Black Rock Forest
Orange Co.,
New York
Hiking Trails:
Mine Hill Trail: Yellow blaze
Sackett Trail: Yellow blaze
Compartment Trail: Blue blaze
Stillman Trail: Yellow blaze
Split Rock Trail: White blaze
Hall Road: Unblazed
Short Cut Trail: Yellow (triangle) blaze
Total Time: 1:45 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.4 Miles
Pros: Very scenic area, great views
Cons: Limited parking has issues
Hike Type: Lollipop Loop
Level of Difficulty: Slightly difficult
Hiking Partner:
Yehudah Koblick
Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/LLbgQEN1HZDJkaQC8
After spending the past two weeks in Black Rock Forest, I decided to visit some further unexplored areas for me. The prior week there was full snow cover, but now with warmer weather all week, the snow had all melted. However, it was very windy for a brief period at the beginning of the hike at the steep ridge along Mine Hill.
We parked at the Mine Hill Trail trailhead parking. As I was pulling in to the parking area, a large group of hikers had pulled up right before me, with a bunch of cars taking up the entire parking area. I struggled to find parking across the street. There was a no parking sign across the street that ended where I had parked, but it was tight with a very narrow shoulder.
We took the Mine Hill Trail up to the view, then continued to the end of the trail at the Sackett Trail. We took the Sackett Trail on it's northern portion to the next view, and then crossed the brook and stone ruin, and then continued to the Compartment Trail. We went along the Compartment Trail to the Stillman Trail, which we then took to Split Rock and the view.
There is a great view here at Split Rock, with a beautiful view facing south and Sutherland Pond directly below. We then took the Split Rock Trail for a short distance to Hall Road, which we then took to the Short Cut Trail, to the Sackett Trail, and then to the Mine Hill Trail which I took back to my car.
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| Map of the Route |
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| Start of the Mine Hill Trail |
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| View Ascending the Mine Hill Trail |
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| Me at the First View |
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| View from Mine Hill |
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| At the H. Peter Stern Trail and Sackett Trail Intersection |
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| Crossing the Brook |
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| Stone Ruins after Crossing the Brook |
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| Sackett Trail and Compartment Trail Intersection |
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| Evergreen Mountain Laurels along the Trail |
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| Last Vestige of Snow |
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| A Split Rock (Not the Official "Split Rock" at the View) |
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| Yehudah at the Split Rock Trail Sign |
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| The Real Split Rock, Preceding to the View |
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| View at the Split Rock View and the Sutherland Pond |
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| 1440 Foot Marker at Split Rock |
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| Hall Road Gate |
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| View Along the Sackett Trail |
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| Zoomed in to the Caboose House |
