Wanting to try a day hike outside the Hudson Valley but closer than the Catskills, I decided to give New Paltz a shot. The River to Ridge option seemed to be a good combination of distance and elevation with rewarding views.
However, I completely underestimated the heat, which ended up being a brutal mistake. The first 2 miles of this route are completely exposed with zero tree cover. The fields the path goes through can be pretty peaceful, but if it’s a hot day, this stretch is going to be very rough, especially with the entire path being uncomfortable gravel.
If you have a car, I’d recommend skipping this section completely and starting at the Pine Road entry parking. Keep in mind there is a $15 entry fee for a day pass to do this hike as there is a check-in booth at the front entrance.
The next mile or so is pretty gradual and is a light approach to the cliffs. Once the trail gets rockier, things start to become trickier. There is a sharp incline, and the terrain shifts from a dirt path to large boulders.
This section of the trail also started to give my AllTrails app a very difficult time. The trail markers aren’t the best either, so I’d be very careful on this part. There are some steep drops, and climbing from rock to rock requires careful footing.
In addition to the boulders, there are a series of tight caves that require crawling through. The second one in particular is very technical, wet, and extremely tight. This part is honestly very difficult to navigate using your own balance, and it helped to have others along the trail offering a hand to get up to the top. I would definitely not attempt this portion in tennis shoes and would make sure to be confident in your ladder climbing ability. Yes, this picture is literally the cave you climb through, very tight.
Once you reach the ridgeline, the view stretches beyond the trees and is panoramic. The humidity, unfortunately, didn’t provide the best view of the Catskills, but the scenery was still awesome. I made sure to also climb the observation tower at the top to check out the view from there.
By this point, I was running low on water and was starting to get concerned about getting down. I’d make sure to give yourself plenty of time because, man, this descent was difficult. The slippery caves have steep drops, and AllTrails doesn’t provide the best help in terms of tracking the trail. As you can see from my activity, I cut over a bit to use a marked trail to get down.
Once past the rock sections, the rest of the way down is reasonable. If parked at the trail lot, you will feel very thankful you don’t have to walk the additional two exposed miles. As mentioned earlier, I unfortunately did not drive, and these last couple of miles had me in hell with the heat.
In summary, I would not take this hike lightly. I learned a lot about paying closer attention to heat conditions after completing this one. The day I hiked this, the temperature was over 100 degrees with humidity, and I’m honestly very lucky I didn’t get any serious heat exhaustion. If attempting this hike, I’d make sure to do it on a cooler day due to all the exposed sections and strenuous rock scrambling. I’d also make sure to try and skip the first two miles, as the added distance creates unnecessary difficulty.
Who I’d Recommend This Hike to
- Those who enjoy caves, ladders and rock scrambling
- Those who want a longer distance hike with elevation gain
- Those who want a well-maintained trail
My Stats
