Bearfort Ridge
This is a long, but worthwhile hike. Interesting, varied terrain throughout, with difficult and easy sections mixed, and spectacular views. Nestled between Greenwood Lake and Upper Greenwood Lake, it's a mountainous series of ridges that make up Abraham S Hewitt State Forest. There were many trails (and shorter options as well) but we took the trail along Bearfort Ridge to Surprise Lake, went around the lake and then back the same trail.
One of the first interesting sights along the trail are these 3 large glacial erratics perched upon the bedrock.
The weather was beautiful as we started out in a hemlock forest with large stones cut into steps reminding me of the trails in Acadia National Park in Maine. The ascent from the road up to the ridge was the most strenuous part, but once at the top, there are long, mostly flat stretches since you follow the ridge line.
Coming up to the ridge, the trees turn to short stubby pines, some of them more like ground cover than trees. Following the ridgeline is rather interesting, as it narrows down in spots and there are sections where the layers of rock are "flaking" away in massive sheets.
The largest fissure I came across was this. Pretty nasty drop were anyone to fall from here.
I climbed down about a 10ft drop to get this shot. This was in the shallow part of the split.
Eventually you come to "Surprise Lake". I suppose it is named this because you come up on it all of a sudden. Going past and around the lake yields excellent views of the NYC skyline, and a fantastic panorama of Greenwood Lake. You begin crossing from ridge to ridge here so the trail gets difficult, with many sections of climbing small rock faces to advance.
New York City from over 30 miles away.
Walking along the 'spine' of the mountain.
My phone and GPS tracking died about halfway through the day, so I am not sure how long the trek was, but I would say 9 miles is a good guess. One of the longest hikes I have done in a long time. But the views along the way make it worthwhile.