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Harriman Park, NY
If Bear Mountain is the flagship of the Palisades Interstate Park system, Harriman is its heart. Consider its scale: with more than 44,000 acres, it is PIPC’s largest park. Consider its location, too: Harriman is bounded on the north by Bear Mountain State Park and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and on the south and east by Sterling Forest State Park. Finally, consider its history: the park bears the name of the Harriman family – Edward Henry, the railroad baron, his wife Mary, and their sons Averell, PIPC Commissioner and New York Governor and Roland, PIPC Commissioner – whose fortune contributed mightily to the early achievements of the Commission.
Over the years, several improvements have been added to foster recreation at Harriman: three sand beaches, wheelchair accessible fishing, cross-country skiing facilities, picnic areas, campgrounds, and a network of children’s camps, to name a few. And yet, much of the park remains undeveloped and provides habitat for a rich variety of wildlife. Blessed with wooded hills and valleys, crystalline lakes and reservoirs – 31 of them! – scenic vistas and vantage points, Harriman is also a hikers’ paradise. It boasts over 200 miles of trails, including segments of the Appalachian Trail and the Long Path.
For more information contact us at 845-786-2701.
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Anthony Wayne Recreation Area
Named after General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, who led a successful midnight assault against the British garrison at Stony Point in 1776, the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area has greeted bikers, picnickers, and concert-goers for almost 50 years. When it opened, in June, 1955, the Area’s central features were the pools and bathhouse, which proved so popular that their capacity had to be expanded from 1,800 to 3,600 only two years after opening. The following year the picnic and parking lots were expanded to accommodate an additional 5,000 people and 1,200 cars.
Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, the swimming pool and bathhouses have been removed. Today, the Area’s 35 acres, located five miles from Bear Mountain, attract bikers, hikers and picnickers, and are the site of various summer events.
For more information, contact us at 845-942-2560.
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Appalachian Trail and the Long Path Loop Trail
FEATURES: This loop hike follows portions of the Appalachian Trail and the Long Path, passing Silvermine Lake and Lake Nawahunta.
DIFFICULTY: Moderate to strenuous.
TIME: About 4½ hours.
MAP: New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Harriman-Bear Mountain Trails Map #4.
DOGS: Permitted on leash.
HOW TO GET THERE: Take Route 17 north to the New York State Thruway and take the first exit, Exit 15A (Sloatsburg). Turn left at the bottom of the ramp onto Route 17 north, and continue through the Village of Sloatsburg. Just past the village, turn right at the traffic light, following the sign for Seven Lakes Drive/Harriman State Park. Continue along Seven Lakes Drive for about 12 miles to the Silvermine Picnic Area, on the right side of the road (the Silvermine Picnic Area is 2.1 miles beyond the Tiorati Circle). Park in the large parking area near the entrance (a $6 parking fee is charged on weekends in the summer).
LENGTH: About 7.6 miles.HOW TO GET THERE: Take Route 17 north to the New York State Thruway and take the first exit, Exit 15A (Sloatsburg). Turn left at the bottom of the ramp onto Route 17 north, and continue through the Village of Sloatsburg. Just past the village, turn right at the traffic light, following the sign for Seven Lakes Drive/Harriman State Park. Continue along Seven Lakes Drive for about 12 miles to the Silvermine Picnic Area, on the right side of the road (the Silvermine Picnic Area is 2.1 miles beyond the Tiorati Circle). Park in the large parking area near the entrance (a $6 parking fee is charged on weekends in the summer).
DESCRIPTION: This hike climbs over a series of ridges in the northern portion of Harriman State Park. It includes sections of two long-distance trails -- the Appalachian Trail, which extends for more than 2,150 miles from Maine to Georgia, and the Long Path, which runs for about 350 miles, from the George Washington Bridge to near Albany. The hike offers only limited views, especially in the summer, when the leaves are on the trees. But blueberry bushes are plentiful along the entire route, and hikers can enjoy the ripe blueberries during July and August.
To begin the hike, find the bridge over the stream at the southern end of the Silvermine Picnic Area (marked with a sign "Welcome to the Silvermine Boat Launch"). Here you will see a yellow blaze of the Menomine Trail, which you will follow for the first part of the hike. Cross the bridge, then turn left onto a dirt road, passing two park maintenance buildings. Just before reaching Silvermine Lake, turn right, then bear left when you reach a brown-painted cinder block building. Here, the yellow blazes resume. Follow the trail into the woods on a rocky footpath.
Soon you'll again reach the shore of the lake. In a short distance, the trail widens to a woods road -- the old Bockey Swamp Road. Before Silvermine Lake was created in 1934, the road followed the edge of what was then known as the Bockey Swamp. When the lake was filled with water, the northern portion of the road was submerged, and the old road emerges from the lake here.
Overnight camping
Continue ahead on the level woods road. After passing the southern end of the lake, the road begins to climb, and it soon reaches a T-intersection. Continue to follow the yellow blazes of the Menomine Trail, which turns left onto another woods road. After crossing the inlet of the lake, the road begins to climb, first gradually, then more steeply.
At the top of the rise, the stone William Brien Memorial Shelter is on the left. Overnight camping is permitted here, and the shelter is frequented by through-hikers on the Appalachian Trail, who hope to complete the entire trail from Georgia to Maine. If you're lucky, you might meet one of those through-hikers. Built in 1933 as the Letterrock Shelter, it was renamed in 1973 in memory of Brien. This is a good place to take a break.
When you're ready to continue, proceed for about 50 feet ahead on the Menomine Trail to a junction with the white-blazed Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and the red-dot-on-white-blazed Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail (R-D). Turn right onto the joint A.T./R-D, which climbs to one of the peaks of Letterrock Mountain, with a dense understory of blueberries.
You might get a glimpse of the Hudson River from the crest of the rise, but most views are obscured by the trees. The A.T./R-D descends from the peak, then levels off through dense mountain laurel.
Highest point
After crossing the intermittent Bockey Swamp Brook, the A.T. diverges from the R-D. Bear left, leaving the A.T., and continue to follow the red-dot-on-white-blazed R-D Trail. The R-D now begins a steady, gradual climb of Goshen Mountain.
At the top, it crosses the summit ridge. Upon reaching the 1,320-foot summit at the southern end of the ridge (with a limited west-facing view), the trail turns sharply right and begins a steady descent.
Soon the R-D levels off on a woods road. It follows the road for about half a mile, then -- with Tiorati Brook Road visible ahead in the distance -- turns sharply right. The trail now follows an old woods road that has, for part of the way, narrowed to a footpath. After a level stretch, the trail begins a gradual descent to Seven Lakes Drive.
The R-D crosses Seven Lakes Drive and continues on a wide dirt road that leads into Youmans Flats, a park maintenance area. To the left, the ridge of Fingerboard Mountain may be seen across a wetland. At the entrance to the maintenance area, the trail turns left along a chain-link fence and begins to follow a grassy woods road. Soon the road bears left, crosses a wooden bridge over a stream and begins a gentle climb.
In a short distance you'll reach a junction where the A.T. crosses. Here, the R-D turns left and once again begins to run jointly with the A.T., but you should proceed straight ahead, leaving the R-D, and continue along the grassy woods road.
Although unmarked, the road is clear and easily followed, even in several places where it is partially overgrown by vegetation and has narrowed to a footpath.
When you reach the crest of the rise, watch for a cairn (pile of rocks) on the right. Turn sharply right here onto the aqua-blazed Long Path, which heads north, following the ridge of Stockbridge Mountain. The trail climbs steeply over a rise, then descends. After a level stretch, the Long Path again begins to climb, eventually reaching the 1,340-foot summit of the mountain -- the highest point of the hike. The summit is marked by a large rock ledge, with a limited view to the west through the trees.
The trail continues north along the ridge of the mountain, with some ups and downs. In about a mile, as the trail descends, you'll notice a large cantilevered rock -- known as Hippo Rock -- to the left. Just beyond, you'll reach a junction with the yellow-blazed Menomine Trail.
Lake's outlet
Turn right and follow the Menomine Trail, which descends on an old woods road. It soon bears left and levels off, then turns right and resumes its descent. Near the base of the descent, you'll pass through a pine grove and cross the outlet of Lake Nawahunta. The trail briefly parallels the lake, then bears right onto the Nawahunta Fire Road, which it follows to Seven Lakes Drive.
The trail crosses the road and reenters the woods. After crossing the entrance road to an abandoned parking area for the former Silvermine Ski Area (this parking area is overgrown with vegetation), the trail follows a dirt road through a picnic area and soon reaches the parking area where the hike began.
"Hiking" is provided by Daniel Chazin of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. The trail conference is a volunteer organization that builds and maintains over 1,600 miles of hiking trails and publishes a library of hiking maps and books, including a two-map set for Harriman-Bear Mountain Trails ($9.95), "Harriman Trails: A Guide and History," by William J. Myles ($16.95) and the "New York Walk Book" ($22.95). The Trail Conference's office is at 156 Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202), Mahwah; 201-512-9348; nynjtc.org.
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Beaver Pond Campground
Beaver Pond Campground adjoins the Lake Welch Recreation Area within Harriman State Park. The camground includes tent and trailer sites, as well as accommodations for larger vehicles. Comfort stations, showers, laundry facilities and a dumping station are available amenities for campers.
The campground is a great spot for overnighters to then utilize Harriman Park for hiking, fishing, boating and swimming.
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Group Camps
Early in our existence, PIPC realized its special position to be socially responsible toward the less privileged. One of the largest and most significant categories of improvements in Harriman State Park reflects these responsibilities.
The Commissioners believed that parks should be for all people, particularly for the underprivileged, who had little leisure time and no easy access to fresh air. Accordingly, beginning in 1906, the Commission put together social programs for the relief of the urban poor. The essence of these social programs was the group camp – tents and cabins, with facilities, to make the outdoors accessible to those who could barely afford to take time off.
With the Commission providing land and funds to construct the first of approximately 100 camps around 13 mountain lakes, the Park’s previously undeveloped rugged space became an outlet for the ever-expanding urban population of metropolitan New York. In time, thousands of disadvantaged inner-city women and children were coming to the park every summer for a 2-week camp “vacation” to experience nature and return to the city better nourished.
Early supporters of the Group Camps included Jacob Riis, Jane Addams, the YMCA, the YWCA, almost every religious denomination, and the Boys and Girl Scouts of America.
The group camp program coincided with the construction of a series of dams designed to create larger bodies of water from existing lakes and swamps. That program, which began at Carr Pond in 1913, gave Harriman State Park 12 new lakes in 15 years (adding 3,000 acres to the water surface), and multiplied the recreation possibilities available to group campers. Lake Stahahe, for instance, was created from Carr Pond in 1913, and became the site of a large Boy Scout group camp the same year. Dammed in 1915, Little Long Pond produced the three Kanawauke lakes, which were chosen as the site of two group camps in 1922. The previous year, Lake Cohasset, in the Arden Valley, had also been dammed, creating a 97-acre lake now known as Upper Cohasset (to distinguish it from Lower Cohasset, created in 1920.) Two group camps were built there in 1921.
The group camps program inspired similar endeavors in national and state parks.
Today, non-profit organizations, in collaboration with the Commission, manage the 32 surviving lakefront children's relief camps in Harriman State Park, bringing hope, learning, and a chance to experience nature to more than 4,500 children every day.
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Lake Tiorati
Lake Tiorati is conveniently located along Seven Lakes Drive in the northern section of Harriman State Park. This scenic area provides its patrons with numerous trailheads for hiking, including a section of the Appalachian Trail and the Long Path, and a picnic area with grills and tables. At the northern end of the lake, a beach offers swimming from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The bathhouse in this area provides showers, restrooms, and vending machines for the public. Road cycling is very popular in this section of the park because of the beautiful surroundings. Lake Tiorati is one of the largest lakes in Harriman and is very popular for boating, by permit, and fishing. The area offers wheelchair accessible fishing. This facility also offers, by permit, rustic group campground facilities.
In the neighboring areas, Lake Silvermine and Lake Kanawauke, fishing is permitted and boat launches are available to boaters with PIPC boat permits. Picnic areas with grills and tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Restroom facilities are available year-round at Lake Silvermine. There is also a great wintertime sledding hill at Silvermine. Swimming is not permitted in either area.
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Lake Welch
Located on the north side of a lake 1,015 feet above sea level in the upper section of the ancient Ramapo Mountains, Lake Welch Beach is, by any standard, an imposing recreation center: its beach is 2,850 feet long; its bathhouse contains 3,600 lockers; and its parking lot can accommodate 3,200 cars. Fifteen thousand visitors can be accommodated at one time.
Originally a small body of water with farmland around the edges, Lake Welch (formerly known as Beaver Pond) became the large lake that it is today when a dam was completed in 1942.
In 1947, the Commission re-dedicated the area to the memory of the Commission's first General manager, Major William Addams Welch. He worked for the park from 1914 to 1940. Welch is considered by many to be the father of the state park movement. He gained worldwide respect with his work in the planning for the development of several U.S. national parks, including Shenandoah, Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks and parks in Europe, South America and New Zealand. Educated as a "landscape engineer", Welch specialized in land planning and preservation and the design of recreation facilities and programs. He spearheaded the blazing of the Appalachian Trail, the development of the various park facilities in both New jersey and New York, the construction of the group camps, and the design of the Palisades Interstate Parkway.
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Sebago Beach
Lake Sebago Beach in Harriman State Park is a day use facility open from mid June through Labor Day. Sebago Beach contains a _ mile sandy beach with a protected swimming area in the lake. There are three large picnic groves providing shaded and sunny areas to enjoy the day. Picnic tables and barbecue grills are provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is a playground, and two large playfields on site, for outdoor games. A newly remodeled bathhouse provides restroom facilities, changing areas and showers. Fishing is permitted with an appropriate New York State fishing license. A boat launch is located on Lake Sebago, which provides non-motorized vessel access with an approved PIPC/ OPRHP boat permit.
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Sebago Cabin Camping
The Sebago Cabin camping complex is located on Lake Sebago. It is open from mid-April through Columbus Day. The Sebago Cabin area consists of 40 rustic cabins, located in a serene wooded setting with each cabin offering a fire ring and picnic table. The Sebago Cabin area also has a playground, basketball hoop, horseshoe pit, private swimming area, boat rental, game room, and educational programs. Two of the 40 cabins have recently been remodeled and upgraded to full service cottages, which offer all the comforts of home.
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Silvermine Picnic Area
As the Park developed in the 1920s and 1930s, the public’s enthusiastic response sometimes overwhelmed the available facilities. Winter recreation is a case in point. By 1941, the increasing popularity of winter sports had focused attention on the need for more adequate facilities in the Bear Mountain and Harriman sections of the Park. The existing facilities, at Bear Mountain and the incomplete Old Silvermine Ski Tow, about five miles southwest of the Bear Mountain Inn, had been overtaxed the previous winter.
Lack of space precluded expanding winter sports at Bear Mountain; but Silvermine appeared capable of expansion into a large-scale development. Plans were prepared for providing for parking lots for 1,000 cars, a 15-acre open ski slope for beginners, the improvement of expert and intermediate ski trails, a shelter and refreshment stand, comfort stations, and other necessary facilities to provide a complete development. Unfortunately, the vagaries of the northeast weather forced the closure of the Silvermine Ski Center in the 1970s.
Today at Lake Silvermine, fishing is permitted and boat launches are available to boaters with PIPC boat permits. Picnic areas with grills and tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Restroom facilities are available year-round. There is also a great wintertime sledding hill at Silvermine. Swimming is not permitted.
For more information, please contact us at 845-351-2568.
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Tiorati Workshop for Environmental Learning
The Tiorati Workshop promotes science and environmental education in diverse and high-need urban schools. A collaborative venture of Bank Street College and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, its goal is to help students develop science literacy and critical academic skills while fostering a love and appreciation for the natural environment. Workshop staffers and teachers integrate environmental science and concepts directly with the classroom curriculum; teachers lead children’s explorations of natural environments throughout the year and across the curriculum, not just during stand-alone fieldtrips. The Mary W. Harriman Foundation supports the Workshop with funding that enables PIPC to transport children from inner-city schools to the Workshop at Lake Tiorati.
For more information, please contact us at 845-351-2568.
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Visitor Center
Going our way? The Park Visitor Center sells trail and road maps, hiking and travel guides, local history and nature books, puppets, posters, film, coffee, snacks, NY fishing licenses, Empire Passports, and all things Hudson Valley.
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Postcards from the Parks
Here are some related links:
www.hudsonrivervalley.net
www.njpalisades.org
www.hudsonriver.com
www.orangetourism.org
www.iloveny.com
www.nysparks.com
www.thepurpleheart.com
www.bearmountainzoo.org
www.hudsonrivervalley.com
www.rocklandlakenaturecenter.org
www.exploreny400.com/home.php
www.heritageny.gov/RevWar/revwar.cfm
www.nynjtc.org/index.php
www.highlandfallsny.com
www.hikefordiscovery.org/wch
www.ptny.org
www.rocklandlakeandhookmt.org
For Your Information:
At Bear Mountain, Anthony Wayne, Silvermine, Tiorati, Kanawauke and Sebago, fees are collected weekends starting Memorial Day Weekend until the third weekend in June at that time fees are collected daily. There are no fees for designated hiker parking areas, Reeves Meadow or Skannatati Parking lot.
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