This five-mile moderate-to-strenuous hike, in the southern section of Harriman State Park (in Rockland County, New York), parallels several cascading streams, climbs to a number of viewpoints and passes many interesting rock formations. There are several steep climbs and the total elevation gain is over 800 feet. Dogs are permitted on leash. The hike should take about three and one-half hours.
To get to the trailhead from Bergen County, take N.J. Route 17 north to the New York State Thruway. Bear left at the fork (following I-87 toward “Albany”) and take the first exit, Exit 15A (Sloatsburg). Turn left at the bottom of the ramp onto N.Y. Route 17 north, and continue through the Village of Sloatsburg. Just past the village, turn right at the traffic light, following the signs for Harriman State Park and Seven Lakes Drive.
Cross an overpass over railroad tracks and continue along the Seven Lakes Drive, passing under the Thruway overpass, and soon entering Harriman State Park. Proceed for another mile (from the Thruway overpass) to the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center, on the right side of the road. Park in the Visitor Center’s parking lot. If this parking lot is full, you can park in another lot about 500 feet further along Seven Lakes Drive or along the eastern shoulder of the road. (Make sure that your car is entirely beyond the white line on the side of the road.) GPS address: 100 Seven Lakes Drive, Sloatsburg, NY 10974. The trailhead is 25 miles from Teaneck and it should take about 30 minutes to get there.
From the parking lot, head east (left when facing the woods) on the broad red-on-white-blazed Pine Meadow Trail, passing the Visitor Center on the left. In about 300 feet, you’ll notice a white-blazed trail that begins on the right. Turn right onto this trail, known as the Reeves Brook Trail, which follows a woods road uphill. Soon, the trail begins to parallel Reeves Brook, which is to the left.
In half a mile, another woods road leaves to the right. A short distance beyond, follow the white-blazed trail as it bears left and begins a steeper climb on a footpath, passing attractive cascades in the brook (when the water is high). After passing a huge boulder on the right, the trail levels off. It then bears left and continues to climb through mountain laurel thickets. It next proceeds over undulating terrain, climbing gradually (but steeply in places), with several short descents, and continuing to parallel the brook.
About a mile and a half from the start, you’ll notice a steep escarpment just ahead. Here, you’ll reach a junction with the blue-on-white-blazed Seven Hills Trail. Turn right onto the Seven Hills Trail, which climbs over a rise, descends rather steeply, and then ascends gradually.
In about a third of a mile, you’ll come to a junction with the black-on-white-blazed Raccoon Brook Hills (RBH) Trail, which begins on the left. Continue ahead a short distance on the Seven Hills Trail to an open rock ledge to the right of the trail, known as Torne View. From this west-facing viewpoint, the Ramapo Torne may be seen on the left, with the hills of Sterling Forest to the west.
Now retrace your steps to the junction with the RBH Trail. Turn right and follow this black-on-white-blazed trail, which descends to cross a stream on rocks (passing the end of the white-blazed Reeves Brook Trail on the way down) and then steeply climbs an escarpment. The trail continues along the ridge and soon reaches a southwest-facing viewpoint from a rock ledge over the Torne Valley, with the New York Thruway beyond. After a short climb, the trail emerges onto another rock ledge with several pitch pines. This ledge — with a large rock that juts out, known as The Pulpit — also affords a southwest-facing view. After a short descent, the trail climbs to reach a junction with the orange-blazed Hillburn-Torne-Sebago (HTS) Trail on an open rock ledge (the junction is marked by paint blazes on the rocks).
Turn left onto the HTS Trail, which soon proceeds through dense mountain laurel thickets. It descends to cross a strip cleared for a gas pipeline, then climbs to two minor summits. The second summit affords a view over Chipmunk Mountain, to the right. The trail now begins a steady descent. On the way down, the blue-on-white-blazed Seven Hills Trail joins briefly from the left and soon leaves to the right.
After a rocky descent through mountain laurel thickets, the HTS Trail reaches a woods road, the route of the red-on-white-blazed Pine Meadow Trail. You will take the Pine Meadow Trail all the way back to the parking area. Turn left and briefly follow the joint HTS/Pine Meadow Trail along the woods road, but just ahead, where the HTS Trail departs to the right, continue ahead on the Pine Meadow Trail. Soon, you’ll come to a section where the woods road has eroded, and the trail has been relocated onto a footpath to the left.
After crossing a gas pipeline and then Quartz Brook on a wooden bridge, the Pine Meadow Trail has been rerouted onto a footpath on the right to avoid an eroded stretch of the woods road. At the end of the footpath detour, it reaches a junction where the yellow-blazed Stony Brook Trail begins on the right. Continue to follow the Pine Meadow Trail as it bears left and begins to run close to Stony Brook, with its attractive cascades. To bypass several wet sections of the woods road, the trail has been relocated to the hillside on the left, where it crosses another wooden bridge. Just beyond, you’ll come to the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center and the parking lot where the hike began.
This hiking article 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 2,000 miles of hiking trails and publishes a library of hiking maps and books. The Trail Conference’s office is at 600 Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202), Mahwah; (201) 512-9348; www.nynjtc.org. Daniel Chazin can be reached at [email protected].
