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This moderate hike will take you about 3 hours
to complete. It is 6.04 miles long and you will climb about 1200
ft for some pretty views from Round Hill and deep, dark, moist
woods at its base. Mile 0.00
El 400 ft Park
at the Hubbard Lodge and walk around to its right side and back
on a spur trail that leads down to White blazed School Mountain
Road and turn left.
Glimpses of Round Hill come through the trees
in season but in late fall and winter will be readily seen looking
over your right shoulder. We're climbing that mountain.
In a few moments you'll cross the first of
several steel decked bridges. Thanks to the wetlands here
there are many
birds and it is active here any time of year.
 Mile 0.44
El 410 ft
Just after a built up section of the road you'll
come on your left to old concrete gates that signaled the entrance
to the Hubbard Estate. There isn't much left of the place but
a side hike in can be nice if you have the time. Across from here
is the junction with the Blue blazed Fahnestock Trail which we'll
be taking back here later on. For now, push on up the white trail.
Pass a large wetland on your left and a maturing
hardwood forest on your right. Soon the wetland ends and an
old field
replaces
it. At about 20 minutes into the walk you'll see a small spur
road to your left and the ruins of an old shed. You've come
about
one mile. Cross another steel decked bridge and the trail steepens
slightly.
Mile 1.16
El 505 ft After another short ascent you cross a rickety
wooden bridge and come to the junction with the red blazed East
Mountain trail which is on your left. The road steepens here and
continues past ancient, grown over, fields and maturing woods.
The red trail turns left off the road at
a high point after crossing a creek and begins a short but
steep climb to the top of East Mountain with a nice view over
Philipstown and to the Highlands Gap in the valley. The trail
back down the other side is rarely traveled so watch for red
markers or other obvious markers of human trail building activity
(old sawn logs, etc.,) until it once again reaches Schoolhouse
Road.
 Mile 1.92
El 780 ft
You'll see a two story house looming in the
woods here just in front of you. This is the junction with the
Red blazed
East Mountain trail (on the left) and the Yellow blazed Perkins
Trail begins here, to your right. Turn onto the yellow trail
but explore the ruin first!  This
trail winds up alongside a pretty water course with plenty
of falls, large rocks and a few small cliffs,
further up. The trail crosses the brook and at a level area an
unmarked trail/road comes in from the left, while the yellow
trail TURNS RIGHT here. In another quarter mile of easy walking
you
come to the junction with the Blue blazed Fahnestock Trail.
You
have walked about an hour. This intersection isn't well marked
(5/07) but there is a piece of red surveyor's tape on a tree
that should catch your eye.
Mile 2.31
El 1000 ft
At this junction turn right onto the Blue
trail. (The yellow trail continues over the mountain and eventually
finds
its way out to Route 301 several miles further on.)
Follow the Blue trail as it begins to climb
the ridge. Almost immediately the trail loses some significant
elevation
as it drops into a small col, skirts the side of a hill and then
attacks the hill at a steep angle. Rather soon you'll reach
the
top of this ridge at about 1100 ft above sea level. Other than
a beautiful open oak forest in a xeric environment with wildflowers
dotting the sides of the trail there's not much to
see here, but the walking is easy and pleasant and when the leaves
are down the views are tremendous. After another 10 minutes
the trail begins to descend the southern edge of this ridge. Mile 3.26
El 980 ft
 After crossing over the top of the northern
arm of Round Hill you'll come to a rather pretty view out over
Mount Taurus (Putnam's
highest peak at 1411 feet), which looks
enormous
from
this perspective.
Beyond
Taurus are the mountains across the Hudson river with the Black
Rock State Forest at their summits.
The trail drops sharply off this ridge and
enters into a deep, cool and moist col. There is another unmarked
intersection here that might confuse you - watch the blazes!
- and do not become entranced by the placid woods road that
heads off to the right. At this point the trail begins a long
and rather steep ascent of the main summit of Round Hill.
This is the steepest part of our hike and the toughest, but
it's only a few minutes of climbing - take your time... the
reward is coming. You see the forest
change from maples and birches to oaks and chestnut over this
section and when the undergrowth becomes grassy you'll see several
large cedar trees announcing you've reached the top of Round
Hill.  Mile 4.06
El 1060 ft
 Push
over the top of the mountain until the trail swings around
to the west and moves out onto an open ledge with
an expansive view all the way up Fishkill Ridge to the north
and to Bear Mt. State Park and Dunderberg Mountain to the south
and west. This is a great place for a well deserved break.
Directly in front of you and at the base of
Storm King Mountain, you might be able to make out the steeple
from a church in
Cold Spring village. You can pass some time here watching
the hawks and turkey vultures riding the "thermals" but
also note the fire damage from the spring of 2000, that we'll
be walking
through next.
(5/07 - the fire
damage is almost completely invisible now that the undergrowth
has returned.)
Once you're finished resting, push on along
the blue trail, looking carefully for the blazes which may
be difficult
to find here. The trail runs back along the ridge
for some distance through once burned areas before it begins
to drop to a lower elevation rather quickly. However, it's
a short
drop and once it's finished the trail swings southward again
and runs along the top of a wide, grassy ridge.
 The
walking here is pleasant and easy. Cross a good herd path (which
requires investigation!) and pass an interesting
young black birch thicket on your left. A short while after this
the trail turns to the right just past an interesting glacial
boulder, dropping gradually, and coming out at the foot of
the
ridge to a small view point that looks down onto the intersection
of Routes 9 and 301 and is rapidly growing over.
Mile 4.81
El 630 ft
This is a small view and with another mile
and a quarter to go you may want to rest here for just a few
minutes.
The trail then heads out to a small cliff, turns right to follow
it and continues dropping off the mountain. It was here that
I
found a shed snake skin that measured at 18".
The then trail drops steeply off the ridge
and enters a grove of ash trees with an under story of barberry
(time for
the weed whacker!), turns right and then down to a road that
runs alongside a wetland with enormous maples lining either
side. The
first day I was here (October 10, 2003) the trees were blazing
yellow and quite beautiful in the afternoon sun. In May of
2007 they offered cool shade. The old woods road to the left
goes onto private property so turn right and continue following
the Blue
blazes keeping the wetland on your left. The wetland soon becomes
a beautiful rushing stream with occasional
noticeable trees
of maple, tulip poplars and smooth skinned beeches.
Mile 5.23
El 450 ft
The road/trail now bears to the right with
some old and overgrown fields rising to your right. Take a
moment to walk up into the
fields and enjoy the sunshine in this beautiful place. Head to
the road back and continue alongside a quite wonderful stream
for another .25 mile.
Mile 5.63
El 410 ft Here you re-meet School Mountain road, the white
trail, and turn left. Mile 6.04
El 400 ft The end. You're back now at the Hubbard Lodge.
Take some time to walk through the newly planted butterfly garden
or wash up a bit in the bathrooms at the renovated lodge. |
