| Date | Distance | Time | Elevation Gain | Average Moving Time | Year to Date Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/21/2021 | 7 miles | 3 hours 50 minutes | 1,071' | 1.9 | 35.9 |
Map: NYNJTC Sterling Forest Trails, Map 100
Parking: Marked as P17 on the map. Parking area is off of route 84, with a sign marked Blue Lake. The driveway is very close to the driveway for IBM.
Directions: Park in first parking area in the driveway. Head west on the Lake to Lake trail from the parking area. Pass the Sterling Ridge Trail. Hike to the West Valley Trail, and turn around. On the way back, we intended to follow the same path, except we missed a turn and continued on a woods road to the south of our trail at the end. At the end of the woods road, we turned left on the park driveway, passed Blue Lake, and continued on to our parking area.
We headed back to Sterling Forest, aiming for a 7 mile hike. This is a trail we haven't done before. I can't say I'd recommend this hike. A lot of it is on woods roads, some grassy, some rocky. But the trail has been heavily damaged by ATV's. We saw and heard some in the distance. The trail ended up being torn up, and very muddy/swampy. Nice parts that we enjoyed, included a beaver pond, and a waterfall near the half way point. The trail was very quiet (until we got back to Blue Lake), so we did let Krummholz have some off-leash running. I put a GPS collar on him, in case he runs too far, but in general he's a good boy and keeps an eye on us. On the way back, we let Krummholz swim at a boat launch area for Blue Lake. Then we passed a second boat launch area, that said no dog swimming. Oops.
He's very fascinated by water.
You aren't going to believe this but this is going to be my next Sterling Forest hike. Great minds think alike! I haven't done the part from P17 to the Sterling Ridge Trail yet but I do recall the part west of the Sterling Ridge Trail to be very swampy and ATV damaged. Was the P17 to Sterling Ridge Trail part in better shape?
ReplyDeleteThe very beginning of the trail is okay. It then turns onto a woods road which starts out okay. But it just gets messy. We saw ATV's in the distance. It's an okay trail, just not one I'd bother to do again.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah...messy even before the Sterling Ridge Trail.
ReplyDelete