Biking Hiking with Kids

I went hiking with my kids this past Saturday up to the summit of Mt. Taurus, also called Bull Hill, in the Hudson Highlands, New York. I had thought about taking them to Breakneck Ridge which I had hiked many years ago. But I didn’t think my sons were physically big enough to handle some of the rock scrambling needed on the steeper terrain of Breakneck Ridge. So I decided on Mt. Taurus, which is just south of Breakneck. This was my first time hiking Mt. Taurus. We did the loop hike from the parking area up Mr. Taurus and back to the starting point.

The hike up Mt. Taurus on the Washburn trail (white blazes) was strenuous but very manageable for my sons, 9 and 12. There were several spots along the way that afforded nice views of the Cold Spring, West Point and surrounding area below the mountain, especially with most of the trees bear of their leaves. Of course, the view from the top of Mt. Taurus was very nice.

The hike down was a lot easier. But because of the leaves covering all the rock and some slippery conditions from recent rain, there were some potentially dangerous and muddy situation. We took the Notch trail (blue blazes), then the Brook trail (red blazes), and finally the Cornish trail (blue blazes) back to the parking lot. The trails winds through a forest with streams that crisscrossed the trails. There were many ruins all along the Cornish trail.

The last mile or so of the Cornish trail is paved and skirts the side of the mountain above the road and Hudson River and then toward the very end, the trail becomes unpaved again until reaching the parking area.

We come across many other hikers that morning, but surprisingly not a single adult hiking with kids.

The hike was about 4.7 miles and took us about 4 hours.

Go here to get a very good turn-by-turn narration of the hike up to the summit of Mt. Taurus and back to the Stony Point Parking Lot.

Driving Directions from NYC

If you are coming from New York City, cross over the George Washington Bridge and take the Palisades Interstate Parkway north for about 40 miles to its end at the Bear Mountain Bridge. Cross the Bear Mountain Bridge and make a left onto Route 9D north.

Take Route 9D north for about 9.5 miles, through the town of Cold Spring, and park in the parking area on the right hand side by the Washburn Trail or the parking area on the left hand side by Little Stony Point Park entrance. If you drive through an underpass (through the mountain) you have driven past the trail head and parking areas.

Click here to see pictures taken on the way down from the summit of Mt. Taurus.

Check out other hikes:

Hikes in NJ -

Cheesequake State Park – Yellow Trail Hike
Holmdel Park Hike and Longstreet Farm

Hikes in NY -

Lemon Squeezer Hike
Sam’s Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve Hike