This Rocky Peak In New York's Hudson Valley Offers Spectacular Views Of Mountains, Gorges, And Vast Forests

Just a mention of the Hudson Valley should stir the soul of any New Yorker. This land of undulating hills, green marshes, and rising mountains feels a whole world away from the tooting traffic and neon lights of the Big Apple. It's got leafy landscapes that offer fantastic fall foliage shows, more farm-to-table eating than your stomach can handle, and cozy, cultural towns like Rhinebeck. Oh yeah, and there's hiking aplenty, with one particular route offering sweeping panoramas of the Hudson Highlands and the wiggling river below.

Cue the great granite peak of Popolopen Torne, a bulge of a mountain that rises to 941 feet above sea level within the rustic Bear Mountain State Park. It crowns a bend in the Hudson River just west of Fort Montgomery and south of the legendary U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The hike to the top isn't easy — you're looking at a thigh-busting 4.8 miles roundtrip, with a big chunk of elevation gain and some scrambling along the way. The views at the top will make it all worth it, though. They're pretty dang special, or, as one Redditor put it: "One of my favorite hikes, probably one of the best views of the Hudson Valley."

The trailhead and parking spots for the Popolopen Torne sit along winding Mine Road, an offshoot of major Route 9W that pierces westwards into the New York mountains from the town of Fort Montgomery. You'll find it about an hour after leaving the heart of New York City, or a little over an hour after leaving the arrival halls of JFK Airport, just in case you want to go straight from plane to trial.

You'll need to work for the views when it comes to Popolopen Torne. The route to the top of this scenic peak is a short but uber-steep run up the southern side of the mountain. Stretch your legs before you begin, because in just over half a mile, the path gains nearly 980 feet of altitude. The return is along the same precipitous path or another that's similarly steep and scrambly.

After leaving the car, you'll need to hike a short part of Mine Road before veering into the thick woods of beech, birch, and hickory. You'll now be on the Timp-Torne Trail — a route that actually weaves through large sections of both the Bear Mountain State Park and the neighboring Harriman State Park. The section you're after follows blue blazes, hopping over big boulders, patches of grass, and exposed rocky sections with some ropes for aid.

Emerging onto the summit of Popolopen Torne, you'll be rewarded with views in all directions, defined by the courses of the Hudson River, which you can see crisscrossed by the 100-year-old Bear Mountain Bridge. Notice the moving memorial that crowns the mountain — it honors fallen soldiers from past and present conflicts.