Location: Carmel
Distance: 2 miles
Skill Level: easy
Elevation Gain: 200′
Type of Hike: dumbbell
Trail Condition: trail, road, rocky, wet
Wow Factor: views of the lake; tank and helicopter
Note: parking fee

How to get there: From 52, just north of where it starts from Route 6, turn onto 301 West.  Head over the stone bridge over the reservoir.  Make the first right onto Gipsy Trail Rd.  Follow it one mile until a sharp turn in the road with a large church steeple on the right.  The entrance for Veterans Park is on the left going down hill.  (The park is also on the right)

Address: 201 Gipsy Trail Road Carmel, New York

 

Summary: From the parking lot, head down the back side, away from the pond.  Pick up the orange trail.  The entrance may be overgrown but you’ll soon enter a pine grove.  Follow it until you come to the road.  Turn left and follow the road for a few minutes (longer than it looks on the map) and pick up the orange trail again to the right and head uphill.

At about a quarter of a mile from the start, turn right onto yellow.  It rises pretty steadily until you get to the lake.

You’ll dead end on red and turn left over the bridge.  Stay following red and the edge of the lake.  Some of the spots get a little flooded in the rain but there are usually rocks to hop on to stay out of the worst of it.

At the fork, red splits both way for a loop go right to get the steep section over quicker but steeper.  Make the loop then head back along the lake to the bridge.

Cross the bridge and walk through the field back to the car or to the playground or to the Veterans Memorial section.  Great for little ones who love trucks–there is a tank and a helicopter.  You can go for a dip in the lake during the summer months.

 

Facilities: yes
Hunting:
Dogs:

Map