It was a balmy winter day, December 26, 2019. A welcomed– if tragic, because of its implications–break from regular temperatures this time of year. To mark the occasion, we headed off the prescribed route on the drive from New Paltz, NY to Princeton, New Jersey and headed directly for Bear Mountain State Park. Today’s adventure, hiking Anthony’s Nose. A short ride away from I87, along a winding 6W, and just across the Purple Heart memorial bridge, where Route 202 intersects, we found a trail marker. At 2:00 in the afternoon day after Christmas, parking spots along route 9D was plentiful. We had our pick of places and settled into a stop mere steps away from the trail head. Parking may be more scarce during the summer, spring and early fall months.

Anthony’s Nose is one of the peaks in the South Gate of Hudson Highlands. Situated in Cortlandt Manor, the peak has views of Bear Mountain, Bear Mountain Bridge and Hudson River. There are three trails with the easiest following the Camp Smith Trail while the hardest being a hike up almost it’s face. Our hike was along the hard trail (7.6 miles), which went immediately uphill. The trail was muddy in places, and we discovered quite a few half frozen ponds as we strolled, too.

We didn’t make the full distance of the hike (7.6 miles), but we will be back. There may even be camping in some parts, which would be ideal to enjoy other hikes in the area.

A more detailed description with maps, pictures and videos can be found here.