Working in the fastest-paced city in the world could be stressful and it also takes a lot of energy, so it’s essential to just get your things and leave for a couple of days every once in a while to replenish yourself. Fortunately, you only have to hop on the train at Grand Central and in an hour you are already in the middle of nature.
Bear Mountain State Park is located on the west side of the Hudson River, around 60 miles north from New York City and is quite easily accessible by public transportation. The train ride is a great pleasure in itself; experiencing the rapidly changing landscape as leaving Manhattan is always fascinating.
Once we got there – we stayed in the Bear Mountain Inn – we were mesmerized by the overall feeling of the place: the cozy wooden inn is situated near a beautiful lake and right at the foot of the mountain, resulting in a spectacular sight. After stashing our stuff in the room, we went out for a walk and to get something for dinner, but since the only place to eat in the area is the Inn’s restaurant, we had no other choice – luckily, everything was great in that regard as well.
We’ve spent the next day hiking (only after tanking up in the restaurant from local breakfast specialties), mostly following the Appalachian Trail straight up to the top of the mountain. Although the way up seemed quite easy, the journey back down was way more challenging: we basically had to use our rock climbing abilities to get back to the inn in one piece (it was fun though!).
Being just a short weekend, the next day was already our departure day, so we headed back to the train station – but not before we took a last long walk around the lake to absorb as much nature as we possibly could.
And just in an hour or so, we were back in Grand Central with a fond memory of the Bear Mountain with us.
Add comment