A Hudson Highlands State Park Collection

Just wanted to gather in one place a bunch of walks I've done (and blogged about) in Hudson Highlands State Park, on the east side of the Hudson River across from Storm King.  It is one of the most accessible scenic hilly areas within easy striking distance of NYC by public transportation.  Distance between the train station to the trailhead ranges from "just across the street" (Breakneck), to 0.8 - 1 mile (Cold Spring), to 1.8 - 2.4 miles (Beacon; the longer route takes you down through downtown Beacon for your choice of restaurants after the walk).

All of these trails appear on Trail Map 102 (East Hudson Trails, published by the NY-NJ Trail Conference).

Where available, I've provided my best guess as to total mileage including road-walking.  [Road mileage, in brackets, is from google maps.]  Total time, where provided, includes breaks for lunch, snacks, and photo shoots.  My favorite walks (so far) are in bold below.


Loops

Cold Spring (Main St to Fair St & 9D [0.8 mi to trailhead])

• Washburn (w) to Notch (b) to Brook (r)  ~5 miles (3.5 hours)
• Washburn (w) to Notch (b) to Brook (r) to Undercliff (y) to Washburn (w) ~7.4 miles

Cold Spring/Nelsonville (Main St to Pearl St [1.0 mi to trailhead])

• Undercliff (y) to Breakneck Ridge (w) to Brook (r) to Cornish (b) ~9 miles (4.5 hours) (return via 9D [0.8 mi to station])
• Nelsonville (g) to Notch (b) to Brook (r) to Cornish (b) (return via 9D [0.8 mi to station])
• Nelsonville (g) to Washburn (w) to Undercliff (y) to Brook (r) to Cornish (b) (return via 9D [0.8 mi to station])

Beacon (Wolcott Ave/9D [1.8 mi to trailhead])

• Casino (r) to Wilkinson Memorial (y) to Crossover/Blue to Fishkill Ridge (w) (return via Pocket Road/Main St [2.4 miles])

Traverses
Breakneck to Beacon

• Wilkinson Memorial (y) to Crossover/Blue to Fishkill Ridge (w) to Yellow to Casino (r) ~12 miles (7 hours)  (return via Wolcott Ave/9D [1.8 mi to station])
• Wilkinson Memorial (y) to Breakneck Bypass (r) to Breakneck Ridge (w) to Wilkinson Memorial (y) to Casino (r) (return via Wolcott Ave/9D [1.8 mi to station])

Earlier Hikes (Route Uncertain) 
These are from my pre-map days.  I am fairly sure we drove to the trailhead for each of these trips.

• Mt Taurus October 2010 - Although details of the exact route are shrouded in mist, I know we took Brook Trail up to a little lake.  At that point, the leaders planned to split the group in two, sending the novice hikers back the same (easy) way, while the more advanced folks would take Notch to the Washburn Trail, tackling Mt Taurus from the north (not the typical approach).  Ultimately, the novices decided they didn't want to be left out and we all stuck together.  The trail proved more challenging than some of the novice hikers anticipated, and there were some bitter words en route.  Everyone survived, but the leaders mentioned that if they'd know everyone would want to try Mt Taurus, they would have approached it the standard way, from the south.    
• Breakneck Ridge June 2010 - just a quick 3-mile loop with some folks from RPC.
• Breakneck Ridge November 2010 - with folks from FAPC.