New York City

A good place to start is to get some NYNJTC map sets for Harriman State Park, Hudson Highlands and the Catskills. Plenty of options, but that’s a good start. I don’t know where you are in NYC, however there’s an REI, Paragon Sports and Tent-n-Trails with those maps and plenty more.

NYNJTC has an interesting online tool for finding hikes.

Harriman has a lot of good hikes (the AT passes thru it) although you have to get pretty deep into the middle of the park to avoid road noise at night. That said, it is pretty darn cool to be camping out and be able to see the NYC skyline, which is possible from many hills on the east side of Harriman.

What terrain and distances do you prefer?

Many of the trails in the ADK’s Are about a 5-6 hour drive from the city. I used to hop the thruway to one of the main entrance routs (9, 87-Northway, 28n, 28, 8, 12.) I used to work for NYPA at Indian Point, Oswego and White Plains and could make it from White Plains to Herkimer (rt28) in under 4 hours, even with pit stops and stopping to eat.

I just checked, Inlet, NY (about central ADK’s from the city) is less than 6 hours, depending on your route.

As per Bob, I once went from seeing the skyline in Harriman state park, to seeing a big black bear a few miles later on Chipmunk mountain.

Those maps he mentions are excellent. I’ve since moved from NYC, and I miss the nice maps.

Fahnestock State Park is also fairly close and has some nice trails. Overnight camping is restricted.

If you are headed for a quick overnight in the Catskills, the Denning Rd trailhead, and Neversink River, is a nice quick hike with nice camp spots by the river.

Also: Fire Island. You park in or take a train to bay shore long island, take the ferry out, and then walk through all the houses on a boardwalk (its a no car island), then past the campground, where you drop off your permit, then down the beach a few miles (5? I forget…), and you can pitch in the dunes, wilderness style. They campground has plumbing etc, but its worth getting the permit to go down the beach. The catch is that you gotta carry all of your water. I think you could also rent kayaks and make your way out on the bay side if you want, but I didn’t do that. Early spring would be a good time, but if you’re interested, research available permits immediately.

Check out the Batona Trail too, but not in the spring or summer. Too many ticks for me.

Batona Trail (this area really grew on me and it’s good for X-country skiing too), Harriman (great network of trails), Catskills, Adirondacks. Plenty to keep you busy. When I lived in the area, I used to progress north with the warming weather.

Happy trails,
Mike

Depending on where in NYC you are you can find some great campgrounds and backpacking routes in Pennsylvania as well.  Two campgrounds that jump out are:

• Promised Land State Park – A little over a 2-hour drive from midtown
• Hickory Run State Park – About 2:15 from midtown

For PA backpacking in addition to the AT, there’s the Pinchot Trail – a 27-mile loop that’s particularly good for beginners in Thornhurst Township (again about 2:15 from midtown).