Hiking Near NYC: Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

On Saturday, we drove to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Pound Ridge, New York and took a hike on the 1.5 mile orange trail. The greenness of spring was apparent as we drove up 87 and 684 a little more than an hour from New York City to the park.

When we got to the reservation our first stop was the two room Trailside Nature Museum which had an exhibit of skulls and facts about the area as well as stuffed animals (both the toys and the taxidermic mounts of local wildlife.) There was also a pretend tree trunk to play in, in a kid friendly room. The museum has educational programs on various days. On the day of our visit, there was a tour of the flower garden, which we did not go on because it was the one area that didn’t allow dogs and we had brought ours.

Next, we took a short hike on the orange trail which was about an hour long. The first thing we found on the orange trail was a remarkable bark enclosed igloo shaped structure. Half way into the hike we sat at a stream and enjoyed some apples and the peaceful trickling water from the stream. Towards the end of the walk, we saw some wonderful campsites (numbers 29-25) and enjoyed some Snickerdoodle GLOW gluten free cookies I had brought along for a treat. The campsites nearest to the playground were the nicest as they had adjacent fields of green.For overnight stays at the campgrounds, you can make reservations for campsites in person or three weeks prior to your visit by mail. The playground for the kids, near the end of our hike, was a nice ending to our hike and must be nice for families visiting the campground. The orange trail is a great hike for kids a short distance from NYC.