People are always surprised to learn about how many great day hikes there are within about 2 hours of NYC and Long Island. There are so many great towns just north of the city. I love getting out early to hike and then stopping at a local coffee shop before heading home. Below are a few of our favorites!
Bull Hill, Highland Falls
Bull Hill is a great challenge, with amazing views. It’s a great hike to build endurance, and explore a trail that’s a bit more challenging. From the top you can see the Hudson River and West Point. I do recommend bringing lots of water, enough for you and your pup if they’re coming along, as there isn’t much on the trail. However, as a bonus there are surprisingly clean porta-pottys at the trail head, maintained by local parks team members.
In the town of Cold Spring, which is right nearby, Cold Spring Coffee is a must visit. If you get there early enough for one of their stuffed bagels, it is the perfect post hike snack. Sitting on a bench on Main Street having coffee and a delish baked snack is a favorite post hike ritual of ours.
Storm King Mountain
Storm King has been a bucket list hike of mine for a while now. The views are incredible, but it is so. Hard. It’s up, then down, then up, then down, then back up, and back down. Lots of scrambles, and did I mention the up and down? I was beyond proud of Oban for kicking butt on this one, and I’m super happy we waited for a cool day to do it. It was in the 60s when we arrived at the trail head, and honestly, if it were over 70 or remotely humid, it would have been too taxing for him. Did I mention the up and down?
If you’re up for the challenge, I cannot recommend this hike enough, the views of the Hudson Valley are straight out of a magazine. From the top you can see the winding road leading through the mountainside, the Hudson River, and across the valley below. I am glad I did this one with a group, especially having Oban with me. Having extra hands to help gather dogs at the top or bottom of the scrambles was super helpful. I also found it a bit hard to navigate, and we really needed to pay attention to the map and trail markers. I am sure in the fall, the colors are stunning from the top. Definitely bring lots of water, and don’t let the short mileage fool you, we took about 4.5 hours to do 3.2 miles because of how challenging it was.
North Point and Pitching Point Loop
We tackled this trail with our friends on a very cold day last January. The views of the Hudson River from the top are spectacular. This one is challenging, but very doable. Not as hard as Storm King, but the views also aren’t quite as good. However, it was a pretty quiet trail, which we definitely appreciated. I would suggest starting early, as the trailhead parking lot is super small. Also, becareful where you park, because we almost got fully boxed in (it was a stressful few minutes).
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