Directions
Directions
to the trailhead: From Newburgh headed south on I-87, take exit
16 for NY Rt. 17 (near the Harriman toll booths),
then merge onto
17 West. After 2.5 miles, take exit 130 for NY 208 South, then
turn left onto NY 208 South. You’ll only be
on 208 South
(Main St) for about half a mile, then you’ll turn right onto Schunemunk
Road (also labeled 208 S) for a few hundred yards.
When
Schunemunk Road dead-ends into NY 17M, turn left onto NY 17M
East. In one half-mile, turn right onto Lakes Road (aka Rt
5),
and enjoy not having to make any more turns for the next 9 miles.
Toward the end of that 9-mile stretch, Lakes Road becomes Mountain Lakes Lane, then NY-17A East, then Windermere Ave,
all
without you having to make any turns. From the center of the town
of Greenwood Lake, turn right onto NY 210 South (Jersey Ave).
This road runs along the length of Greenwood Lake, giving you nice views as you go.
Continue
on NY 210 South (Jersey Ave) for 3.5 miles. After you cross into New
Jersey, this road changes its name to Lakeside Rd,
and your
destination is juuuust on the New Jersey side, at the Greenwood Lake
Marina (538 Lakeside Rd), immediately after you pass
Lake Shore Rd
on your left. Drive slow here – it’s easy to blast right past the
marina and have to figure out how to get turned around
on this small, windy, busy road (I may speak from experience here).
The
marina is on the lake side of the street (which, you know, makes
sense), and the parking lot is on the opposite (west) side of Lakeside
Rd.
Turn into the parking lot for the Greenwood Lake Marina and drive to the back of the lot, up the hill, and park by the kiosk.
Once
you turn into the parking lot from Lakeside Rd, the first two lots (on
your right) are marina parking only. Do not park in these lots.
The
top of the driveway (the third lot) is for hikers – everything up there
is fair game, and you can park blocking in the boats up there.
They won’t need access to them.
The
lot is always full on nice weekends. Like, always. There is
no overflow parking for this hike. It’s strongly recommended to
visit
at an off-peak time. And please carpool as much as you
can – don’t bring three cars for three hikers, which would deprive
other hikers
of a great day and be really bad for your
karma. (And if you can’t get a spot here, you can always do the
other Surprise Lake hike,
with the trailhead just a few miles down
the road. A strong Plan B.) As you drive up the
parking lot, it’s marina land to your right,
state land to your left. There’s an easement-type situation going on here, in case you’re wondering.
You
can also get directions by checking out the Surprise Lake II (via
Greenwood Lake overlook) entry on the HiketheHudsonValley.com Google
map.
Sorta nearby address for your GPS: The Greenwood Lake
Marina is directly across the street from the parking area for the
trailhead – you’ll actually park
at the top of the marina’s parking lot (which is on the opposite side of the street from the marina itself). Its address is:
538 Lakeside Rd
Hewitt, NJ 07421
Hop
out and let the adventure begin! (And please see the Important note on
parking above for more information on the parking situation here.)
GPS coordinates of parking area: 41.18592, -74.33213