Storm King Mountain

A moderately strenuous hike overlooking the Hudson River with views extending to the Catskills.

Parking: 41.426129,-73.983907 Route 218 (Storm King Hwy) Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY
Miles: 5-6
Hours: 3-5

Gear:

• daypack 
• 2L of water 
• lunch, snacks
• first aid
• tape
• knife
• compass
• windbreaker and layers for warmth
• map - New York New Jersey Trail Conference #113
• hiking boots or trail running shoes
• NO COTTON - Why no cotton?  Cotton is a thicker material and isn't as breathable as synthetic materials.  Once it's wet, it becomes heavier and takes longer to dry.

Located on the west side of the Hudson River, Storm King Mountain rises over 1,300' above sea level with sheer cliffs along its eastern slope.  There are a few approaches to reach its summit from the north, south and west; today we would approach from the south.  I lead a small group up the hill from the Tristate Outdoors Group (meetup.com).  I have been a hike leader and organizer for almost 2 years with this group of like minded, very chill people.

Beginning from the parking lot on Route 218 we started up the steep terrain of the blue blazed Howell trail.  Steadily rising from the road, there is about a 10-15 trek to Pitching Point; this is the starting point of a series of views of Cold Spring and Little Stony Point across the river.

The steep rocky incline on the right side of this image is Breakneck Ridge.  Storm King Mountain is on the left.

After these great views we continued on the Howell trail while winding through some windy and colorful sections of Storm King State Park.  After some rolling terrain our next lookout would be North Point.  The foliage was beautiful from North Point, although surprisingly there was still a lot of green.

After North Point the trail descends into a col while passing the white Bobcat trail.  This short trail leads down to a parking lot along Route 9W.  I have not hiked that trail but I hear it is a fun, steep ascent.  Moving along there is another intersection which would be our return route: the while blazed Stillman trail.  Named after New York physician Earnest Stillman, the good doctor gave 800 acres of land to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in order to preserve this pristine tract of wilderness for hikers.  Soon after passing the Stillman, the blue Howell trail begins to rise along the southern spine of Storm King for a little less than a mile before intersecting with the white By-Pass.   Taking a right here we took a break for lunch at a rocky rest-stop with a descent view.  After lunch and continuing on the By-Pass we came upon some more views before reaching another junction.

The next junction is the Yellow and Teal marked Highlands trail.  This trail is scheduled to run from the Highlands of Connecticut through NY and NJ and into Pennsylvania.  As of 2013, one hundred and fifty (150) miles have been completed; 20 miles of trail run through Storm King State Park, Black Rock Forest (to the southwest) and Schunemunk Mountain State Park (on the west side of I-87).  Making a left here we looped around the summit of Storm King and re-joined the blue blazed Howell.  At the peak of the mountain there are views of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, Breakneck Ridge and the Catskills region.  The time of day and atmosphere was clear enough that we could also see the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie, 25 miles to the north.

The Devil's Path of Catskill Park is seen in the distance.

Turning left onto the Howell trail we descended this steep section before reaching the By-Pass once again and retracing our steps to the white Stillman.  Marked with a cairn and blazes, this hard left would take us back to the parking lot from which we began.  

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post there are many routes to the summit of Storm King Mountain.  This particular trek combined short kind-of steep climbs with level and rolling hills.  It is a great hike for those who would like to advance themselves from flatter, less strenuous trails; and the views as you can see are fantastic.