OT: Hiking in Bear Mountain (NY)

[DarrenCT]

Anyone ever hike in that area before?

I went hiking yesterday and had a pretty freakin good time (other than almost getting lost)

The hiking in that area is very challenging, especially around this time of year with the snow and and ice.

FYI, Bear Mountain is in the Cat Skills and is near route 9W where lotsa people bike...

[fiamme red]

FYI, Bear Mountain is in the Cat SkillsNo, the Catskills are much farther north.

Christmas and Bear Mountain go well together. This is one of my favorite of Carl Barks' Donald Duck stories:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_on_Bear_Mountain

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1a/Christmasonbearmountain.jpg/200px-Christmasonbearmountain.jpg

[DarrenCT]

No, the Catskills are much farther north.

Christams and Bear Mountain go well together. This is one of my favorite of Carl Barks' Donald Duck stories:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_on_Bear_Mountain

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1a/Christmasonbearmountain.jpg/200px-Christmasonbearmountain.jpg

true. however... how many miles more north? like 10 miles? not that much futher (i dont think)

i am making any sense?

[fiamme red]

true. however... how many miles more north? like 10 miles? not that much futher (i dont think)

i am making any sense?I'd say about 50 miles north of Bear Mountain.

[christian]

Yeah, the Catskills are at least an hour north of Bear Mountain/Harriman.

Some other good hikes around Bear Mountain are Anthony's Nose, Breakneck Ridge, and Storm King.

- Christian

[DarrenCT]

breakneck is pretty steep. im pretty sure a couple people have died there in the past year or so...

[CNY rider]

I used to do some fantastic mountain biking in Harriman State Park. This was back in the mid to late 1980's. There weren't that many mountain bikers back then, and I typically went during the fall and winter. I rarely saw any hikers or bikers. More recently I think they have banned mountain bikers from most if not all of the park.

[DarrenCT]

i took this in the fall....

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1518/bridgegoodgk6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[victoryfactory]

I have been hiking in Bear Mt/Harriman for 30 years. I am always happy
when someone "discovers" how cool it is. 52,000 acres!

Get the NY/NJ trail conf. Maps (set of 2) at the bookstore on the Palisades
Parkway (or on line)
This is a great taste of wilderness along the Hudson just N of NYC <1hr
and just south of West Point.

There are a couple of marked Mt bike trails (see map) but it is limited.

VF

[julia]

looks and sounds like a great hike, makes me want to go there
can't read that name without thinking of this. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ-OBrw3I9Y&feature=related

good times!

[Fixed]

when i lived in rockland co. you could walk a trail and come to a look out over west haverstraw but that was a long time ago
luck cats :beer: imho

[DarrenCT]

this is a pretty sweet shelter on bear mountain. you can see nyc on a clear day

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7418/bearshelterhd2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[DarrenCT]

on a hike on breakneck mountain. you can see why they name it this...

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/543/dscn1080vc7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Fixed]

you cat you have that and the city i envy you
cheers :beer:

[Blue Jays]

Fantastic pictures, the color just pops right off the monitor with the floating mist nearly looking 3-D in effect.
I've never been to that huge park. If it's as rugged as the pictures suggest, one would need to search for the suitable mountainbiking terrain!

[DarrenCT]

Fantastic pictures, the color just pops right off the monitor with the floating mist nearly looking 3-D in effect.
I've never been to that huge park (52,000 acres, wow! Most of the ones around here are 7000 acres or so. http://sbw.sportbikes.com/images/smilies/eek.gif) If it's as rugged as the pictures suggest, one would need to search for the suitable mountainbiking terrain!

the above picture is a cool mountain biking jump

it hasnt been attempted in awhile atmo

[Blue Jays]

Cool bicycle jump, indeed! Probably hasn't been attempted in, oh, 300 years or so. ;)

[Viper]

The BMW club I roll with drives from NJ to the top of Bear Mountain. I've done it a few times, see parking lot here (note: Darren, yes we race there, but I always slow down near bikers/hikers and throw Belgian beers at/near them). I'm the clydesdale in flip flops enjoying a cold one.

[DarrenCT]

wowzaa!

lotsa beamers bro

ya all sorts of clubs meet there. there are always bikers meeting there also....

[neverraced]

i took this in the fall....

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1518/bridgegoodgk6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


...And that was about the last decent riding day of the year. The best time to ride to the top is on a weekday morning in the autumn/winter. No motorcycles, no BMW Clubs, no airplanes, and absolutely clear views of NYC, CT, PA, and even the Catskills (several thousand miles to the north). I'm not a terribly deep or contemplative guy, but the silence and the view are pretty inspiring.

[victoryfactory]

Harriman/Bear Mt is also a very popular road riding destination for
NYC type. Many road races are held there, and the young guys ride
up 9W from the George Washington bridge every weekend.
Then, for the back pack set, there's this: