Hike Reviews

September 23, 2019
5
Green Pond Boston Mine Long Loop - Trail under temp construction
bobk5000
I had an good time on this trail this weekend (9/22/2019). The trail description may not clearly indicate the trail which has a section under temporary construction accurately. After the section of the trail as described "…Just before the trail begins a steeper descent, an unmarked side trail on the right leads to a limited west-facing viewpoint from open rocks..." I passed by the unmarked trail turnoff and instead continued on the red triangle on the white blazes trail. The red triangle on white blazes trail ended at a stream crossing and there was yellow tape trail appearing to be under temporary construction which came around and after passing under the horizontal yellow tape and turning left, I rejoined joined with the red triangle on white blazes trail. The recommended unmarked trail was very muddy and almost unpassable. The trail was challenging with various terrains and interesting views.
November 20, 2017
5
One of my favorites
Marie from France
I did this hike on November 19. I took the bus from Port Authority, and the driver is used to letting people off at Arden Valley Road. A lot of diversity in this hike: interesting rock formations, beautifully untouched Green Pond, the entrance of the Boston Mine, as well as some views (even if this is not the best hike for views). I did it in 2.5 hours, taking only a few short breaks. I wouldn't recommend doing this hike on a very windy day: there are a few dead trees next to the trail climbing up to the Valley of Boulders, and there were a lot of branches falling. There were a lot of cars parked at Elk Penn, but I didn't see many people on the hike. I had to wait for the bus back to the city for about 1.5 hours, so I climbed a bit on the AT on the other side of the road, it had some nice views as well.
October 21, 2015
0
You should have followed the yellow blazes
Daniel Chazin
<p><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14.583333015441895px; background-color: #ebf2f8;">I was at Green Pond this morning and checked out the route of the hike. &nbsp;I think I know where you went wrong. &nbsp;You should have continued to follow the yellow blazes of the Dunning Trail all the way to Island Pond Road. &nbsp;Instead, it seems that you turned off onto the white-blazed Nurian Trail. &nbsp;The trails run very close to each other, so it is easy to switch from one to the other if you are not paying close attention. &nbsp;The trick is to follow the yellow blazes, not the white ones. &nbsp;I have edited the hike description to make this clearer.</span></p>
October 18, 2015
0
My dad and I did this hike
diamondf467
<p>My dad and I did this hike today. We really liked it However, we got very confused after the part after Green Pond. We walked down next to the pond (which was so serene!) and passed the overhang rock; however, we ended up back where we started. The trail merged brieflty with Nurian but then we ended up back where we started (Nurian trail and Dunning Trail meet). We couldnt find the way to the mine (or anything called Island Pond Rd) and there were no other markings except to go loop back around the pond (and come out where we were) or go back the way we came. We opted to go back the way we came as there really was no other option the way we saw it :( We really wanted to see the mine, but oh well next time. If someone can tell us where we went wrong, we would appreciate it. Overall, lovely hike (at least the part we did).&nbsp;</p>
December 26, 2013
0
elk pen paved, whoa, i need
brianepstein81
<p>elk pen paved, whoa, i need to see that with my own eyes</p>
October 31, 2013
0
Nice fall hike
TrekkerHikes
<p>I love this hike in the fall - the view above Green Pond always has a lot of nice color.</p> <p>Some photos:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.agiletrekker.blogspot.com/2013/08/green-pond-boston-mine-longer-loop-from.html">http://www.agiletrekker.blogspot.com/2013/08/green-pond-boston-mine-longer-loop-from.html</a></p>
October 12, 2013
0
Rare chance to take the original trail
Tim from Pearl River
<p>Today the Stahahe Brook was so low, it was just a trickle and it was easy to cross and take the original trail, though the blazing is a little spotty it was still easy to follow.&nbsp; A rare opportunity!&nbsp; Great hike! And since the last time I was here, the Elk Pen parking lot has been nicely paved and the access road has been redone, so it's a lot easier to drive in!</p>
March 01, 2013
0
Thanks
rshiking14
<p>Great and thanks for everything you've done!</p>
January 27, 2013
0
Hike description has been updated
Daniel Chazin
<p>You are correct that the Arden Road bridge over Stahahe Brook was washed out by Hurricane Irene and will not be replaced.&nbsp; As a result, the trail has been rerouted onto the other side of the brook to eliminate the need for this crossing.&nbsp; The hike description has been updated.</p>
January 27, 2013
0
Awesome
rshiking14
<p>This hike shared the best of Harriman, including beautiful ponds, cool rock features, and tranquility of the woods and great views. I read in the forum that the trail was rerouted as to not cross the stahahe brook trail. Can you guys update this in the write up? It may throw some hikers off. They don't wan't to miss this great hike. Thanks!</p>
May 11, 2012
0
Green Pond hike
karl329
<P>I really enjoyed this hike yesterday; there was so much to see.&nbsp; Although I've seen many boulders in Harriman State Park, I found the&nbsp;Valley of Boulders very interesting; so many large boulders in one place.&nbsp; Green Pond was a treat.&nbsp; A beautiful pond on the top of the mountain AND it had a beaver lodge in it.&nbsp; The Boston Mine was surprising as it just appeared in a rock formation.&nbsp; I wonder how the miners knew there was ore (iron I'm guessing by the rust colored walls of the mine)?&nbsp; I extended the hike by continuing along the trail after passing the Arden-Surebridge turn off to view the Garfield mine.&nbsp; It was no where near as interesting as the Boston Mine.&nbsp; It was basically a hole in the ground filled with water - a small pond.&nbsp; All in all, a very enjoyable hike.</P>
December 14, 2011
0
Great Hike
AmyHaag
<P>We just completed this hike this afternoon and we really enjoyed it.&nbsp;</P> <P>The only issue that we ran into is that both of the footbridges that cross the Stahahe Brook are no longer there.&nbsp; For the second crossing it was not&nbsp; huge deal, as there is a down tree that we could walk across.&nbsp; The first one proved to be much more challenging as this is a large brook and we had our 7 pound Yorkie with us.</P> <P>Despite the bridges not being there, we had a great time!&nbsp; Thank you!</P>
December 09, 2010
0
Thanks Daniel
Purple Octopus
This makes sense. I normally have a very long stride and when walking on the street, the distances on my pedometer always match almost exactly to my mapped distances using the gmaps pedometer hack. It's a great pedometer (Omron) so I really didn't think it was the problem. However, now that you brought my attention to it, I do tend to take very small steps while hiking. Especially yesterday on the downhills, I was quite hesitant due to lots of acorns & slippery leaves underfoot, & probably took many more steps than usual to cover the same distance. Appreciate the explanation! Debra
December 09, 2010
0
Measurement of trail distances
Daniel Chazin
<p> In some cases, the distances given for the hikes on our website are just estimates.  However, in the case of hikes in Harriman-Bear Mountain State Parks, all of the trails have been carefully measured with a measuring wheel.  These detailed measurements appear in the guidebook <em>Harriman Trails: A Guide and History, </em>the new edition of which should be available within a week.  So, the measurement of the length of this hike should be exactly correct. </p> <p> I have found pedometers to be quite inaccurate, especially when hiking on rocky, steep trails.  Remember, a pedometer measures distances by counting your footsteps, and it is normal to take a shorter step when negotiating rocky or steep terrain.  So I am not entirely surprised that your pedometer would normally record a greater distance than that indicated by measuring the trails with a wheel. </p>
December 09, 2010
0
Hike was great
Purple Octopus
Did this hike yesterday. Trail conditions were good, hike was exactly as described. Fantastic ice flows & icicles were seen when coming down off the final viewpoint. My Omron pedometer always tells me that these 4+ mile hikes are around 6 miles however. How is the distance measured?
November 24, 2010
0
Thanks for your feedback.
Georgette Weir
Thanks for your feedback. We're glad you enjoyed the hike. Though we don't require a subscription to access the info on our website, donations and/or membership in the Trail Conference help keep this website up and running AND support the work we do to keep 1700+ miles of trails in our region open and in good shape for trail users. We appreciate your support!
November 21, 2010
0
Great Hike!
jcl
I did this hike today with my husband and my dog. The above trail guide was dead on and easy to follow. Not only was the hike beautiful, it was extremely diverse with climbs, descents, ponds, waterfalls, streams to cross. On top of that, it was so well blazed. We've hike a lot in the area, and it was our favorite. Thanks for the wonderful directions!! It was really nice to be able to find a great trail without subscribing to some organization that costs $50 for a yearly subscription!
June 30, 2010
0
Hike description has been fixed
Daniel Chazin
I'm really sorry that you were unable to follow the description.  It seems that a critical paragraph was deleted from the online description -- how, why and when, I have no idea.  In any event, guided by the next paragraph that did appear, you turned right on the Nurian Trail, when in fact, you should have turned left.  That's why you got lost -- and it was not your fault.  The missing paragraph has been put back in the description, and you and others should now be able to complete this beautiful hike without getting lost.  Again, I apologize for the problem, and I want to thank you for bringing this important error to our attention.
June 30, 2010
0
Another problem with the description
hoppe557
I tried to take this hike today, but had some problems. I had this page printed out, as well as the New York Walk Book with the trail map. We never found the Dunning trail. As we were on the Nurian trail, we came to a broken up/paved asphalt road that wasn't on the description. we doubled back and followed the white blazed trail, which we presumed to be the Nurian trail, and we kept looking for the junction of the Dunning trail, but it led us back down toward 87. We hiked back up to the asphalt road, and followed it around the 200 yards or so that our map and NY Walk Book mentioned. At this point, we were at the tip of Lake Stahahe, and we followed the orad around, but found no trail that led back into the woods. We came upon a camp with a few buildings, and open field, and 2 woods roads, but we could never fine the Dunning trail or any yellow blazes. Did we miss something? Thanks.
September 25, 2009
0
Problem with hike description
Daniel Chazin
<p> You are indeed correct; it seems that, in the course of uploading the hike description to the web site, two paragraphs were omitted.  I have fixed the hike description, and the missing paragraphs have been restored.  Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention! </p> <p> As to your second question, portions of the last part of the route follow footpaths where you must pay careful attention to the blazes.  I would not recommend doing this part of the hike when it is nearly dark. </p>
September 20, 2009
0
This trail description
jlipsius
Haven't hiked it yet but I'm concerned. The description talks about a mine in para. 5 but has no reference beforehand. Has the appearance of some missing or out of place text. Out of place would serve to get a hiker lost. Just wondering. Answers? Also, wondering if last half of this hike is suitable in near-dark (that is, is last half on very clear paths?).