ABOUT THE PARKS:
This hike goes through a cluster of adjoining parks in the Hudson Palisades:
Buttermilk Falls County Park - Rockland County, NY
Sean Hunter Ryan Memorial County Park - Rockland County, NY
Blauvelt State Park - Wikipedia
Tackamack Park - NY/NJ Trail Conference
Clausland Mountain County Park - Rockland County, NY
Camp Bluefields and Tweed Tunnels - Dan and Laura's Photo Album
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 41.086899, -73.947150
View Larger Map
TRAIL MAPS:
Hudson Palisades Trail Map #109 - NY/NJ Trail Conference (shows all trail on one map)
Buttermilk Falls County Park - Rockland County, NY
Sean Hunter Ryan Memorial County Park - Rockland County, NY
Clausland Mountain County Park - Rockland County, NY
HIKE DISTANCE: 11 miles
THE HIKE:
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| Buttermilk Falls, less than 1/4 mile from the parking lot. |
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| Amazing tree roots at Buttermilk Falls. |
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| First view west from the blue trail. |
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| Second view west from the blue trail. |
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| The orange trail crosses Schuyler Road then appears to go through a back yard before entering the woods. |
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| Unfortunately, just beyond those homes, the orange trail skirts an active construction site. |
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| When the orange trail ends, the white trail continues along the construction site with heavy machinery noise and exhaust stench. Kind of puts a damper on the hike but it's only temporary - the trail leaves that area soon. |
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| Once on the Long Path, construction noise starts to face and seasonal glimpses of the Hudson River come into view. |
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| Sean Hunter Ryan memorial with the Hudson River. |
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| The Tappan Zee Bridge from the Long Path. |
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| Graffiti and lots of broken glass (watch those paws) at a scenic overlook on the Long Path. Sad. |
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| Looking beyond the ugly to the view. |
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| The Tweed Tunnels at Camp Bluefields - an old firing range with tunnels so soldiers could pass through safely. |
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| I only stepped inside one tunnel opening to get a quick shot. I was too chicken to go through the tunnels. If you want to see more of the inside of the tunnels, hop over to Dan Balogh's site where he has several pictures. |
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| After the tunnels, the Long Path goes through some gorgeous stands of huge pine trees. |
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| A creek in Tackamack Park. |
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| The blue trail in Clausland Mountain County Park. |
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| The orange trail in Clausland Mountain County Park. |
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| I believe this is a Southern Flying Squirrel. He must have been in a hole alongside the trail and ran up the tree when we walked by. He looked like he had been sleeping. |
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| White trail back to Buttermilk Falls County Park. |
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| The white trail leads back to the parking lot. |
HIKE SUMMARY:
[ 0.00] With you back to the road, go to the left corner of the parking lot to start on the blue trail
[ 0.20] Buttermilk Falls; continue on blue trail
[ 0.50] View west
[ 0.55] Orange trail starts to the left; keep straight on blue
[ 0.60] View west; retrace on blue trail back to orange trail
[ 0.65] Right on orange trail
[ 0.80] Rock hop over creek
[ 0.85] Cross paved Schuyler Road and proceed between back yards of homes
[ 0.95] When orange trail ends, turn left on white
[ 1.00] Rock hop over creek
[ 1.30] White trail ends, turn right on aqua-blazed Long Path
[ 1.40] Sean Hunter Ryan memorial plaque at bench
[ 1.65] Cross paved Bradley Hill Road diagonally to the right
[ 1.95] Long Path turns left at woods road
[ 2.00] Seasonal views at top of rock slab on the right
[ 2.10] Seasonal view of Tappan Zee bridge on left
[ 2.35] Cross gravel road
[ 2.65] After going up log steps, keep left on Long Path when red goes right
[ 2.70] View west at graffiti covered rock slab; no aqua blazes but trail continues straight over slab and downhill
[ 2.85] Cross paved Tweed Boulevard slightly to the left
[ 3.25] Rock hop over creek, white goes right, unmarked straight, turn left to continue on Long Path
[ 3.35] Turn right at unmarked intersection when unmarked goes left; blazes continue
[ 3.70] Camp Bluefields and Tweed Tunnels
[ 4.05] Rock hop over creek
[ 4.20] Cross paved Marsico Court
[ 4.30] When unmarked goes right, turn left and cross bridge over creek
[ 4.45] After dam on right, Long Path turns right at wood road coming in from left
[ 4.50] Long Path veers right when unmarked goes left
[ 4.65] Walk through Tackamack Park parking lot; cross paved Clausland Mountain Road
[ 4.70] At fork other side of road, keep right on Long Path when unmarked goes left
[ 5.00] Rock hop over creek
[ 5.55] At T-intersection when Long Path turns right, turn left on orange
[ 5.80] Orange trail goes through hole in chain link fence then through wet area
[ 5.90] Left at fork when orange also goes right; cross paved road at parking lot to blue trail
[ 5.95] At fork keep left on blue when blue also goes right (return route will come in from right)
[ 6.30] At completion of blue loop, left at intersection, cross parking lot and paved road to orange trail
[ 6.35] Turn left on orange when orange also goes right
[ 6.55] Orange ends at the aqua-blazed Long Path, right on Long Path
[ 6.70] Rock hop over creek
[ 7.00] Left on aqua Long Path when orange goes right
[ 7.50] Rock hop over creek
[ 7.70] Cross over bridge
[ 7.85] Cross paved McClausland Mountain Road and proceed through Tackamack Park parking lot
[ 8.20] Cross over bridge
[ 8.35] Cross paved Marisco Court
[ 8.70] Keep right when woods road comes in from left
[ 8.90] Camp Bluefields and Tweed Tunnels
[ 9.30] When Long Path veers right, veer left on to white-blazed trail (to the left of the white trail is an unmarked woods road); rock hop over creek
[ 9.70] Turn left on the red trail at end of white trail after steep climb
[10.00] Red trail crosses paved Bradley Hill Road then ends at white; turn left on white (no blazes for the left turn so take a few steps right on while then turn around to follow the white blazes in the other direction)
[10.15] White trail turns left before stone wall; blazes are temporarily hard to see but will continue straight ahead after making left turn
[10.30] Cross paved Schuyler Road then a footbridge over a creek
[10.50] White turns left at a gravel road and continues on gravel road
[10.65] Keep straight when blue goes right
[10.80] White trail leaves gravel road to the right as footpath; goes down steps and crosses boardwalk
[11.00] Back at parking lot
Wow, I loved the photos of your dog, the flying squirrel, the Hudson River and the the Tappan Zee Bridge. The graffiti and broken glass, not so much. This was another terrific post. Your blog could serve as a trail guide - and probably does just that for lots of people.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to thank you for your "guide" linking these parks. I just did this hike yesterday. 60+, sunny, no wind, great views and the only people I saw were in Tackamack (a dozen or so), with one couple in Blauvelt. Out of the woods feeling without being out in the woods.
ReplyDeleteI did question this entry [ 9.70] Turn left on the red trail at end of white trail after steep climb. I had hiked up some decent hills why say steep for this one? After scaling it on hands and feet I now get it.
Excellent hike in direction posted. Thank you so much.
Glad you enjoyed it and you picked the right place for solitude. Just a few weeks ago we were on the Old Erie Path which runs sort of parallel to where you were and I can tell you firsthand that is where EVERYBODY is. It was quite busy.
DeleteDaniela