Storm King Mountain Hike
Storm King Mountain hike is a moderate, short hike, located in Storm King State Park, which is in the Hudson Valley, NY and has spectacular panoramic summit views of the Catskills and the Hudson Valley.
AllTrails link to Storm King Mountain hike
Basic Information About Storm King Mountain Hike
Date of hike: September 28, 2019
Difficulty level: moderate
Distance: 2.4 miles round trip
Elevation gain: 629 feet
Location: Storm King State Park, Hudson Valley, NY
Approximate hiking time: 2.5 hours
Parking: Limited spaces in lot and some spaces on shoulder of highway
Our rating: 5 stars – great work-out, gorgeous views
How Did Storm King Mountain Get Its Name?
The Mountain was originally named Klinkesberg by Henry Hudson’s crew for its wrinkly looking rock cliffs. It was later renamed to Boterbertg by the early Dutch settlers, which means Butter Hill, since they thought it looked like a lump of butter. In the middle of the 19th century, writer Nathaniel Parker Willis gave the mountain its current name. He claimed that one can forecast a storm by observing clouds descend upon the mountain.
Our Impressions
This was our second weekend together and a wonderful way for me to spend Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year. Wow! One hike is better than the next. We couldn’t believe we’ve never tried hiking in our younger years.
The leaves started changing color and I was still fascinated by every crawling insect. I made two new friends – the grasshopper and the worm.
The hike was a natural Stairmaster machine with some steep rock scrambling. There were many gorgeous vista points along the way.