Minnewaska State Park Preserve
Hamilton Point Trail,
Gardiner, NY 12525
This 22,000+ acre (90 km2) park is on top of 2,000-foot-high escarpment, great for hiking, biking and swimming. It has many parking lots and entrances. The 5,400 sq ft visitor center was opened mid Oct 2020, costing $6.1m, is pretty impressive: the wood paneling and the view on to Lake Minnewaska.
Much of the park has carriage roads, bicycles are the best tool to reach far away parts of the park.
The visitor center. The bathroom remains open after the office hours (by the way, the hand dryer is right to the faucet.)
Day 1: hiked 8 miles (23k steps) and visited the following (parking $10):
- The Lake Minnewaska (two thumbs up)
- Patterson’s Pellet (two thumbs up)
Millbrook Mountain (it’s ok… )
Patterson’s Pellet (left) and Millbrook Mountain
We tried the dotted line from Lake Minnewaska to Millbrook Mountain but chickened out: we’re just city slickers, good for city walking. This ‘moderate’ hike is challenging for us. Instead, we took the carriage path to Millbrook Mountain: its pretty far and the view isn’t as impressive as Patterson’s Pellet.
Day 2:
- Stony Kill falls (parking is free)
End the day 1 with a meal at the Parish, perfect.
Lap swimming and the beach
Millbrook Mountain: a scenic spot, not as spectacular as the Patterson’s Pellet.
