Harriman-Bear Mountain State Parks Region

State: 
NY
Overview: 

Two parks operated jointly with 52,000 acres of rugged landscape and 235 miles of trails in the New York metropolitan area.

Facts: 

192.3 miles of trails maintained by 94 Trail Conference volunteers and member groups.

Find descriptions of great hikes in this region: Click here.

 

The Hudson Highlands and their extension southwesterly into the Ramapo Mountainsalong the New York-New Jersey border constitute a major topographic feature ofthis region.  These mountains, once more than 10,000 feet high, are now eroded to a still-rugged maximum height of about1400. 

Among the striking evidences ofglaciation in Harriman-Bear Mountain State Parks are the abundant bedrocksurfaces that were scratched, polished, or grooved by rock debris carried byIce Age glaciers.  Erratic boulders -some of immense size - were carried south from the Catskills and elsewhere.Left behind when the glaciers melted, they are widely distributed throughoutthe park.

The 52,000 acres making up Harriman-Bear Mountain State Parksin the Hudson Highlands contain more than 235 miles of hiking trails, includingan 18-mile segment of the Appalachian Trail.  The parks are administered jointly by thePalisades Interstate Park Commission.

Click on either of the first two links below to go to a page with moredetailed descriptions of the parks and trails and for additionalrelevant links. (The pages cover the same ground and are essentiallyidentical.)

For a history of the park and a complete guide to marked and unmarked trails, see Harriman Trails-A Guide and History, by William Myles [New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, 2d ed. 1999].

Parks in the Region


 

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