EA NYC Beginner-Friendly Summer Hike!
This will be one of our easier hikes - a gentle walk through the woods, no grappling hooks required! Key points follow, more details below.
Key points - read this!
Meet me (Jacob Eliosoff) at Port Authority at 8:25 am, gate 405 (upstairs). We'll take Short Line bus 700 to Bear Mountain Inn (buy a ticket here, $20) which leaves at 8:45 am sharp - if you miss it you've missed the hike!
I'll keep an eye on jacob.eliosoff@gmail.com/FB Messenger up to 9 am, but may be hard to reach during the hike.
Bring: water, a packed lunch (no restos on the trail)/snacks, comfy shoes + socks, ideally a hat. I recommend long (light) pants rather than shorts, to avoid scratches & ticks.
We'll end our hike at Manitou, then take Metro North ($16) back to Grand Central, arriving by 5:15 pm. (Note that we start from Port Authority, return to Grand Central.)
Overall itinerary:
8:25 am: Port Authority gate 405.
8:45 am: bus 700 leaves.
10:15 am: bus arrives at Bear Mountain Inn.
Hike through Bear Mountain State Park (see route here), to Doodletown (including a stop for packed lunch), then over the Bear Mountain Bridge, to Manitou Metro North station.
Total mileage is ~6 flat miles, though we may skip bits if we're moving extra slow.
3:37 pm: catch the Hudson Line train at Manitou.
5:01 pm: train arrives at Grand Central.
Other notes:
All are welcome! We'll go pretty slowly, with breaks. This route has no extended climbs/descents.
Nonprofit workers and students are eligible for a discount on the bus/train tickets - contact me.
Annoyingly the MTA TrainTime app doesn't seem to let you buy the ticket before the day of travel. 🤷
Ticks are always a risk in NY nature, as some of us learned a few hikes ago. They're harmless if removed within a day: I suggest giving yourself a close body inspection once you get home after the hike.
Forecast looks great! 80°, a little warm (see hat above).