Pine Swamp Mountain

Harriman State Park,
Orange County,
New York
Trails:
Arden-Surebridge Trail: Red blaze
Long Path: Green blaze

Total Time: 0:45 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.2 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended for a very short hike
Points Of Interest: Scenic Lake and viewpoint for a short hike

Hiking Partner:
Shimmy Rosenberg

Google Maps of Parking:

View 2012 Hiking in a larger map

There was a big rainstorm on the way - this was a late April Nor'Easter which was supposed to bring 3 to 5 inches of rain. In the morning it had not yet been raining, so we had opted to head out and do something short with an easy exit point. This was a good choice since a little more than halfway along the hike it started raining. We parked at the Lake Skanatati Parking area, climbed the short mountain on the Arden-Surebridge Trail, and went to the very famous Harriman view of Lake Skanatati and Kanawauke. From there we bushwacked down the side of the mountain along a deer path, down to the Long Path. From there we veered off the trail along the side of the lake along the network of paths that hug the side of the Lake. After we got to the car we took a short extension to look at the newly replaced bridge along 7 Lakes Drive between Lake Askoti and Lake Skanatati.

Map of the route.

Lake Skanatati at the parking area and near trailhead.

Viewpoint on Pine Swamp Mountain. Facing south.
Lake Skanatati is in the foreground and Lake Kanawauke in background.

Same view facing southwest.

Me at the view in my raingear.

Scenic Lake Skanatati

Beaver-felled tree. This is a fresh job.
I have never seen beavers here before at this lake.
They were probably recently introduced.

Another scenic view of Lake Skanatati

A fresh tree job from the beaver.

Shimmy along the brand new stretch of bridge connecting
Lake Skanatati to Lake Askoti.