Hiking NY – Sterling Forest Bare Rock  and Sterling Ironworks – May 2020

Moderate and fun hike at Sterling Forest State Park.  It is roughly a half-day hike at 8.38 miles. Leading up to the fire tower there is a decent hike up elevation, otherwise, it’s a fairly easy trail with some beautiful views. It’s particularly nice here during the fall.

Featuring:

Fun Fact(s):

Ruins of Sterling Ironworks are accessible for viewing on Lakeville Ironworks Trail. In 1736, rich iron ore deposits were discovered starting the history of Sterling Ironsworks. The plant was closed in 1923.

In 1998, Sterling Forest became a NY State Park.

Weather Forecast:

Getting Here:

Below is the location of the parking lot.  Click on ‘Directions’ to get a Google Maps route to here. Come early as by 9:15 am the lot was filled to capacity.

Official Maps:

• Official NY State Sterling Forest Park Site – for free maps
• NY-NJ Trail Conference Map 100
• Avenza Maps NY-NJ TC Map 100

Trail Map, Elevation and Statistics

Trail Guide:

1. [0.0 miles] Trail entrance is located across the street to the left of visitor’s center, Blue trail marker.
2. [0.15 miles] Take Blue trail marker for Sterling Lake Loop.
3. [0.32 miles] Continue straight with Blue trail markers. We’ll catch Lakeville Ironwork Trail and the ruins on the way back. NOTE: a portion of this next segment is on a local road prior to going back into Sterling Forest.
4. [0.81 miles] Swing left following Orange trail markers for Bare Rock Trail. This takes you off the road and back onto the trail network within Sterling Forest.
5. [1.48 miles] Continue straight following Orange trail markers / Bare Rock Trail.
6. [2.03 miles] Split left to continue on with Orange trail markers / Bare Rock Trail.
7. [2.17 miles] Turn right to continue on with Orange trail markers / Bare Rock Trail. You can cut the hike short by going to the Fire Tower from here and miss the beautiful view of Greenwood Lake.
8. [2.83 miles] Turn right at sign for Bare Rock Vista. Beautiful view of Greenwood Lake.
9. [2.91 miles] End of Bare Rock Vista. Catch some views and turn back on the Bare Rock Vista trail.
10. [2.97 miles] Turn right continuing with Orange trail markers / Bare Rock Trail.
11. [4.58 miles] End of Bare Rock Trail. Turn left following Green and Red/White trail markers towards Fire Tower.
12. [4.83 miles] At the lake, turn right following Red/White trail markers / Fire Tower.
13. [5.31 miles] BE CAREFUL – easy to accidentally miss the left turn and go straight. Turn left following Red/White trail markers / Fire Tower.
14. [5.94 miles] Arrived at Fire Tower. Fire tower access closed to COVID-19 precautions. Continue to follow the Red/White trail markers / Fire Tower.
15. [6.84 miles] Go left following Red triangle markers towards Sterling Lake.
16. [7.34 miles] At the street turn right walking next to the Sterling lake.
17. [7.60 miles] Turn right to catch Sterling Ironworks ruins following Yellow trail markers / Lakeville Ironworks Trail.
18. [7.92 miles] Cross the street going straight following Yellow trail markers / Lakeville Ironworks Trail.
19. [8.14 miles] Turn right connecting back to Blue trail markers.
20. [8.38 miles] Finish

Hike:

Sterling Ironworks ruins: