Photo by Glenn Oleksak

Leaving Goose Pond Mountain State Park, turn left onto Bull Mill Road for a short distance, then left onto Laroe Road and follow it for .4 miles to Trout Brook Road. Turn right on Trout Brook Road and follow it for .7 miles to a sharp left bend where it becomes Camp Monroe Road. Follow this for .3 miles to Lakes Road (CR 5). Turn right onto Lakes Road, and follow it for 1.7 miles to where the Appalachian Trail (white) crosses the road 32 miles from Cornwall. Parking is available at this spot. 

There are no Highlands Trail blazes along the Appalachian Trail, from Lakes Road to Mombasa High Point.

Photo by Glenn Oleksak

Turn left to follow the northbound Appalachian Trail (white) for 1.5 miles, past Fitzgerald Falls, and steeply up to the junction with the Allis Trail at 5.6 miles, just before Mombasa High Point. The Allis trail is blazed with blue rectangles and is only sporadically co-blazed with HT teal diamonds. Turn right onto the co-aligned Allis and Highlands Trails, following them to NY 17A at 9.7 miles. Along the way, the Doris Duke Trail (white blaze with yellow “DD”) joins for about a mile before turning off. Parking is available in a lot across 17A.

Photo by Glenn Oleksak

Cross 17A, pass the parking area, and continue on the co-aligned Sterling Ridge (blue on white) and Highlands Trails for 8.6 miles, passing the Sterling Fire Tower, crossing into New Jersey, and coming to the junction of East Shore Road and County 511 (Greenwood Lake Turnpike) at 18.3 miles, where there is parking.