Harriman State Park, Pine Meadow Lake Out & Back, 6.7 Miles RT, 650' +/-, November 23, 2025

November 23, 2025

This weekend we stayed close to the city and explored Harriman State Park. I didn’t do a ton of research before heading out, but I learned that the land was donated by the Harriman family, who were affiliated with the railroad. They gifted a large portion of land to create a state park in order to prevent the state from building a prison at Bear Mountain.

I chose a relatively easy hike in the southern portion of Harriman, about 45 minutes outside the city. The trail follows a steady, rocky grade along Pine Meadow Brook up to Pine Meadow Lake. The area around the lake was once settled by the Conklin family around 1724. The last resident, Ramsey Conklin, was evicted by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in 1935 so the lake could be constructed. There’s a sign along the trail near the spot where the cabin once stood, along with the ruins of an old pumphouse and remnants of group camps that were never completed.

Along the way we passed some interesting boulder formations which are great places to take a break or just sit and enjoy the lake views. The hike was a little over six miles, and we finished fairly early so we could get back to the city. There are so many more trails in Harriman, and it’s such a great option so close to NYC. I’m looking forward to exploring more of the park and its history.

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Catskills, Mt. Tremper Fire Tower via Jessup Road, Willow Trail & Warner Creek Trail, 7.1 Miles RT, 1,837' +/-, Max Elevation 2,740', October 19, 2025

October 19, 2025

We wanted to make the best out of our weekend, so we woke up and headed out to hike Mount Tremper from the Willow Parking Area located off Jessup Road. This approach is longer but less steep than hiking it from Old Rt. 28/Mt. Tremper-Phoenicia Rd.

We parked in the small lot in a residential area that had room for about six cars. The trail immediately begins a steep ascent on an old jeep road through mostly hardwoods. We hiked through the beautiful Hoyt Hollow, where huge boulders line the walls of the hollow. Here, the trail narrows as it passes through more conifers. It’s my favorite section of this hike. Some parts of the trail were slightly eroded but still very manageable. It also loses some elevation before ascending again as it meets the junction with the Warner Creek Trail.

The Warner Creek Trail is a section of the Long Path that continues past the summit of Mount Tremper to Silver Hollow Notch. It’s an undulating stretch, and the winds really picked up here. With the autumn leaves falling, we had some views to the north and south. Eventually, we reached the 47-foot fire tower at the summit. We climbed as high as we could up to the locked cab and enjoyed views of the Burroughs Range, Stony Clove, Deep Notch, and the Devil’s Path Range. We had a snack and checked out the Baldwin lean-to before heading back the way we came.

The weather was starting to turn, and it looked like rain was moving in, so we hiked back down at a decent pace. I was so focused and deep in my groove, enjoying the wind and racing the ominous weather that seemed to be approaching. As we descended, the wind died down, and we stayed well ahead of the rain. It was a great hike. I’ve really fallen in love with the Catskills!

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Catskills, Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Tower via Dry Brook Ridge, 6 Miles RT, 1,197' +/-, Max Elevation, 3,723', October 18, 2025

October 18, 2025

Today’s hike took us to the top of Balsam Lake Mountain.

The very first fire tower ever placed on a mountaintop in New York State was installed here in 1887. The 47 foot tower that stands today was erected in 1919, closed in 1988, and later reopened in 2000.

We began our hike at the trailhead off Mill Brook Road, where there’s a parking lot with a kiosk and clear signage pointing the way. Crossing the road, we followed the blue markers on the Dry Brook Ridge Trail. The trail was moderately graded by Catskill standards and wide, with rocks that were easy to navigate. Large moss-covered boulders and ferns lined the path and we passed a small mountain spring along the way.

Eventually, we reached a junction with the red marked Balsam Lake Mountain Trail leading to the summit. The grade became steeper here, but still very manageable. The trail soon transitioned into an aromatic forest of balsam fir and spruce before opening into a clearing with the Observer’s Cabin and the Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Tower. Picnic tables are scattered around the area, and a group of young hikers was gathered there playing music and having a great time, adding to the joyful, welcoming energy of the mountain.

We climbed to the top of the tower and took in the views stretching over the tops of the balsam fir trees. Ladybugs were flying around the the tower and the clearing adding to the happy atmosphere. We hung out for a while, had a snack, and then began our descent.

It was a wonderful day… nothing too strenuous and just the right amount of effort to make you feel like you earned your dinner. I absolutely loved this hike.

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Adirondack Park, Cat and Thomas Mountains, 7.8 Miles RT, 1,647' +/-, 2,031 Max Elevation, July 12, 2022

July 15, 2022

Today we hiked both Cat and Thomas Mountains. Both summits are part of the Lake George 12ster challenge. The day prior we had hiked hiked Sleeping Beauty, also part of the 12ster. So we’ve now done 3 of the 12 peaks should we decided to complete the challenge in the future. The weather was calling for potential severe thunder storms, so our Plan B was to just do Thomas if the weather decided to turn since we’d already hiked to the top of Cat the last time we were in the Adirondacks. At the start of the hike at the trailhead off Valley Woods Road we heard thunder. We began hiking but noted the time to see if we’d hear more rumbling. Luckily it seemed to pass, and when we reached the summit of Thomas the weather looked promising. We we decided to continue on to Cat Mountain and complete the loop. The hike to Thomas was fairly easy up an old carriage road. The summit opened up to beautiful views of Lake George. At one time there was a cabin on the summit, but it has since been taking down. Next we found the trail to continue on to Cat. From here the trail quickly made a steep beeline down. The trail had quite a bit of up and down and a few easy scrambles. When we arrived at the spur for Cat, we decided to hike up even though we’d done it before. The weather was still holding in our favor, so we took in the views and then made our way back down and back to the trailhead. The weather Gods must have been in our favor today because on the way out, the sky opened up and it began to pour. I was happy we were able to get in the two peaks in one hike. Another beautiful day in the ADK!

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