Monday, May 18, 2015

Hiking in the Hudson Highlands

Hudson RiverSunday's hike followed some of the lesser-known trails on the east side of the Hudson River - that is, not Breakneck or Anthony's Nose - on an extremely muggy day. A few weeks earlier, we would have had many spectacular views. Now, leaves obscured most of them. The photo at left is from the train ride up to the hike.

The trails we were on varied widely in quality. The Appalachian Trail, of course, is both well maintained and popular, but the trails at Manitou Point were in need of some trimming. Actually, they needed a bit more than that; in some places they seemed to be simply blazed, not truly built. There was some road walking as well, on gravel roads lined with attractive homes.

My recommendation would be to do this area when the leaves are off the trees; it seems a shame to be this close to the Hudson and not see much of it. In summer, stick to the big hills with spectacular views. But, then again, you may want to go in June, when there are raspberries for the picking. It depends what you want out of your hike. But it is a pleasant area at any time.

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