Date: October 6, 2012
Location: Garrison School Forest, Garrison, NY
Looking for a short Saturday hike, I pulled out my East Hudson trail maps, and spotted Garrison School Forest as one that was easily accessible by train and short yet interesting. Thus it was that Saturday morning found me in Grand Central taking the 9:50 a.m. Hudson line train to Garrison. Once there, one must head north on the station road, turn right onto Upper Station Rd, subsequently turn left onto Route 9D, and then right onto Snake Hill Rd. The trailhead is on the right side of the road, just a short distance from the intersection of Snake Hill Rd. and Route 9D but is easy to miss (which I did at first!) if walking on the left side (as prudence suggests on a road without sidewalks). Look for a Hudson Highlands Land Trust sign on the roadside after passing the grounds of Winter Hall.
The trail is not very steep, but wet fallen leaves and decaying fallen wood meant that I needed to be careful not to slip. After an initial gradual ascent, the trail climbs up to North Redoubt which offers a limited northern view through the trees of the Hudson and Storm King Mtn. There was quite a bit of haze, and so the distant views were not very sharp, as the photograph below reveals:
The trail then descends, and continues forth, crossing a wet overgrown field, past a broken down wooden cabin. It starts a gradual ascent again, and eventually climbs up to South Redoubt (780 ft) which offers an excellent north and west facing viewpoint. There is also some information about the redoubts here.
Finally I headed back, retracing my steps to the Snake Hill Rd. trailhead, and then walking back to the station which I approached just in time to see the 2:00 p.m. train pull in, stop and leave as I tried to scamper towards the platform.
Relevant Trail Map: NY-NJTC Trail Map #101
Location: Garrison School Forest, Garrison, NY
Looking for a short Saturday hike, I pulled out my East Hudson trail maps, and spotted Garrison School Forest as one that was easily accessible by train and short yet interesting. Thus it was that Saturday morning found me in Grand Central taking the 9:50 a.m. Hudson line train to Garrison. Once there, one must head north on the station road, turn right onto Upper Station Rd, subsequently turn left onto Route 9D, and then right onto Snake Hill Rd. The trailhead is on the right side of the road, just a short distance from the intersection of Snake Hill Rd. and Route 9D but is easy to miss (which I did at first!) if walking on the left side (as prudence suggests on a road without sidewalks). Look for a Hudson Highlands Land Trust sign on the roadside after passing the grounds of Winter Hall.
The trail is not very steep, but wet fallen leaves and decaying fallen wood meant that I needed to be careful not to slip. After an initial gradual ascent, the trail climbs up to North Redoubt which offers a limited northern view through the trees of the Hudson and Storm King Mtn. There was quite a bit of haze, and so the distant views were not very sharp, as the photograph below reveals:
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| North Redoubt: A hazy view of Storm King beyond the trees |
The trail then descends, and continues forth, crossing a wet overgrown field, past a broken down wooden cabin. It starts a gradual ascent again, and eventually climbs up to South Redoubt (780 ft) which offers an excellent north and west facing viewpoint. There is also some information about the redoubts here.
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| Some Historical Information |
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| Looking northward from South Redoubt: The Hudson winds it way between Storm King to the west and Mt . Taurus/Breakneck Ridge to the east. Also seen are Constitution Marsh (east of river) and West Point (west of river) |
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| The same view as above, but slightly zoomed in |
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| Looking westward from South Redoubt |
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| About Garrison School Forest |
Finally I headed back, retracing my steps to the Snake Hill Rd. trailhead, and then walking back to the station which I approached just in time to see the 2:00 p.m. train pull in, stop and leave as I tried to scamper towards the platform.
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Remains of stone walls in a terrain carpeted by fallen leaves
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I spent the next hour on the platform (the weather and surroundings made it a rather pleasant one despite the waiting), and then caught the 3:00 p.m. back to GCT.
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| View from Garrison station platform |
Relevant Trail Map: NY-NJTC Trail Map #101
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