Mohonk Mountain

A great hiking (& rock climbing) site in NY, just three hours away north of Princeton, NJ.

Where to stay: New Paltz, which is a lovely little town with a lot of good restaurants and great mountain views. There are many hotels. The one we recently visited is Hampton Inn by Hilton New Paltz.

Parking: we like to park either at the West Trapps Trailhead or the Mohonk Preserve visit center.

To reach Mohonk Mountain House, we made a loop by taking the upper cliff trail out and the lower cliff trail back, about 10 miles. These two trails are long and flat. The days when we were there, it was showering and cloudy, and the mist in the mountains made it so mysterious and fun.

At the Mohonk Mountain House property, our favorite trails are Labyrinth Trial and Lemon Squeeze trail that lead to the Skytop Tower. These trails are very challenging, not for an inexperienced hiker.