Washburn Trail on Bull Hill Parking Lot — Local services in Town of Philipstown

One of my favorite trailheads within an hour’s drive for its varied terrain, steeper elevation, and trail options which allow for different distances.

The main trails starting here are the Bull Hill Long and Short loops. You’ll be able to see more specific guidance on AllTrails, Avenza, and other mapping tools. It’s also nice to have a few trails allowing a connection onto the Breakneck area which has fun scrambles.

Showing up earlier is almost always better to give the best chance of getting a parking spot in their small lot, which gets frequently packed like crazy when the weather is nicer.

On many weekends I’ve frequently seen volunteers (from the Trail Conference I think) as well as rangers who set up to help answer questions from throngs of visitors. They’ll have paper maps as well which offer the more updated trails and blaze colors which have changed over the last few years.

Also note that Cold Spring’s downtown and Main Street are a brief walk away from Washburn parking lot. The town has many nice shops whether for a meal, snack, and more.

For anyone considering a trip here, enjoy! To have the best and safest experience, I like to recommend packing the 10 Essentials which gives the hiker a mix of comfort and safety when away from easy...

Nice Nature Walk, But No View

I walked the Bull Hill trail in Hudson Highlands State Park. It was a nice hike if you enjoy walking in nature, but there is no view at the top, which was a little disappointing.

The trail signs were not clear. It was easy to get confused. We met a girl on the way who said she got lost twice. In the end, she joined us because she did not want to get lost again.

We decided to return earlier than planned, and we went to Dockside Park. We liked it more, the view was beautiful and the place was peaceful.

This trail is okay for hiking, but I do not recommend it if you want good views or...

The walk to trailhead from train station is long and precarious (on the side of a busy road). Actual trail is pretty easy and well marked. The ruins are really cool to see and walk around. Love that there are porta potties in the parking lot. Will be back to walk on the...