Mastering the One-Hour Getaway: New York’s Bear Mountain

by Megan L. Wood

This post is sponsored by ZiPCar. ZipCar gives you wheels when you want them.

Memorial Day kicked off the official start of coworkers/friends/match.com dates regularly asking you, “Any fun plans for the summer?” Maybe this is the year that you’re sticking to a budget to pay off your student loans or you just can’t stomach the obscene prices and overcrowding on Fire Island or the Jitney ride to the Hamptons, but you’d still like to have a few days where you can escape the heat and garbage smell of the city. If only there were a place an hour’s drive away from Manhattan where you could hike, breathe fresh air, and eat tapas. Good news, there is: Bear Mountain State Park. Here’s what you need to know.

Arriving

Bear Mountain State Park is nestled into the Palisades Region of New York State, about an hour’s drive from Manhattan. At least one of your friends has a Zipcar membership or there’s a very convenient bus service leaving daily from the Port Authority that charges 27 United States dollars for a roundtrip ride. Some people, like Greg Hay, even ride their bikes to the park from the East Village like total bad asses. Hay says, “A lot of bikers love it because it makes for a really nice landmark on a 100 mile ride from the city and back.”

Hiking

Walking through the dense woods with sweeping views of the Hudson River Valley is really the main draw in the park. There are four trails to choose from and while they’re all picturesque, none of them are so challenging that you’ll need a compass or survival skills.

The Appalachian Trail runs through Bear Mountain if you’re into having your own east coast mini-version of Wild.

1,300 feet above the river is the Memorial Tower, which gives 360 degree views of the surrounding area. On clear days you can see the Manhattan skyline (if you’re trying to forget about New York City for a few days, don’t look).

Swimming

The park has a fantastic swimming pool with natural-looking landscaping that puts McCarren Park to shame. Yes, there are children there, but there are children everywhere.

Paddling

If you want to row a boat (of course you do), row boat rentals are $5.00 per person, per hour on Hessian Lake. Sometimes Hessian Lake is referred to as Bloody Lake because of all the bodies thrown in there during the Revolutionary War. Wouldn’t it be fun to row to the middle of the lake and then scare your friends with that little fact?

Eating

Obviously, you’re going to want to have at least one outdoor picnic. Bring your own cooler and grill and set up on the picnic tables.

Another good option for eats is the Blue Room Tapas Bar or Hiker’s Cafe inside nearby Bear Mountain Inn. They do a fancy Sunday brunch, because let’s be real, you’re not going to give up Sunday brunch just because you left the city.

Sleeping

If the thought of cars honking incessantly outside your Lower East Side apartment makes you want to throw yourself into Bloody Lake, you should spend the night in the mountains! The Bear Mountain Inn has super cute stone cottages that sleep up to six people with fireplaces and private front porches for rates under $200. Do you know how much it would cost to have a fireplace and a private front porch in Manhattan? Jay Z probably does, because he’s basically the only one who can afford it.

Photo: cm195902/flickr
Photo: Moonlight Traveler/flickr