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Highlight Hiker Blog

Cascade Lake Park, Warwick, New York

July 28, 2020

This will be my fourth visit to Cascade Lake Park in Warwick, New York! And not because it is especially my favorite, but rather because the trails aren’t very well marked, and there are so many unmarked worn paths, that I tend to get off trail easily. Not necessarily the parks fault, mind you. Cascade Lake Park is gorgeous, and it’s easy to be distracted looking at everything. Most markers are old and painted on the trees at long distances. And between them will be several well worn walking paths, and no markers to distinguish what is the trail and what is not. It would be wonderful if the Trail Conservancy would be willing to expand the park and restructure the trail and remark them. I know it’s an immense project, but this lovely compact park deserves it! It is also one of the easiest connectors to the Appalachian Trail, if you need a place to quickly and easily get on/off.

I started the day feeling really quite melancholy. I wasn’t really sure I was “in the mood” for Cascade Lake Park… I kind of wanted a place where I could walk without having to think about accidentally getting off trail. I wanted a simple day with a simple hike. But I knew I needed to check these hikes off of the list, and so there I found myself, standing at the welcome kiosk and wondering if I’d complete the park today or get frustrated and leave before I was done (it ended up being the latter).

I followed the Red Trail to the Orange Trail, and hiked up the hill to complete that loop, which was really quite lovely and not nearly as disastrous as the Yellow Trail…. I was pleasantly surprised. After I dropped out of the Orange Trail, I followed the Red Trail by Long House Creek. My plan was to take the Red Trail all the way around, then hook up into the Green Trail and follow that loop. But I somehow got off of the Red Trail and followed some unmarked path and ended up on the Green before even completing the Red. I realized I wasn’t having any fun. I was hangry, I was grumpy, and I was hot. So I packed it in and reluctantly decided to return on another day to hopefully get through these trails!

If you want to test your map and compass skills, this park is a really excellent place to work on them. The trails are short, and if you wander off course, you will be able to retrace your steps. GPS signals are weak in certain portions of the park, and because it is so easy to get off trail, I highly recommend you take a photo of the trail maps at the welcome kiosk, or better yet, buy a NY/NJ Trail Conference map.

The day started out with clear skies and then (as it usually does when I find myself at Cascade Lake Park) it became overcast and started to rain. Luckily for me, I had brought my ultralight tripod and took advantage of the opportunity to take some Tranquil Minute videos for you… one of which is my new favorite!

There is a lot of wildlife activity at this park. Black bears are active, and at this visit I did see European Hornets (which are about 1.5” in length). While there is a strong human presence at this park, be aware that you are in the wilderness and should have knowledge of what to do if you encounter a black bear before you go.