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Harriman State Park West Mountain

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Highlights:

Outstanding views, Doodletown. Good day hike or short overnight backpack.
Near:Bear Mountain, NY
Scenery:
Distance:6 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:1000 ft
Hike Time:3 hours
Difficulty:Moderate
Trail Condition:OK, but a few difficult spots
HikeType:Loop



Summary: This makes a great day hike, or a nice, short overnight backpack if you stay at the West Mtn shelter. Catch the trailhead in in parking lot. Trail becomes the white blazed Appalachain Trail (AT), continue south and begin steep climb. Near top, AT joins the blue blazed Timp-Torne Trl and follows ridgeline south, with outstanding views along the way. AT leaves to right, stay on Timp-Torne Trl. It soon passes a shelter with outstanding views of Hudson Valley and NYC in the distance. Trail then descends steeply to a valley. The Timp Torne Trl turns right, stay left on unblazed woods road. Road soon joins the 1777 trail, turn left onto it and pass through Doodletown. Shortly after pavement starts, turn left at intersection onto unpaved and unblazed woods road. Follow to yellow blazed SBM Trl and turn right on it. It soon joins the 1777W, turn left here and follow back to parking.
Trailhead: Palisades Interstate Parkway to exit 19 (Just after Anthony Wayne Rec area). East on 7 Lakes/Perkins Memorial Dr. Parking is on right about 1/2 mile after exit. (Lat:41.30408 Lon:-74.0163)
Trail Guides for Harriman State Park West Mountain:
New York Walk Book
by NY/NJ Trail Conference  (NY/NJ Trail con)

Harriman Trails A Guide & History
by William Myles (New York New Jersey Trail Conference)

Best Seasons: Year-Round
User Groups: Hikers, Dogs,
Ranger Contact: Palisades Interstate Park Commission (845) 786-2701
Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Brian Sniatkowski, who has posted  50 other hikes on this site
Trail Reviews  Page 1 of 3   Submit your own review
Reviewed by MQ on 3/5/2012
We took the Fawn trail from Anthony Wayne to the Red trail...At that point it was suppose to intersect with the AT (white) but we ran into a old unarked road as most of the trailmarkers were spray painted over because they moved the AT??...So White was suppose to go to Red. So thankfully we had a compass because we would have been lost...We took the old road to the east (right) to the Red and Yellow trail. We were trying to get to tthe Yellow to the Blue for the ridge walk...After a jaunt on the old road we found the yellow trailhead...I have to tell you that Yellow was not mellow!! Steep incline lead us to some terrific views of the Hudson, Perkins and Bear Mountain..after reaching the Summit we proceeded on some ups and downs until we got

Reviewed by Phil on 6/15/2011
My lady and I hiked the yellow trail (less flat/paved ways) to the shelter and then took yellow to the bridle path to connect to the Appalachian on the way back. Our 1-night stay was not bad although the shelter had a bad leak so we might as well have been better off 70 feet away at a fire pit with a tent. But a great view and a hike that was just enough of a challenge with an overnight pack in the rain. Had a great time and eager to go back.

Reviewed by Jd on 5/3/2011
Done the west mountain shelter overnight 3 times now. Great hike, views etc but you should take a proper map.

Reviewed by Mark on 4/16/2011
I recently hiked the AT through Harriman. I was using the AT trail guide maps (2007) and was unable to locate the West Mountain Shelter due to the map stating it was on the yellow blazed trail. I was already exausted and then to try to find the shelter was even taxing more. I wound up camping at a knoll on the yellow trail.

Reviewed by MK on 9/23/2010
We hiked and camped out at Harriman for a HS trip and it was great! We even saw the light pollution in the city.

Reviewed by JTC on 5/31/2010
Great views. Don't miss the Timp! Doodletown is fun for younger kids.

Reviewed by Dennis on 4/8/2010
I allways liked hiking on West Mt. In the 1970'S I would lead a hike for the Serria Club on West Mt. starting at the Bear Mountian Inn. It even had a very small swamp area. I enjoyed hiking there very much.

Reviewed by RobO on 3/21/2010
I chose this as my first solo overnighter and am very happy about it - I'm certain that I'll actually do it again. Advice I will repeat - bring a map. I was planning on camping at or near the West Mountain Shelter, but with the wonderful weather the entire area was quite busy with folks. After the steep descent, I ended up staying the night at an unmarked shelter at the intersection of the "unblazed woods road" (rocky almost stream like path) and the 1777 (found out later that it is at the edge of the southernmost Doodletown house "remains"). The second unblazed path is right after the Doodletown historical house markers. Great hike.


Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site.
Keys: New York Hiking, New York Trails, New York Hikes, Rockland County Hiking, Rockland County Trails, Rockland County Hikes


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