Sterling Forest State Park

EE Grimshaw

I'm always mystified at how many people are obsessed with nearby Harriman and yet have never heard of, much less been, to this park. It's one of my absolute favorite places in the area to hike, and because it's still a bit of a hidden gem, it's not very crowded and the wildlife sightings are always excellent. I came by this past Saturday morning for one of my classic hikes, a 7.5-mile lollipop up to Bare Rock. Same starts over by the Visitor Center (huge fan of the Center - it has bathrooms and an awesome 3D interactive map; you can click buttons to light up certain suggested trails/hikes) on the blue Sterling Lake Loop trail, goes on the road alongside Sterling Lake for a few minutes, then turns left on the orange Bare Rock trail up to the summit, continuing south to its terminus, then left on the green West Valley/red Fire Tower trails until you hit the "stick" of the lollipop again, returning down the Bare Rock trail. The markings on all the trails are very good - intersections are usually noted with a formal wooden sign, along with mileage updates to certain areas (e.g., Route 17A parking lot and the fire tower). Difficulty-wise, this is moderate to strenuous in my opinion. I'm in pretty good hiking shape so I'm usually a little tuckered out by the end but nothing egregious. The climb up to the summit is probably the toughest part but the incline isn't too dramatic and it's early enough in the hike where your haunches shouldn't be tired. The last 40% or so of the hike is either flat or mostly downhill. The view at the summit is worth the sweat - I'm hard-pressed to think of a better optic in the area. It's gorgeous up there and you can see just about the entirety of Greenwood Lake. The rest of the orange trail is a bit meh in terms of personality, but towards the end has a very pleasing batch of rhododendron draping over the path, almost like a tunnel. Shortly after you start back on the red/green trail, there's a very pretty pond with several beaver dams. This is close to where I encountered my Wildlife Sighting of the Day, likely a black racer or black rat snake. Very accommodating creature that appeared to tilt his head up to the camera. A real professional. On prior visits, I've seen wild turkeys and a bear - this is legit nature out here. The canine situation was inexplicably lacking. It was about 60 degrees and gorgeous out, and yet I didn't see a single pooch until I was back on the road to the Visitors Center. This is usually teeming with quality canines though so I have to assume it was just a troubling anomaly. I usually park in the lot across the street from the Visitors Center, which consistently has one of the cleanest port-a-potties I've ever frequented. When is the last time you used one and didn't smell an earlier visit? Fine, fine work on that front. Beyond my specific hike, you have a lot of options in terms of environment, visuals and terrain. You can hike around the lake, seek a mid-ridge trail that goes to the Fire Tower (that seems to be the most crowded area in my experience) or go all the way up to the top like I did and take in the sights. You can't go wrong with any of them.

Jeff Leine

Great hiking trails. Very nice visitor center. Remember to wear bright colors during hunting season.

D Koegel

Sterling Lake - 2 great hikes. 1. The fire tower. Follow bare rock path up counter clockwise back down. This is a fun, moderate hike around 4 miles. Or 2. If your kids can't do the first hike then do the pic/axe trail below. It's alot of …

Eduardo Mace

Great hiking trails around the lake, with vibrant nature and lots of scenic sites. Definitely worth going to the visitors center as well.