Hiking Tusten Mountain Trail in Narrowsburg NY
Before heading to the chili and wings festival in PA, we stopped to hike the Tusten Mountain Trail. The last time we were here there was still snow and the road was icy. We had to use our ice cleats in order to walk safely on the trail. I believe that was when we purchased them and tested them on this trail for the very first time. Anyway, we figured we would burn a few extra calories so we could try all the wings and chili. The trail was only thirty minutes away from the chili contest, so why not?
Tusten Mountain Bushwhacking Hike
We parked our car, grabbed our bags, and started the hike. Right away we realized that people can park closer to the bridge and don’t have to park on the side of the road by the river. Once we crossed the bridge, the hike began. It is a wide, open dirt road with some gradual incline but nothing bad. You can take your kids and parents here for a walk in the forest. A short distance in, less than half a mile in, you get to an intersection where the hike begins. This time instead of going left and straight to the view, we went right. A few short minutes in and we were surrounded by fallen trees. There were so many down trees that it made it difficult to see where the trail continued.
As we were navigating through the forest, we bumped into another family that was hiking the trail. They had a gorgeous pup with them, Archie. He was full of energy and made it look too easy to jump over trees and run through the forest. Together we ended up finding the trail, only for a few short minutes to realize we were off the trail again. After some bushwhacking we found the road and trail signs. We parted with the family after that but hope they still enjoyed their hike. This really makes me want to go to SPCA and take a puppy for a walk in the woods.
Anyway, once we were on the trail again, it was all uphill from there. The dirt road kept going up and before we knew it we were in front of giant rocks. My knees were in some pain so I did some rock scrambling, or rock sitting, instead. After going up and thinking there was nowhere else we could go, we went up again. Then finally we were at the top, enjoying the overlook. Just like that, we were back on the trail going down. The rest of the trail was just a quick downhill before we were at the intersection again, signing out.
If you want a short, moderate hike, this is a great option. If you want to make it easier, you will go left first, have a short uphill and then the rest of the trail is a smooth downhill. At the end, with the little bushwhacking we did, we ended up doing a little over 3.1 miles.
Wings and Chili after Tusten Mountain Hike
After the hike we were excited to go to the Chili & Wing Cookoff at Silver Birches. The price was $30 per person, which was pretty high, but people were going for seconds, so it’s worth it. A lot of vendors had both wings and chili and some had either the chili or wings. I don’t think I’ve ever tried so many different wings in my life and I am not complaining! The chilis were also amazing, some mild, some sweet, and some had a good kick of heat. Overall, I think we are good after our Tusten Mountain hike. Next time, I might have a better strategy. Test the wings our first, then go for the chilis. Or perhaps I’ll go for the wings, then chili, then more wings, then more chili… =)
Have you hiked the Tusten Mountain Trail loop? Did you do any other trail here?
