Over this past weekend, my boyfriend and I took a day trip from New Jersey to Minnewaska State Park Preserve in New York. Minnewaska State Park is a part of the Shawangunk Mountain Ridge, and offers 35 miles of carriage roads and 50 miles of footpaths. From biking to hiking to swimming and more, this park has a lot to offer!
From Bergen County, this park is about a 1-1.5 hour drive. Minnewaska is also not too far from New Paltz, NY which offers a quaint downtown vibe with eateries and shops. During our day at Minnewaska State Park, we did a moderate 6.7 mile loop hike which includes the popular Gertrude’s Nose and Millbrook Mountain Footpaths. Gertrude’s Nose is a beautiful scenic vista that overlooks the Hudson Valley, and I highly recommend hiking up to it if you plan to visit Minnewaska!
If you are looking for more day trip ideas, then check out my blog post on 20 Day Trips To Take From New Jersey!
MINNEWASKA STATE PARK FEES
Upon entering the park, you will need to pay a $10 fee per vehicle. This park is well-maintained and has a pristine visitor center with clean facilities and a water re-fill station. Minnewaska offers hiking, biking, swimming, rock-climbing, bouldering, picnicking, scuba-diving, boating and beautiful views!
WHERE TO PARK
We did the moderate Gertrude’s Nose and Millbrook Mountain Loop, which is a roughly seven mile hike. The exact hike we did is linked here on All Trails. If you are interested in doing this, I recommend parking near the visitor center. Here you can also utilize the facilities before starting your trek.
Address: Hamilton Point Trail, Gardiner, NY 12525
THE HIKE
The hike begins at Lake Minnewaska where you will instantly get a beautiful view of the water and greenery. You will then make a right and follow signs for the Lake Minnewaska (LM – red) Carriage Trail. Follow the red trail markers and begin the easy walk alongside the lake.
After about 20-30 minutes, you will reach another view point of the lake and the start of the Millbrook Mountain (MM – red) footpath. Here is where the hike starts to get a bit more rocky and wet. I recommend wearing waterproof hiking shoes. I forgot my hiking shoes and wore regular running sneakers and was fine, but they did get a bit wet and muddy during this part.
SCENIC POINT: MILLBROOK RIDGE
After walking about 40-50 minutes, depending on your pace, you will make it to Millbrook Ridge. Millbrook Ridge is one of the first vistas you’ll reach on this hike with stunning views of NY state. We took a little break up here to get some pictures and enjoy the view! Once you are ready to continue on, you’ll want to follow the red trail markers for the Gertrude’s Nose Footpath.
GERTRUDE’S NOSE FOOTPATH
After Millbrook Ridge, you will begin the 2.7 mile Gertrude’s Nose (red) footpath that stops along the scenic Gertrude’s Nose view point. The Gertrude’s Nose scenic point falls roughly in the middle of the 2.7 mile path and is about 1.6 miles from Millbrook Ridge. Gertrude’s Nose footpath is easy at some parts, but moderately challenging at others. Be prepared for some rocky terrain you’ll have to climb up/down, and some steep inclines at points. Overall, I didn’t find it hard to navigate or a struggle to complete, but definitely a good workout!
The roughly 1.6 mile hike from Millbrook Ridge to Gertrude’s Nose took us around an hour and we took our time to enjoy the scenery along the way. You’ll know you’ve made it to Gertrude’s Nose as you’ll notice more people hanging out at this view point, as well as the most picturesque views of New York State! Gertrude’s Nose is a popular spot in the park for photos and you can definitely get some nice one’s up here. This viewing area is quite large and you can easily spend thirty minutes up here just taking photos and looking around. The stunning views continue on as you walk pass Gertrude’s Nose.
GERTRUDE’S NOSE BACK TO THE PARKING LOT
From here, you’ll continue on the remainder mile or so of the 2.7 mile Gertrude’s Nose (red) footpath and make your way back towards the lake. The second half of the Gertrude’s Nose trail is still moderately challenging at times and has some rocky terrain. You are walking close to the edge of the mountain, so the views are pretty nice for most of this trail as you head back.
From the Getrude’s Nose view point, it is not far to where you will switch over to the Millbrook Mountain Carriage Road (MC – yellow) trail. This easier gravel trail also allows access to bikers, so you may encounter some on this portion of the hike.
Along the MC yellow trail is Patterson’s Pellet, a somewhat large glacial erratic sitting on the edge of the mountain. From Patterson’s Pellet, it is an easy 15-20 minute walk back to the Lake Minnewaska (red) trail you started on. From here you’ll walk another 15 minutes or so back to the visitor center.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PARK
I highly recommend checking out Minnewaska State Park in New York State if you are looking for a great day trip from New Jersey or other surrounding areas! While you’ll have to pay $10 per vehicle to enter the park, it is very clean and there are many trails to choose from.
Check out Minnewaska State Park on All Trails to see the other hikes that this park has to offer. Take note of which hike you are doing here, as there are multiple parking lots spread around the park. If you are doing the Gertrude’s Nose/Millbrook Mountain loop that I discuss in this blog post, I recommend parking by the visitor center. We visited on a Saturday afternoon and had no problem getting a parking spot, but the lots can fill up on a nice summer day, so maybe plan to arrive early. The park opens at 9am and closes at 8pm as of June 2022.
