Miles: 9.1 miles
Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Elevation gain: 2,657 feet
Year to date miles: 439.7
Rest rooms: In parking area, but they were locked.
Parking: Silvermine Lake Parking Area, Seven Lakes Drive, Harriman. Huge lot.
N41 17.724
W074 03.625
Hike directions:
Hike directions:
In the parking lot, head to the far side of the lake - following the yellow blazed Menomine trail.
Follow the yellow trail to the stone walled Brien Memorial Shelter.
Turn left onto the AT/red circle on white blazed Ramapo Dunderberg trail.
Cross Silvermine Road (woods road, easier to see when coming from the other way).
Ascend Black Mountain and descend.
Cross 1779 trail (cairn at the intersection).
Arrive at Palisades Parkway.
Turn around and retrace steps to Brien Memorial Shelter.
Instead of returning on the Menomine trail, continue along the AT.
Where the AT and Ramapo Dunderberg trails split, keep right on the AT.
Turn right where the AT crosses Seven Lakes Drive.
Walk along Seven Lakes Drive.
After a bridge, look for the yellow blazed Menomine trail on the right.
Follow the Menomine trail (which runs parallel to Seven Lakes Drive) back to the parking area.
This hike has some nice views on Black Rock Mountain. Nice moderate hike. Usually we don't like hikes from Silvermine Lake due to trash/broken glass you find around the lake during the summer, but the trails were clean.
We actually had a different route planned to return - we planned on taking the AT to the unmaintained Bockey Swamp trail, but we couldn't find it, even though it is supposed to be at the intersection where the AT and Ramapo Dunderberg split. We looked around, and just didn't see anything that resembled a trail. There was an inch of snow on the ground, which might have made it less obvious. We only had an hour of sunset left, so rather than bushwhacking where we thought the trail was, we decided to hike to Seven Lakes Drive and walk along the road back to the parking area. Cars move fast along Seven Lakes Drive, but they aren't too frequent, and it is easy to move off the road when they are coming (except the road is a bridge).
Bockey Swamp Trail can be found if you just look to the right of brook at that intersection. Right next to brook. Recommend if you are to walk Bockey Swamp Trail that you use a tracking app. It is not a very well used trail. Yesterday I walked it. Bugs are out to say hi! Amazingly gorgeous afternoon yesterday to hike.
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