Region: Hudson Valley

Level: Easy/Moderate

Storm King is a nice, relatively easy (sometimes moderate) hike in the Hudson Valley region great for a brisk afternoon with nice views of the western side of the Hudson Valley, located in Storm King, NY.

Storm King Mountain is a relatively easy to slightly moderate hike in Cornwall, NY, in the Hudson Highlands region. A nice hike that is good for all types of hikers and families and is open to dogs as well. From the NYC dweller perspective like me, the best way to get here is taking a trip up the MetroNorth and getting off in Peekskill. I recently purchased a Zipcar membership so to make it a nice afternoon, I’d suggest reserving a car at the Peekskill train stop and driving over across the Bear Mountain Bridge and from there it’s just a short trip up Route 9W for about 15 minutes.

Storm King is about a 2.4 mile loop with some great views of the Hudson River from both sides of the mountain, looking north and looking south. You can see several mountains I’ve hiked across the river (east side) including Bull Hill, Breakneck Ridge and others. The hike itself includes some nice wrap-around mountain views, not too steep but challenging enough to get a good sweat going. Some man-made steps for certain rocky areas, shade in some spots and nice, open sun spots on rock look-outs to grab an open shot of the beautiful scenery of the Hudson Highlands. You’ll be able to catch a few shots of the NYC skyline in the distance as well.

Highly recommend this hike to anyone who wants to take a nice day trip up and enjoy the Hudson Valley. Downstate NY doesn’t have the biggest mountains but the scenery is just as pretty and the towns offer a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of NYC and endless nature to enjoy.