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Hiking in Mills Norrie and Ogden & Ruth Livingston Mills State Parks

Heart shape made of rocks at Mills Norrie and Ogden State Park.

In the autumn my family and I decided to do a series of hikes in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley. We went to Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park (also called Mills Norrie State Park) on our first visit and then on our second visit we hiked in Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills State Park. The White Trail is 4 miles there and back, from the marina to the Staatsburg Mansion. Both times I took videos and vlog my whole experience. Those videos are embedded in this post below and you can also see them on YouTube. We did these two hikes in two half days, but you can easily do them both in a day.

Map of Mills Norrie State Park
We will be hiking the White Trail.

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Hiking Up Mount Beacon

In May of 2014 I went hiking at Mt. Beacon, in Dutchess County, NY with my family. Mount Beacon got its name after the beacon fires used at the summit by the Continental Army as warning signals during the Revolutionary War. Then in the 1920s there was a popular casino and hotel at the top of the mountain, which burned down in a fire.

Trail head with information for the hike.
Mt Beacon trail head information station.

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Hiking at Shaupeneak Ridge – White and Purple Trails to the Waterfall

The everlasting snow was finally melting away when on a nice March Sunday I went hiking at Shaupeneak Ridge Cooperative Recreation Area with Fresh Air Parent and a group of friends. Shaupeneak Ridge is a 790 acre recreational area in the Town of Esopus in eastern Ulster County, New York. It offers more than seven miles of easy to moderate hiking trails with several overlooks and beautiful scenery. At the end of the Purple Trail there is a cascading waterfall that was halfway frozen when we hiked to it. The Red Trail has a nice overlook over the Hudson River.There is Luisa Pond at the top of the ridge with an easy trail that loops around the pond. The Green Trail is a mountain biking trail.

Shaupeneak Ridge trail guide map at the start of the White Trail.
Shaupeneak Ridge trail guide map.

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