Bear Mountain

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 A hobby of mine that I'd like to invite you to share with me is finding majesty in small places. To that end, in this post, I'd like to take Bear Mountain seriously as a mountain. Better known for its Octoberfest, ice rink, and capacious grilling areas, Bear Mountain State Park is also a great hiking destination. The mountain itself stands out from the surrounding Hudson Highlands as slightly steeper and more rugged, due to its granite bedrock. Like most of the Appalachian mountains, it has steep sides and a wide rounded top, but the summit has a good 180 degree view to the south, by virtue of a large smooth rounded outcrop of pink granite just below the tower and parking area. There are probably a few different routes up that would involve some challenging scrambles. One of the mountain's most striking features, whether viewed from a distance or encountered at close range, is a band of very steep bare ledges 



across its southwest face. Visited in early March, these ledges were covered with thousands of dripping icicles and semi-frozen rivultes. Another notable feature is the fairly steep and rocky eastern slope rising 1000 feet almost directly from the Hudson, separated from the water only by the grounds of the main state park facilities area, home of the ice rink, carousel, hotel, etc. The route of the Appalachian Trail up this side of the mountain is steep and fun, passing well below a tall waterfall that is probably seasonal but in March was roaring. The view from the shoulder of the mountain at the top of this slope is classic: the Bear Mountain Bridge, the dark cliff face of Anthony's Nose across the river with a highway carved into it, the fjord between Storm King and Beacon Mountains on the northern horizon, more mountains of Harriman State Park to the south, and the mighty Hudson winding through all of it. Botanically speaking, it is mostly scrubby oaks and mountain laurel, with occasional stands of white pine, and tulip poplar and sugar maple in more favorable sites lower down. The view to the west and north extends only as far as the more inland ridges of the Hudson Highlands, but these have a captivating intricacy and a local-scale vastness. Famous as a day-trip nature retreat for generations of city kids, Bear Mountain is worth a visit for folks of urban, suburban and rural provenance alike.


 

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