Bear Moutain New York Hike

This hike was more than a little outside my normal stomping grounds of North Georgia. It was an hour outside New York City, done as part of trip to see my brother in the big city.


Bear Mountain State Park is pretty nice and fairly crowded. On this particular Saturday it was being used as the host of a high school cross country meet and an Oktoberfest gathering. We came for the hiking but I can certainly see why others come to relax and getaway from the hustle and bustle of New York City.


The hike was close to 4 miles long and is essentially and up and down hike to the top of Bear Mountain. The first half of the hike was quite challenging as it is basically straight up a rocky slope. The following picture isn't exactly flattering to myself but does a good job of showing a sample of this path.




Upon reaching the top hikers are greeted with a nice vista of the Hudson river, a bridge crossing it and several smaller tree covered hills in the area.







The hike back down follows a small chunk of the Appalachian Trail. Apparently this section was the first part of the trail that was created. An easy descent, I found it to be unimpressive. Simply too much foot traffic in the area and sparse trees. This prevents it from delivering the feeling of isolation that my prior experiences with the AT have given me.


Despite taking a lot out of me, I really enjoyed the hike up the mountain. The vistas up top are worthy of a climb. Only the walk back down and the overuse of the trail leaves something to be desired.