This 3-day, 2-night section of the Appalachian Trail begins at Mt. Peter (NY-17A) and ended at the Bear Mountain Bridge (Rt 9D), passing through Sterling Forest State Park and Bear Mountain State Park. Along the way, you pass the “Lemon Squeezer” – a narrow crack in a boulder that the trail goes through and the Bear Mountain Zoo, the lowest part of the entire Appalachian Trail.

I had heard that bears frequent the shelters along this segment, probably due to poor food storage, so I stealth camped both nights – first on Arden Mountain and then on Black Mountain, which has views of the New York City skyline in the distance.

Sunset from Black Mountain“Lemon Squeezer”“Lemon Squeezer”Arden Mountain