Sterling Forest State Park

Very nice easy hike, ample parking at the visitors centre and clear trail signage around the lake. We went anti clockwise around the 4 mile loop finishing with the old mines being the bonus. Easy for all ages and lovely scenery, perfect for a casual hike. Dogs allowed.

A fantastic State Forest ! Drove from Missouri to see my daughter and spent several days hiking and fishing.
Was great place for both of us !
Go see Allison at the visitor center. She is a wealth of knowledge about the Forest as well as NY beautiful areas !

Hike seemed boring at first, but then we got to the lake, great views. The visitor center has a lot of very cool things including a good topographical map to see the various hikes. Happy my wife dragged me here.

Don't miss this. The visitor center is great. 100 miles of hiking trails. Topographical model with trails highlighted helps give an idea of which trails are suitable. Staff is very helpful. It's kind of a hidden gem.

We were there on a rainy day. It was still a beautiful park, and we will return on a nicer day and take advantage of one of their hiking trails. We stopped at the information center, and we had the most amazing conversation with the ranger. She was full of amazing and informative information and plenty of tips on how to enjoy the journeys and the local fauna and flora

Love this place as it has many options with varied durations and difficulty. That said, I definitely came home with 2 ticks on my leg despite wearing long pants and long socks there for a hike that took place last week of May.

Beautiful walking in fantastic landscapes. We walked around the lake, the last part was exhausting. But we didn’t regretted it for a minute.

if you like to do hiking, biking, trekking or just be in Contact with the nature, this is the perfect park. You can find the best specific explanation about all the trails. The ladys is the park are so nice and bring to you all that you need to know to have the best experience ever.

Sterling Lake - 2 great hikes. 1. The fire tower. Follow bare rock path up counter clockwise back down. This is a fun, moderate hike around 4 miles. Or 2. If your kids can't do the first hike then do the pic/axe trail below. It's alot of fun. You'll be passing through a furnace, rock crusher, mine openings etc..... Or for those that enjoy flat. The lake is 4 miles flat around.

We followed the blue sterling lake loop trail which was a great hike. Checked off all the hiking essentials I.e. Lake views, streams, birds chirping, woodpeckers pecking, rustling leaves, lily pads, beautiful tree, cute little beach area. What’s new about this hike for me was the ruins and it’s interesting history. Plenty of parking was free which was great. Bathroom open by visitor center.

History Abounds in this wonderful park. This time,, we did the Sterling Lake Loop. From the rich history of the native people of this area dating back thousands of years,, to the important historical furnace where US History was changed forever!! Beautiful trail around Sterling Lake. Cold, crisp day, 16 degrees, 4 mile loop. Yes, it is rated easy because it is not terribly hard, but, with heavy clothes on for winter, it is definitely a long hike!

I'm always mystified at how many people are obsessed with nearby Harriman and yet have never heard of, much less been, to this park. It's one of my absolute favorite places in the area to hike, and because it's still a bit of a hidden gem, it's not very crowded and the wildlife sightings are always excellent.

I came by this past Saturday morning for one of my classic hikes, a 7.5-mile lollipop up to Bare Rock. Same starts over by the Visitor Center (huge fan of the Center - it has bathrooms and an awesome 3D interactive map; you can click buttons to light up certain suggested trails/hikes) on the blue Sterling Lake Loop trail, goes on the road alongside Sterling Lake for a few minutes, then turns left on the orange Bare Rock trail up to the summit, continuing south to its terminus, then left on the green West Valley/red Fire Tower trails until you hit the "stick" of the lollipop again, returning down the Bare Rock trail. The markings on all the trails are very good - intersections are usually noted with a formal wooden sign, along with mileage updates to certain areas (e.g., Route 17A parking lot and the fire tower).

Difficulty-wise, this is moderate to strenuous in my opinion. I'm in pretty good hiking shape so I'm usually a little tuckered out by the end but nothing egregious. The climb up to the summit is probably the toughest part but the incline isn't too dramatic and it's early enough in the hike where your haunches shouldn't be tired. The last 40% or so of the hike is either flat or mostly downhill. The view at the summit is worth the sweat - I'm hard-pressed to think of a better optic in the area. It's gorgeous up there and you can see just about the entirety of Greenwood Lake. The rest of the orange trail is a bit meh in terms of personality, but towards the end has a very pleasing batch of rhododendron draping over the path, almost like a tunnel.

Shortly after you start back on the red/green trail, there's a very pretty pond with several beaver dams. This is close to where I encountered my Wildlife Sighting of the Day, likely a black racer or black rat snake. Very accommodating creature that appeared to tilt his head up to the camera. A real professional. On prior visits, I've seen wild turkeys and a bear - this is legit nature out here.

The canine situation was inexplicably lacking. It was about 60 degrees and gorgeous out, and yet I didn't see a single pooch until I was back on the road to the Visitors Center. This is usually teeming with quality canines though so I have to assume it was just a troubling anomaly.

I usually park in the lot across the street from the Visitors Center, which consistently has one of the cleanest port-a-potties I've ever frequented. When is the last time you used one and didn't smell an earlier visit? Fine, fine work on that front.

Beyond my specific hike, you have a lot of options in terms of environment, visuals and terrain. You can hike around the lake, seek a mid-ridge trail that goes to the Fire Tower (that seems to be the most crowded area in my experience) or go all the way up to the top like I did and take in the sights. You can't go wrong with any of them.

Scenery lake view trail, and easy for the legs

It was definitely a fun hike on a Sunday morning. Would recommend!

We loved hiking at this park. Beautiful views & nice trails. It is also very close to the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which we toured while on this trip. It is a very nice tour!

nice place to hike. clean, well marked trails. naps available at visitor center. restrooms at visitor center. dogs on leash.

I've had nothing but amazing experiences at the Renaissance faire there. It was my 1st time and a coworker couldn't stop talking about it. I went and took the trip and it was so worth it. It was beyond magical with everyone dressed up and all the decorations and details along the park. The shows are fully immersed in the time and the food was GREAT!!! Shopping and trying out clothes was so much fun it felt like such a princess. I can't wait for next year!!

An easy loop trail with stunning lake view. It took 2 hours to finish the trail if you don’t spend too much time enjoying the beautiful lake view.

Beautiful park. Joined for the Guided New Years hike with a nice group and people and park staff.

Gorgeous! Trails are well marked and great for all levels. Lots of flat parts. Started with the old mining trail. Short but interesting. I did the blue trail clockwise. So glad I did because the 'big' hill was going down, rather than up. Had I gone counterclockwise, it would have been a much larger climb right away. I don't recommend it that way if you don't like a steep to start off.

Definitely go by the visitors' center first to grab a map and info about the property. Very helpful woman got me oriented.