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It's been over 7 months since we hiked this state park, one of the crown jewels of the tri-state area, where every trail head is within an hour's driving distance
from our house. The brutal winter caused us to focus more on closer areas in New Jersey, and then we got in the habit of keeping it closer. But Laura's been asking
to return, so we headed back today.
We last hiked Dater Mountain a little less than 2.5 years ago. Knowing how popular nearly every Harriman parking area is on a beautiful Saturday, we decided to return here today, parking in the small pull-off on Johnsontown Road (not to be confused with the circular parking area at the NE end of the road, which is usually very crowded). There was one other car there when we got there, but it was much more tranquil than it was at Reeve's Visitor Center, a stone's throw away on Seven Lakes Drive. Today we hiked the same loop we hiked 2.5 years ago, only in the reverse direction. And we added a 1.5-mile out-and-back by continuing east to Almost Perpendicular, taking in the spectacular views, which included the long line of cars parked outside Reeve's Visitor Center! Total distance hiked today was 4.2 miles (with quite a bit of climbing), in 3 hours.
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Photographs and content copyright © Dan Balogh Web design by Dan Balogh |