My previous Bear Mountain State Park experiences have included ice skating with the family during the winter holidays and a zoo trip here and there when my daughter was young. I’ve done limited hiking in the park and there are many miles of trails that I’ve yet to explore.
Recently I had an opportunity to hike some of them while trying to link two sites steeped in New York ski history; the Silvermine Ski Center and the Bear Mountain Ski Jump. The map from a vintage ski brochure I purchased at a used bookstore made the two areas look so close to each other. I parked at the Silvermine Picnic Area, which was the location of the base area of the Silvermine Ski Center.
