Location: Rockland and Orange County, New York

Travel time: 2 hours round trip.

Monuments & Locations Visited: Bear Mountain State Park

Eats & Libations: N/A

Description: The search continued in late November to find places to go outside to occupy our time. Living in the north New Jersey area gives us the ability to be within an hour of so many places to see. We found out that about an hour north was a great hiking location near the hudson valley area called Bear Mountain State Park. We decided to take a drive up there and it was well worth it. The park is huge and comes equipped with a large playing field, pool, basketball courts, and even a merry-go-round. Our focal point though was the hiking trail that led to the great view.

The trail took about 2 hours to complete at a normal pace. It was pretty steep in the beginning so be prepared for your heart to be racing within the first 5 minutes. Once you get past that first challenge the hike is pretty easy, up until the last half mile or so where it gets rather steep again. The view is incredible once you get to the top where there is plenty of space to relax and take some beautiful pictures.