Pound Swamp Mountain Loop

Harriman State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 2:05 Hours
Estimated Distance: 4.6 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Not recommended

Points of Interest: Remote area of park

I had been out of town in Baltimore for the weekend, and returned Sunday afternoon. With a few hours left to daylight, I decided to do a hike nearby. I wanted to complete the entire stretch of trails in Harriman State Park to be included within the blog. Though I had done this complete hike back in 2007, I didn't do it since my blogging and wanted to get it included on the blog. This is not a very interesting hike without any points of interest or views. However, it is a quiet area, and I didn't see anyone despite it being a Sunday and very nice weather.

I parked at the trailhead at the Suffern-Mountain Trail on Gate Hill Road. I took the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail north to the Irish Potato, and continued past Upper Pound Swamp, and then descended down the mountain to Lake Welch Parkway. Thinking the road was closed, I walked up Lake Welch Parkway to the cut for the old Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail and took the trail back. I did see a few cars along the road, so apparently they opened the road early due to lack of snow over the winter. I took the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail southbound along the same route from here back to the trailhead.

Map of the Route
Harriman/Bear Mountain Trails - North and South Maps

Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail near Irish Potato

Irish Potato: A Huge Isolated Rock

Rickety Logs to Climb up the Irish Potato

View from the Irish Potato Area

Another Interesting Rock Along the S-BM Trail Descending
Towards Upper Pound Swamp

View of Upper Pound Swamp Through the Woods

Spring Plants in Bloom

Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail Through the Sprouting Brush

Tiorati Brook