Blueberry Hill Trails

Beautiful snowshoeing with some nice views. This is near Elizabethtown NY.
These trails are a system of various trails (30 of them) open to hikers, horses, bicyclists and even small recreational vehicles.

The trail network is part of a local initiative to give the community and visitors a place for recreation. The land was donated to Elizabethtown by the Holst Family back in 1980’s. Many of the trails developed seem to get very light used making the narrower trails seem more like herd-paths, but are indeed marked. The terrain is a mix of hilly and flat routes with some following old woods roads leading through passes between adjoining small mounds.

As always carry out trash and stay off wet areas to avoid trail erosion. Marker colors and shapes on the map match those on the trails. Unmarked trails may be incomplete or on private property. Though trails are used in both directions, descriptions below are one-directional.
Enjoy, protect and share our amazing trail system!

A casual hike in the woods with great friends.

Mount Van Hoevenberg

I had hiked this for the first time with Cindy and Jim, eventually going back and hiking with my son.

From the beginning the hike is along an old jeep road through conifers and eventually hardwoods once you get down near the marsh. The trail is overgrown to the width of a foot trail. The trail used to continue straight, where what is now under water, even in the dead of winter I wouldn't recommend going across the frozen marsh. The three of us did, and one of us broke through, which brought the hike to an end that day.

The trail has been rerouted to the left to the side of the marsh eventually crosses along the bottom. Going left you will cross over a couple small brook crossings the trail continues straight through it for about 300 feet. The trail becomes very pleasant and soon climbs moderately. After swinging right and then through an attractive draw between rocky areas you will make the final approach to the summit.

The first view you come to is not the summit, just beyond is the true summit and the best view. You will be atop a rocky ledge with the High Peaks Region right in front of you.

4.4 miles round trip
Elevation gain of 837’

Seymour Mountain

My son and I hiked Seymour mountain yesterday after getting a late start. We arrived at the summer trail-head and signed in at 8:18. There was one other hiker ahead of us that we would not see until we were halfway up Seymour we met him coming down.

We easily bare booted to the first large brook crossing where we put on our micro spikes due to ice covered rocks. From there we left them on to the summit just to save time. This proved to be a good decision as we ran into more and more flow ice as we gained in elevation. We eventually stopped to eat some lunch near where the trail comes up along side the slide. From this point until the final head-wall up on the ridge it was slow going, but not overly difficult. We eventually came out at the top near the slide, hopped up on the rock, from here it was basically a ridge walk over to the summit. We reached the summit at 1:50 pm, took pictures and had some snacks then headed back down and out at 2 pm.

There was a serious amount of ice flow in the steep section along the slide, so much that we stopped ahead of it and switched out to our crampons to navigate going down that area, then eventually switched back to micro-spikes for the rest of the hike out, there was never a need for snowshoes.
It is always worth the extra time to take some additional precautions and avoid unnecessary risk.
There was only the one other hiker we seen all day.

We signed out at 6:18 pm.

Baxter Mountain

A group of us planned this hike one year for a New Year eve hike. I don't think any of us made the true summit. I realized this when I hiked this as I went a lot further than we did that night.

It's a mostly moderate, 1.2 mile hike to the first summit. It begins at a moderate grade as it passes under a power line, then there's a continuous climb over switchbacks for 0.8 mile, where the Beede Farm Trail comes in on the left. Going straight and work your way up a few steep steps to the first open rock. This first lookout is not the summit — that's a bit farther along the ridge. Past the summit, a lesser-used trail descends to Beede Road in Keene Valley.

2.4 miles round trip

770 feet of elevation gain