Minnewaska State Park, Ulster County, Stunning Park!

Spent today at Minnewaska State Park, just past the town of  New Paltz, NY, about 90 minutes to 2 hours from Fairfield County.  This was my first time to the park but I have hiked in the area.  I have to say that this park is now a new favorite.  The scenery was stunning and it really is a park for all activity levels.  Carriage Roads wrap around the park, perfect for family walks and bike riding.  There are also hiking trails for the more adventurous but the hikes are not too steep.  Older children should have no problem, but the hike we did was to a cliff ridge, so of course be careful.  We did come across mountain bikers on most of the trails, but the further we got from the carriage road, the less people we saw. We only did one little corner of the park, so there is much more to see for our next trip.

The parking fee for the Park is $8 a day.  Kayaks and small boats are allowed on most of the lakes but a permit is needed.  Swimming is allowed but only in lifeguarded areas.  Fishing is not allowed but as the lake is pretty acidic, there really isn't much to catch. For information go to: http://nysparks.com/parks/127/details.aspx

Today we walked the Carriage Road off lake Minnewaska to Millbrook Mountain, to Gertrude's Nose and then back onto the Carriage Road around Lake Minnewaska.  It was roughly a six to seven mile trip.

The View from Millbrook Mountain Trail - the trail was very rocky throughout

Some parts of the trail - that's rock, just smooth rock

Heading to Gertrude's Nose - All the Scotch Pine on top

A man and his dog - and a cliff edge

Is it a bad sign when the vultures are so close and not scared of you

This is the Carriage Road System.  Very wide and user friendly.  

Walking around Lake Minnewaska

This is Awosting Falls.  It wasn't so impressive this time of year but people were swimming in the pool.

After our day of hiking, we went to Mountain Brauhaus, a five minute drive from the park parking lot.  We did not sit in the main dining area because we had out dog but was able to get an outdoor table with the limited bar menu.  I can't wait to go back to this restaurant because limited bar menu food - was amazing.  Seriously the best German Food I have ever eaten and Ich Liebe Deutsch Essen!  It was also really cheap. For information and directions to the Mountain Brauhaus, go to: http://www.mountainbrauhaus.com

I had the Beef Roulade with Spaetzle.  Amazing.