Indian Hill Loop Trail

Sterling Forest State Park

Wide stone walls along the Indian Hill Loop Trail - Photo by Daniel Chazin Wide stone walls along the Indian Hill Loop Trail - Photo by Daniel Chazin

This loop hike climbs to several panoramic viewpoints and traverses second-growth forests, crossing numerous old stone walls.

41.260001, -74.173508

This hike follows the white-stripe-on-yellow-blazed Indian Hill Loop Trail, described here in a counter-clockwise direction. From the information kiosk in the parking area, the trail proceeds through a hemlock grove, bears right and climbs to the crest of a rise. After descending a little, it climbs to reach a open granite ledge, with west-facing views over the hills of Sterling Forest.

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Trip Reports

rate experience
April 15, 2018
4
Singing Frogs
<em>April 14, 2018</em> : the bugs are not bad and the frogs are <strong>singing</strong>.
erijonesie
October 22, 2017
4
Lots of Stone Walls to Cross and See
A nice loop hike, true to its Moderate rating. We had one wrong turn: In the first paragraph of the hike description, beware a turn in the blazed trail at the top of a small rocky rise where a well-worn unmarked trail runs straight ahead. We mistakenly followed that unmarked trail as it became a woods road, realizing it was not blazed. Backtracking got us completely turned around, but once we restarted the hike, we realized our mistake - reading the ground instead of the obvious blazes. The trail is well-blazed throughout, particularly the nice winding section in common with the Furnace Loop Trail. The two or three lookouts gave surprisingly nice vistas with no development in sight. Unfortunately, however, road noise is strong at portions where the hike parallels Route 17 or the NY Thruway. A theory on the double-wide walls: These wider walls are at the bottom of the slope, where it would be easier to move rock downhill from the field. Since rock walls are typically less than waist height, the excess number of rocks were best deposited wider rather than higher. Also possible that the wall was constructed with two parallel finished sides, and loose rock was tossed to fill in between. I was impressed by the obvious gateway openings in these walls where large square cornerstone rocks frame the opening. Overall, a really nice 2-3 hour hike with stone reminders of past history criss-crossing the hills. HUNTING SEASON NOTE: This area was posted for hunting season that started October 1. Hikers should wear bright clothing.
glennagrube
July 19, 2017
0
Indian Hill Trail 2016 complaint
The trail has been maintained since that time. It was examined two days ago and found in acceptable condition though not perfect: hot weather and rain have resulted in significant recent plant growth. We plan to clear it thoroughly within the next 2 or 3 weeks depending upon weather conditions.
johnm
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