As a test of our hiking abilities, Lisa and I went on a day-hike to the Hudson Highlands State Park, just north of Cold Spring in the Hudson Valley. The cool thing about this park, other than its beauty, is its proximity to New York. It takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to get there from Grand Central on the Metro-North Railroad, and only costs $20 round trip (off-peak) per person. Plus, at the end of your hike, you get to hang out in Cold Spring, which has a few great restaurants and bars.

A lot of people who live in New York City don't understand how close to nature they are. It takes a minimum of cost and effort to get out of the city and onto some beautiful hiking trails.

A necessity when hiking these trails is the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference East Hudson Trails maps. The NYNJTC are the people who blaze and maintain these trails, and their maps are top-notch. Worth every penny, as they are tear-resistant, and waterproof. I wish all maps were produced like these.

What a cute little hiker!

Lisa proves that you don't have to look like a complete dork when hiking. I tend to prove that you do.

At the trail-head, about .5 miles from the train station.

Lisa hates the fanny pack (she won't wear it in the city), but realizes its convenience. Wait 'til you see mine!

Scrambling up those rocky trails was tough work. There was a 1000 foot elevation gain in a very short distance.

It felt great to be out there, though. And what beautiful scenery.

Here's a panorama looking south at the towns of Nelsonville and Cold Spring.

Here's that fanny pack I was talking about earlier. It's pretty big. It's really handy, though. If you can get past the fanny pack stigma, you'll be generously rewarded... or you'll just look like a dork with a fanny pack.

I'm also testing out my new compass here. See?! Dork.

Beautiful, lush green woods and big glacial boulders make this area really special.

Another shot of Fanny Pack Johnson. I'm telling you, it's very handy!

The trail we chose at one point crosses the old Catskill Aqueduct, which was completed in 1917. It brings water from the Ashokan Reservoir near Woodstock, down to New York City.

This is some sort of service building for the aqueduct.

These little pods were all over the place. They contained on little fluffy seed. I'm not sure what tree or plant they were from, though I initially thought they were alien pods.

Nearing the end of the trail, tired, but still wowed by the environment.

We had changed our initial plan, and ended up having to walk on the road about 2 miles back through Nelsonville back to Cold Spring.

Mmmm... beer.

A well deserved pint at the end of a long hike.

< Back for more FUN

Sign the Mailing List >