I took the week off work and decided to head to Harriman for a quick day hike around Pine Meadow Lake from the visitor center on Seven Lakes Drive. I took the Kakiat trail and took a detour to the Raccoon Hills trail to add some miles. Round trip the hike was a little less than nine miles (I tracked it with an iPhone app, Map My Hike).
The weather was very hot and muggy and the bugs were out in full force. The Kakiat trail is very heavily worn from years of use. The photo below is the start of the trail which has a very moderate uphill grade. Overall, the trail is relatively flat with a couple uphill sections. The most difficult aspect of the trail is the hopping on mossy rocks and roots. There are a couple sections where a small stream runs right down the trail.
The volunteer trail crew does a fantastic job maintaining this and other trails in Harriman State Park.
The first intersection in the trail. Bear left and continue on the yellow blazes. This takes you along the creek for the majority of the hike with a couple areas where the trail climbs above the creek.
View of the creek
This bridge was recently rebuilt - http://www.nynjtc.org/news/bridge-kakiat-trail-rebuilt
View of Pine Meadow Lake
Hanging out along the shore I see this guy
The view of the lake was beautiful.
