Goosepond Mountain State Park
Directions
From the NYS Thruway, take exit 16 to NY-17 West (also US-6 West ). In about 5 miles take exit 128 for County Road 51 toward Oxford Depot, turn right onto CR 51 follow it 0.3-mile to a stop sign at NY-17M
- Lazy Hill Road trailhead parking area: Turn left on NY-17M, a large parking area is immediately on your left – it has two entrances if you miss the first turn-off. The trailhead, with a steel rope blocking vehicular traffic, is across the roadway. GPS Coordinates: 41.345678, -74.226142
- Nature Trail parking area: Turn right on onto NY-17M. In about a minute a small parking area will be on the left. GPS Coordinates: 41.348400,-74.234467
- Laroe Road parking area (not recommended): Parking is also available off Laroe Road along the southwest border of the park. It may hold only four cars, since blocking the access gate is prohibited. Turn left onto NY-17M, travel 0.6 mile to Bull Mill Road, turn right. Follow the curving road 3.3 miles to a “T” at Laroe Road (CR 45). Turn right, travel 1.0 mile to turnout on the right before reaching Spruce Hill Road up on the left. As a warning to slow down, a “45 MPH” speed limit sign is just before the parking area. GPS Coordinates: 41.319140, -74.257965
- Bull Mill Road parking: Newly created trailhead in 2018, follow instructions from NY 17M to Laroe Road above. Along Bull Mill Road before reaching Laroe Road parking area is on the left. Approximate GPS Coordinates: 41.309280, -74.245899
Park Overview
The pastoral park is undeveloped except for an abandoned paved road crisscrossed with a labyrinth of unmarked narrow trails. A section of the Highlands Trail traverses it as the only blazed trail.
Trail Overview
Like a backbone, the once paved Lazy Hill Road, now converted to a hiking trail, spans the original parkland for 2.6 miles from near the intersection of Craigville Road (CR 51) and NY-17M southwest to Laroe Road (CR 45), where the pathway ultimately becomes narrower.
The Highlands Trail (teal blaze) follows a 1.8-mile segment of Lazy Hill Road from NY 17M southwest into the park. In 2018 the trail was rerouted south (left) at this point, becoming a spur to a parking area on Bull Mill Road. The new two-mile section is a well-graded multi-use trail built for use by hikers and non-motorized bikes. The changed configuration avoids a precarious walk for through hikers along Laroe Road. For more information see NY/NJ Trail Walker, Spring 2018, p.16, which includes an updated trail map.
A confusing maze of un-blazed trails, more like narrow bike paths, cross over the original pathway. Watch out for bikers. Sporadically an orange blaze (always this color) in the form of an arrow points out one of these side paths; it would be easy to become lost by following one without a GPS and compass. It's best as a linear out-and-back hike.
Along Lazy Hill Road there are pleasing views of open fields, rolling hills and, off in the distance, Goose Pond Mountain with an elevation of 1061 feet. This is also a great place to hike on a hot summer day since nearly the entire length is under a canopy of roadside trees.
A previously washed out stone arch bridge over Seely Brook, near the southwest end of Lazy Hill Road, was restored in 2018.
A few reminders of past residents include what was clearly a grand stair step entrance to a house (very close to the only “T” intersection of paved roads), an easily missed sign pointing out a path through a field to the “Board Family Cemetery,” dry-stone boundary walls, and stretches of barbed wire. A few cutoff tops of utility poles remain scattered about at the side of the road.
A separate Nature Trail goes into and around a 5-acre “compensatory mitigation wetlands” a little further north off NY-17M (click to view NYSparks trail map including an insert of the area). It is part of a 108-acre state regulated wetlands serving as a flood plain for Seely Brook. It includes a section of boardwalk above the swamps and is a quiet, beautiful spot with plenty of bird sounds and long, wide vistas of the flood plain. A section of the two-loop trail, which is under a half-mile, passes by a small bottomland hardwood forest. There is no place simply to sit comfortably and enjoy the sounds and views. Small little benches are scattered about, but they are more like low wobbly footstools.
Use the Web Map link on this site to view a trail map including the 2018 re-routed Highlands Trail.
Park Description
Largely undeveloped, this is a beautiful park with a mixture of woods, open fields and wetlands amid the hills and valleys of Orange County. The land was originally acquired with funds from the New York Bond Acts of 1960 and 1962. All existing structures were removed to create this expansive recreation area, which has since been returning to its natural state.
In 2016 the Open Space Institute acquired a 400-acre section near the southern end of the park. Together with Trail Conference volunteers they constructed a small parking area along Bull Mill Road, and assisted in the realignment of the Highlands Trail. In 2018 the new acreage was formally added to Goosepond Mountain State Park under the jurisdiction of the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission (PIPC)
It is located about six miles north of commodity-heavy Woodbury Common "premium outlet mall" and might prove to be the quiet respite needed before the ride home – or a place for a hiker to enjoy nature while the family shops down the road.