Hudson
Highlands State Park, Putnam County, New York – April 3, 2011
I was waiting for warmer weather to resume hiking, and finally
decided that it was warm enough. I returned to Hudson Highlands State
Park, having previously visited South Beacon Mountain and Breakneck
Ridge. This day I decided to explore the area of the park near
Nelsonville.
9:14 a.m.: I parked beside Little Stony Point and crossed
highway 9D to the trailhead.
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9:26 a.m.: I began to climb the
white-blazed Washburn trail, and soon was rewarded with a nice view
of the Hudson. In the foreground, one can see the tracks of the
Metro-North Hudson Line. Across the Hudson is the southern part of
Storm King State Park.
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9:33 a.m.: A little higher up the trail,
and one can see the town of Nelsonville (on the near side of Highway
9D), the town of Cold Spring (on the far side of Highway 9D), as well
as Foundry Dock Park, the Constitution Marsh Sanctuary and
Constitution Island, with West Point across the Hudson.
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After hiking around 1.1 miles and climbing to
1060' elevation, I reached a four-way intersection and left the white
trail, instead turning right (southeast) onto the yellow-blazed
Undercliff trail. This trail was blazed in places with signs that
featured an outline of a bull standing on a high spot (Bull
Hill, known unofficially as Mt. Taurus), with words reading
“Nelsonville Footpath / Hiker's Hamlet.” This yellow
trail descended to about 300'.
10:29 a.m.: A few boards
from a hunting blind remain in this twinned tree.
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11:15 a.m.: After 1.0 mile, the yellow
trail intersected the green-blazed Nelsonville Trail, a woods road,
which I followed to the northeast. Right around that intersection I
began seeing debris. First, while still on the yellow trail, I found
some shattered concrete and bricks. Was there a home here at one
time?
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11:16 a.m.: Then, turning onto the green
trail, I found an even worse garbage dump. It looks like part of an
automobile (can anyone identify it?) and an old washing
machine.
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11:20 a.m.: The green trail featured the
same Nelsonville tags as the yellow trail. My East Hudson Trail Map
102 (2010 Edition) of the NY-NJ Trail Conference shows this
area is not part of the Hudson Highlands State Park. [It is
apparently part of the “Nelsonville Trail & Nature
Preserve,” as I'll soon learn.]
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11:22 a.m.: A nice stone wall.
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11:24 a.m.: The green trail crossed
Gatehouse Road, where there was a small parking area and kiosk. The
kiosk featured a map and identified the areas as the Nelsonville
Trail & Nature Preserve. This map disagreed with the NY/NJ
Trail Conference map, which was a little disconcerting. Specifically,
the NY/NJ Trail Conference map did not show the green trail
intersecting Gatehouse Road, and as I was standing at that
intersection, I would say that the NY/NJ Trail Conference map was
wrong. I filed a report, and hopefully they can get to the bottom of
this and fix the map as required.
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11:35 a.m.: After spending a few minutes
unsuccessfully trying to figure out why the two maps didn't agree, I
continued on the green trail, which soon crossed the Catskill
Aqueduct. This house encloses an inverted siphon.
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11:37 a.m.: More litter on the
trail.
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11:57 a.m.: The green trail began
regaining the altitude that I had lost when I departed from the white
trail to the yellow trail. Here, a water
bar protects against erosion.
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12:49 p.m.: After 1.6 miles, the green
trail dead-ended at the northeast end of the white trail. (I had
started at the southwest end of the white trail.) I turned onto the
white trail, climbing toward the top of Bull Hill (which has a peak
at 1420'). The woods road of the green trailed continued on this part
of the white trail, though it then began to switchback, while the
blazed footpath took a straight line toward the top of Bull Hill. I
followed the footpath instead of the switchbacks of the woods
road.
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I even found a few remnants of snow near the
summit.
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12:53 p.m.: More views from the
summit.
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And a stitched panorama from the
summit:
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1:16 p.m.: There were also nice lookouts
descending Bull Hill.
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After 0.9 miles on the white trail, I once again
reached the intersection between the white trail and the yellow
trail. This time I followed the yellow trail in the other direction,
toward the northwest.
1:48 p.m.: The yellow trail
reached a nice overlook of the Hudson, Nelsonville, Cold Spring, West
Point, etc.
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1:55 p.m.: At another overlook, about 0.4
miles after I had turned onto the yellow trail, I had a nice view
toward the northwest. On the left side of the Hudson is Storm King
Mountain. On the right side of the Hudson is Breakneck Point. One can
also see the three tunnels: one carrying the lanes of Highway 9D, and
two carrying the Metro-North Hudson Line.
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The yellow trail then made a 90 degree turn
toward the northeast, after about 0.4 miles crossing over the
aqueduct. After another 0.4 miles, the yellow trail again turned back
toward the northwest, and then after 0.5 miles reached Breakneck
Brook and the intersection with the red-blazed Brook trail.
2:35 p.m.: At the intersection of the yellow and red
trails, a bridge crossed Breakneck Brook. I remained on the southeast
side of the Brook, and turned left (southwest) onto the red
trail.
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The brook:
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2:46 p.m.: The red trail ran along an old
fence, with posts made of of a concrete amalgam. Here, a tree has
grown around the fence wire.
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2:50 p.m.: After about 0.2 miles, the red
trail reached an intersection with the blue-blazed Cornish trail, and
I turned left onto that trail. Remnants of the Edward
J. Cornish Estate remained in this area. The Cornish family had
purchased the land and buildings in 1917, though the property had
been developed over the previous decade by a diamond merchant. There
was a fine mansion, greenhouse, and dairy farm. Here is a screw-in
gate pintle.
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Perhaps this cistern was associated with the
estate.
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Here's a stitched-panoramic view of the
cistern.
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2:59 p.m.: The remains of the
greenhouse.
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3:06 p.m.: The porte cochere of the
mansion.
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A view through a window opening. The mansion was
three stories, and some of the stone walls and chimneys remain. The
mansion was apparently all but abandoned upon the death of the
Cornishes in 1938, and was destroyed by fire in 1956.
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3:19 p.m.: Almost at the end of my hike
and back close to sea level, I had a nice view of the Hudson and
Storm King Mountain. After 1.4 miles, the blue trail returned me to
the start of my hike.
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3:37 p.m.: Since I had parked next to
Little Stony Point, I decided to investigate it:
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A pedestrian bridge crosses over the railroad.
The point itself has a few very short trails and a tiny beach. Here
is a panoramic shot of the Hudson and Storm King Mountain. I probably
walked around 0.6 miles here.
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So this was my first hike of the spring, and was
about 8.5 miles.
