Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: Frozen Greenwood Lake

Orange Co.,
New York

Total time: 1:20 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.1 miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points of Interest: Frozen scenic lake
Pros: Very pretty scenery and frozen lake
Cons: Not a quiet tranquil area

Greenwood Lake is the largest lake in the area. It spans both New York and New Jersey, and is in a scenic, mountainous area. I had heard that its quite busy and exciting on the lake in the winter once the lake freezes, but had never before gone to check out the situation. I noticed the most activity was on the north end of the lake by Greenwood Lake Village, where all the people were. All other parts of the lake I saw were empty, and I don't feel comfortable walking on a frozen lake with no people around.

I parked at the northern arm of the lake, in the village, and walked south, under the bridge, the wide part of the lake. The lake opening up wide with snowy mountains on both sides was particularly scenic. Indeed there were many people present, from lake hikers to ice fisherman, from snowmobilers to ATV riders. I had also seen ice fisherman that picked up some pickerel. I walked south for some time until there were no more people, and I headed west and then headed north along the western side of the lake. There were some more ATV'ers here in the area and then I noticed a snowbiker on the lake! Apparently they made a snowbiker trail and there was a snowbiker enjoying this trail. I then continued north the northern end of the lake where the park is, and then went along the local roads back to my car.