The Blue Ledges, NY
The hike to the Blue Ledges on the Hudson is another Southern Adirondack classic. Accessible and beautiful, delivering in spades: a nice trail and an exciting destination for a small effort.
To reach the trailhead take Route 28N north from North Creek. Turn left onto the Northwoods Club road, near the top of the big hill heading out of Minerva. Take it very far, over the bridge at the Boreas River, and then go three miles more to the trailhead at Huntley Pond.
To be fair, accessibility can be limited by rain, which can degrade the road and make the trail muddy. We saw none of that recently when he hiked the route at the end of an exceptionally dry summer.
The trail is a little rugged with roots at the start, but after passing the pond, it gets smooth and really pleasant, climbing through some very pretty forest.
After a mile of rolling terrain, the trail begins to descend to the river. You can hear the river for the better part a mile before you arrive at the ledges.
“Weirdness Rock”
We made better time than I thought and had the opportunity to see much of Adirondack rafting fleet pass before us.
King of the River Takes Charge
The Ledges are too big to be fully photographed, at least by me, with my current camera. The cliffs would be best shot early in the morning. Even mid-morning is too late to get direct light on the face. Good images aren’t easy shooting into the sun, this was my best from dozens of shots.
We headed back around 2pm. The forest was beautiful. The air was clear and breezy and bug free. We fell into a bit of zen march by the end, tromping together, in unspoken synchrony.
We were almost back to the car, and Neve asked if she could take some pictures of the water. I showed her how to “point and shoot.” She took four shots. I think this is my favorite.
Flowers by Neve
Nice!! Did you recognize our ski pals on the river?
Yeah? Who’s the stud guiding the raft?!
Good seeing ya, Harv.
Nice photo Neve! Harv, any plans in the future to add Neve to the staff to write articles from a kids viewpoint? This is NOT a joke, I think it would be interesting to hear about an area and the conditions in contrast to the adults viewpoint. I know she is still young but maybe a few years down the road!
@PDQ – I did recognize the guide in the raft in the photo we posted.
@Rochester Mark – that’s a pretty cool idea. I like the idea of a photo contest for kids, but trip reports or short essays could be pretty cool too.
Marked Trail: .3 miles each way, very nice for a child’s first experience hiking. 4 miles past the NorthWoods Club Road on your left, look on your right for parking and to the left(west) for the trail head. Just as you pass the trailhead sign look to the left for blue markers. The trail follows a small creek flow down and then bends to the right around the edge of Crusher Hill, up a bit and then down to the pond. The kids I took on this walk (ages 5,6,9 & 10) loved looking for “bog plants” that they studied for a 4th grade project. Fishing and camping allowed, State owned pond.