Mohonk Preserve - Mohonk Mountain House - New Paltz

Friday, September 10th, my wife and I drove to Bangor, PA where we gathered at our friend's home. Saturday, September 11th, 6 of us left Bangor at 7a and drove to New Paltz, NY. We stopped at the local Subway to pick up some sandwiches for our planned picnic lunch and then drove 6 miles west to the Mohonk Preserve.

There is a $10 admission fee for hikers and bikers and $15 for climbers. We were warned that the West Trapps Trailhead parking lot fills up fast because it is favored by the rock climbers. We arrived at 9:30a and found the lot nearly full. After us, only 3 cars were admitted to the parking lot.

Once we were geared up we rode along a trail that hugged the cliffs. Here there were numerous rock climbers scattered along the trail in various states of ascent or descent. We continued on through the woods into grassy fields (we got lost but we won't get into that here) where we found a bike rack to lock up our bikes.

We hiked through the woods until we came upon this amazing sight; a grand old hotel, the Mohonk Mountain House, on the cliffs of Mohonk Lake. We really felt like we stepped back in time. We found a nice spot in their gardens to eat our lunch. While we ate we kept hearing music in a secluded section of the garden. We soon realized we were witnessing a wedding. What a beautiful setting for such an event.

After lunch we hiked to the summit of a nearby mountain for a fabulous view of the surrounding area. After a brief rest we hiked back to our bikes and rode back to the West Trapps Trailhead where we loaded up our gear. We then traveled west on Route 44-55 to Minnewaska State Park Preserve where we took in the sights from the cliffs of Lake Minnewaska.

By now it was dinner time so we drove back to New Paltz where we dined at the Gilded Otter. The food was delicious and capped off a great adventure. After dinner we were sad to say goodbye to our friends because of the good times we had had and it was such a long drive home. This was an outstanding adventure for us, not soon to be forgotten.

Keep on trekkin'