Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: Irish Potato Harriman State Park

Rockland County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Suffern-Bear Mountain Trai: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 0:35 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.2 miles
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Points Of Interest: Short hike in a tranquil area, interesting rock formation
Pros: Peaceful area with nice streams, nice rock formation
Cons: No good view

Hiking Partner:
Shimmy Rosenberg

Google Map of Parking:

View 2013 Hiking Locations in a larger map

Though much of the snow from Friday had melted, there was still good coverage in the mountains, so I am happy to present yet another snow hike. Though this winter has been disappointing in that the lakes were never fully frozen and accessible for walking upon, there were so many snow events, even small ones, that allowed the mountains to be covered in snow for almost the entire season.

I had a trade show to attend in New Jersey this Sunday, so I really had to do a short hike. I was a bit disappointed to do such a short hike considering the snow and the bright blue sky, which always create an amazing contrast together. But sometimes that's the reality, so I take what I can get.

We parked at the trailhead on County Route 106 right after the entrance to Harriman State Park. We took the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail north along the stream and then up the hill to the top where the Irish Potato sits. The Irish Potato is a very large glacial rock sitting atop the bedrock floor. There are sticks setup on the north side to climb it, but my attempt at this was dissuaded due to the icy conditions. After walking around the rock we turned around and headed back along the same route.