AboutWounded Knee Expertise I can advise on anything having to do with hiking and backpacking skills and equipment, including map and compass and orienteering skills. I cannot advise on the use of GPS devices. I cannot advise on car camping or group camping (10 or more people). My primary geographic expertise is in the US Northeast, but I know how to find information on hiking and backpacking just about anywhere.
Experience I've been hiking and backpacking for about 40 years, including ongoing section hiking of the Appalachian Trail (almost 1300 miles so far). I have hiked extensively in the New York Metropolitan Area, as well as various other areas from Virginia north, including upstate New York, New England, and Eastern Canada.
Publications New York Walk Book, 7th Ed. New Jersey Walk Book, 2nd Ed.
Education/Credentials Not applicable to this area of expertise.
Question QUESTION: Hi, my husband and I would like to take our kids (6 of them ages 4-14)on a hike for a couple of hours somewhere in the NY NJ area. We live in north Jersey. We were thinking of Bear Mountain in NY. Do you have any suggestions? If we need to split up and I stay with the younger ones and my husband with the older ones that would be ok.
ANSWER: I'm basing my answer on the size and age range of the group.
There are some relatively gentle routes in the Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks that you might want to consider. I would not advise trying to climb Bear Mountain -- it's a challenging 1100 foot climb from the Bear Mountain Inn to the peak. Instead, consider one of the routes through Doodletown, an abandoned village about an easy mile or so from the Inn on the 1779/1777 trails. Or if you want more of a focus on natural beauty, try starting from the Reeves Meadow visitor center on Seven Lakes Drive and hiking along Stony Brook and Pine Meadow Brook. The route has a few minor ups and downs, but nothing exhausting, and it takes you along some very pleasant cascades and rapids. You'd be following the Sony Brook and Pine Meadow trails.
For either of these routes, make sure that you bring plenty of water (at least a liter per person -- more, if the weather is warm). Get a copy of the NY-NJ Trail Conference map set for the area and study your possible routes in advance. Finally, understand that cell phone reception is spotty in the parks -- don't rely on them stay in communication with each other.
BTW, if you know from previous experience that a more challenging hike would be better for your family, let me know, and I'll give some other recommendations.
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QUESTION: I ordered the trail maps for the area that you recommended.. Is the 5 mile hike you recommended round trip or we end at different point? also if we only walked 1.5 and came back do you think the kids will see some nice scenery? They especially love water.
ANSWER: On both hikes, the mileages are round trip, returning along pretty much the route that you took going in. The Doodletown hike is about 3-4 miles round trip, and the Stony Brook/Pine Meadow is 4-5 miles round trip. If they love water, I'd strongly recommend the Stony Brook/Pine Meadow hike, even though it's a bit harder. If everyone is feeling energetic, you can hike the full distance to Pine Meadow Lake and back; alternatively, you can make the hike shorter by making the Ga-Nus-Qua rocks your turnaround point.
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QUESTION: Sorry to bother you one more time.my 12 year old son is afraid that this hike is too easy. He would like something more challenging. He climbed Mount Taminy (I never did). Do you think this trail is similar to to that. I want the older kids to be challenged. I could stay back with the little ones.
Answer In that case, go ahead and try the hike up Bear Mountain from the Inn -- that's about the equivalent of the Mount Tammany climb. You can do it as a loop -- go up the Major Welch trail down the Appalachian Trail, or vice versa. Or you may want to try a hike up the Ramapo-Dunderberg and Tuxedo-Mount Ivy trails to Claudius Smith's Den -- it has a good viewpoint along the way that could serve as a stopping point for you and the little ones. Claudius Smith's Den is a small cave system that served as a hideout for a Revolutionary War outlaw. The cave is in a small crag, at the top of which is another great viewpoint.
I still recommend the Stony Brook - Pine Meadow Brook hike because of its natural beauty, but perhaps another time.
