"Harriman Trails" 2010, 3rd Edition Is Here!

December 13, 2010
Jeremy Apgar
New York-New Jersey Trail Conference

Title

"Harriman Trails" 2010, 3rd Edition Is Here!
Harriman Trails Book Cover

Body

Bill Myles' original book has been completely revised by Daniel Chazin. It is much more than a guide. Years of research have produced a fine history as well. Marked and unmarked trails, lakes, roads and mines are all covered in depth. Harriman Trails is a complete reference with many historical photos.

About the Book

Harriman Trails: A Guide and History
William J Myles and Daniel Chazin
List price: $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-880775-66-0
New York-New Jersey Trail Conference (December 2010)


Bill Myles' original book has been completely revised by Daniel Chazin. It is much more than a guide. Years of research have produced a fine history as well. Marked and unmarked trails, lakes, roads and mines are all covered in depth. A complete reference with many historical photos.

Harriman Trails has been a best-seller since it was first published in 1992. The first printing of 5,000 copies sold out in two years, and a revised first edition was printed in 1994.  In 1999, a second edition was published, and this edition was reprinted twice. It became evident that a new edition was needed, but a major stumbling block was the Unmarked Trails section.  It was felt that this section needed to be totally reorganized, but to do this properly, it would be necessary to rehike and recheck all the descriptions of the unmarked trails.  When volunteer John Timm agreed to do this, we were ready to come out with a new edition. 

At a Glance

  • Author Daniel Chazin carefully reviewed all changes made to the marked trails since the last edition, hiked all of the relocations, and wrote revised descriptions (including revised historical information, explaining when and why the changes were made).  He also worked on updating the remainder of the book, and visited the archives of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to obtain copies of the historical photographs used in the book.
  • Suggested hikes
  • Oerview map of Harriman-Bear Mountain State Parks

About the Author

Daniel Chazin is a long-time member of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, having served on the Board of Directors, as Chair of the Publications Committee, and as editor and writer of a number of guidebooks. This is a beautifully produced and edited guide into which Daniel and a number of others have poured a vast amount of useful information. The hikes have all been field-tested by readers of The Record, members of the Trail Conference and Chazin himself. As Chazin points out, the hikes in the book often follow parts of more than one trail. (A trail guide often describes each trail individually.) Most of these hikes are loops, so that you can return to the trailhead without backtracking.

Chazin provides accurate descriptions of each hike, including difficulty ratings, distances, estimated hiking times, vantage points, and access information by both car and public transportation (where available). In addition, each hike includes a sidebar that focuses on some interesting aspect of the hike, such as history, geology, wildlife, etc., thus adding enriching information to the hiking experience. Chazin wrote 20 of the sidebars himself, while the remaining 32 were written by others with special expertise in the subject of the sidebar. Each hike is accompanied by a map and photos, and references are provided to the Trail Conference maps that cover the hike (when applicable) and to other maps available online or at the parks.

The guide covers a wide range of hikes, from an easy 1.3 miles in Richard W. DeKorte Park (about an hour) to a strenuous 8.0 miles on Plateau Mountain in the Catskill Forest Preserve. Altogether, the 52 hikes described in the guidebook include about 266 miles of some of the finest hiking trails in the New York metropolitan area.
For someone new to hiking in the area, this is an excellent introduction to many of the best hikes in northern New Jersey and southern New York. For a beginning hiker, especially teenagers, the book contains a wealth of information. For an experienced hiker, the descriptions are a joy, and the guide is a perfect gift for anyone whom you would like to get interested in the joys of walking or hiking outdoors.

About the Trail Conference

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference is a volunteer organization dedicated to creating, protecting and promoting the nation's finest network of foot trails in a major metropolitan area. The Trail Conference is a coalition of 100 clubs and 10,000 individual members that maintains over 2,000 miles of trails in New York and New Jersey. Its website, www.nynjtc.org, and its hiking books and trail maps provide detailed information that enable hikers to enjoy some of the most remarkable trails in the country.