatsburg areas...

Since one is allowed to camp overnight at shelters in Harriman State Park, it is also legal to park overnight at all designated parking areas in the park -- including Anthony Wayne.

We'll be hiking/camping to Bald Rock in a few weeks. Should we expect snow? Also, I know there was a spring or river down the ravine from the Bald Rock lean-to. Is it still running?

Is the Anthony Wayne parking lot still open ( I thought I read somewhere earlier in the year that it would be closed) and if so, can you park there for overnight backpacking hikes?

Found Sunday on lightly used unmarked trail. Identify trail or glasses and I will contact you off site to figure a way for returning them.

11/6/2010 Began hiking Orange County Valley section, crossing from Schunemunk Mountain to the Wurtsboro Ridge. The section hiked was from the Hil-Mar Lodge parking area to Hulsetown Rd. in Farmingdale by Tomahawk Lake. As noted in the current Long Path Guide, 5th Ed., this section of the path has been rerouted to avoid hiking for longer periods on Rt.s 208 and 94. Even for the short periods of time spent on both of these roadways is not pleasant, as they are both very busy. The rerouting of the path was a welcome change to these busy roadways, however, even these alternate roads are busy and one must be on the lookout for speeding cars along these secondary roads. A review of the Guide would report that the total mileage for this section is 8.9 miles. My review determined that the new route lessens the distance to 8.0 miles, not too substantially different from the mileage in the guide. The hike's path changes from the book's description once you reach Rt. 208. You now proceed south to Horton Rd. (further south than Hudson Rd.), which you turn right on and follow to Rt. 94. At Rt. 94 you cross the highway on to Tuthill Rd. and then turn left onto Cherry Hill Rd. which you follow to its end, where it intersects Hulsetown Rd. You then proceed south on Hulsetown Rd. to Goshen Rd., where the trail picks up its original path again. The guide should be updated in that the dairy farms, horse farms and open fields are gone in this section. The farmers have all sold their land to developers and you will pass section after section of new housing developments, all reminding me of the cookie cutter stuff that has been developed in western Jersey. Big boxes with few windows and vinyl siding on 3 to 5 acre plots and no trees or landscaping. Even a simple act as trying to find a "rest room" is difficult in this section. This area is rapidly becoming another bedroom to NYC, slowed only by the recent economic downturn. Weather was great but cool. Most of the leaves are down. Approached the beginning of the hike via Rt. 32 & Taylor Rd. By using this entry for a day hike you will see great views of the Moodna Creek Viaduct, a large train trestle that spans the valley. It is an extension of the commuter rail line that runs from Hoboken NJ to Middletown, NY. The best views are from Orrs Mills Rd. and Otterkill Rd. On a sunny day the views are great and worth stopping for to take a few pictures. Tomahawk Lake was beautiful, for what little you can see on Cherry Hill Rd. and Hulsetown Rd. The lake is private and there are no really good points to see the lake save one brief section on Hulsetown Rd. near the intersection of Cherry Hill Rd. Many white oaks were observed in this area. One particularly good sighting was of a pileated woodpecker near Tomahawk Lake. A large and magnificent bird. Finally, the parking at the intersection of Hulsetown Rd., Goshen Rd. & Farmingdale Rd. needs to be undertaken with caution. We tried to park at the edges of the roadway of Goshen and Hulsetown Rd., which appearred to be a right-of-way for the roadway and was not posted. The farmer lives across the street on the corner of Farmingdale & Hulsetown and immediately asked us to get off his land, which we did. We then asked the other landowner on the opposite side of the road if we could park on his property (also not posted) for several hours. He thanked us for asking and granted us permission to park there. Moral of the story: Assume nothing and ask for permission to park in ANY place in the valley. Additionally, the TC may want to further review or determine places to park in this area, where this type of issue will not be a problem. Our final "find" was a brief visit to the Moffat (Washingtonville) Library, looking for a restroom. It is located in the center of town, on Rt. 94. The building is of a unique construction and was donated to the town by one of the community's wealthy residents in the late 1800's, David Moffat. The following information was taken from Wikipedia, to better sum up a description on this unique building. The only fact ommitted, that was noted at the library itself, was that the windows were ordered and built by the Tiffany Co. "It was named after David Moffat, a native of Washingtonville who later made a fortune in railroads, mining and finance in Colorado and settled in Denver. In 1885, nearing the age of 50, he decided he wanted to do something for his hometown, and so commissioned the library for the site of his boyhood home, the trading post his father Samuel had established at the crossroads in 1811. The library would be named for his mother Catherine as well as his father.[2] He declared its purpose to be "the diffusion of useful knowledge".[2] New York architect George Edward Harney designed a building in the then-popular Queen Anne style, to be built of brick made in nearby Goshen. The finished building included a Howard clock on the top, Greek columns and an auditorium with seating for 375.[2] The formal dedication took place on April 25, 1887.[2] However, there was a library, but no books. The Moffat Library Association was formed to establish a library and reading room, and the following year after it had acquired bookcases, some books were shelved.[2] By 1899, when the stained glass windows were installed, the library's holdings consisted of 2,000 volumes, most donated by Moffat.[2] In 1994, the library was added to the National Register of Historic Places as well as its state equivalent. The next year, the Moffat Library Association changed its status from private to public."