From the parking area, walk back along the entrance road until you reach a gravel road on the right blocked off with a gate. Turn right and follow this road, the route of the Anthony Wayne Trail (marked with 2"x3" white blazes), the temporary route of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) (marked with 2"x6" white blazes), and the route of the Horn Hill Bike Trail (marked with blue-on-white Bike Trail...
Hike Description:
From the parking area, walk back along the entrance road until you reach a gravel road on the right blocked off with a gate. Turn right and follow this road, the route of the Anthony Wayne Trail (marked with 2"x3" white blazes), the temporary route of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) (marked with 2"x6" white blazes), and the route of the Horn Hill Bike Trail (marked with blue-on-white Bike Trail markers). However, you may not see any blazes for some distance, as the blazing of this trail section is very sparse. Bear right at the next fork and continue uphill, proceeding ahead across a four-way intersection.
When you reach a T-intersection, turn left, then almost immediately turn right onto the Fawn Trail, marked with red-“F”-on-white blazes. The Fawn Trail climbs, using switchbacks and rock steps for part of the way, to reach a junction with the blue-blazed Timp-Torne Trail.
Turn left onto the Timp-Torne Trail, which climbs to a rock ledge, with Bear Mountain visible through the trees on the right. The trail now descends, with more views of Bear Mountain (and the Perkins Memorial Tower on its summit) on the way down. You’ll pass one end of the white-blazed Anthony Wayne Trail on the left, but you should continue ahead, following the blue-blazed Timp-Torne Trail, which crosses a wet area on stepping stones.
At the base of the descent, continue ahead as the 1777W Trail (red 1777W on white) comes in from the right and joins the Timp-Torne Trail. The joint trails cross a highway ramp, then turn left to cross the Palisades Interstate Parkway on a bridge that carries the Seven Lakes Drive over the Parkway.
At the west side of the bridge, turn right and head north on paved Queensboro Road, which crosses over a stream and passes the dam of Queensboro Lake and a water treatment facility on the left. Follow the blue and 1777W blazes as they continue ahead on a gravel road, but a short distance beyond, just before reaching a park pistol range, they turn right and re-enter the woods on a footpath.
The joint trails descend slightly to reach the gravel Queensboro Road. Here, the Timp-Torne and 1777W Trails turn right, but you should cross the road and continue straight ahead, now following the Popolopen Gorge (red square on white) and 1779 (blue 1779 on white) trails. The Popolopen Gorge/1779 Trails cross a stream on rocks and continue ahead on a grassy woods road.
You’ll soon reach the northern tip of Queensboro Lake. The trail (now a footpath) curves inland but soon returns to the lake shore once more, then again heads inland. After crossing another stream on rocks and climbing a little, you’ll come to a fork in the trail. Here, the 1779 Trail goes off to the left, but you should bear right, following the red-square-on-white blazes of the Popolopen Gorge Trail.
The trail now climbs rather steeply, then descends to Summer Hill Road (a gravel road built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933), with beautiful cascades in the stream just beyond. It turns left on the road to cross the stream, then immediately turns right and climbs past the dam of Turkey Hill Lake to emerge onto the lake shore. The trail follows the shore of Turkey Hill Lake for about half a mile, affording panoramic views over the lake, as well as Turkey Hill (across the lake to the north) and Long Mountain (to the west). About halfway along the lake, there are views of Bear Mountain (with the Perkins Memorial Tower on its summit) to the east. This is the most beautiful part of the hike, and you should take your time to enjoy the views.
Near the southwest corner of the lake, you’ll reach an intersection with the white-blazed Anthony Wayne Trail, which begins on the left. Turn left and follow this trail, which climbs to the crest of a rise on a grassy woods road and then descends. At the base of the descent, the trail turns right, leaving the road. In 200 feet, it turns right onto another woods road. Just ahead, the trail turns left again, descends to cross a brook on rocks, and reaches a clearing with high grass.
Turn left here, leaving the marked trail, and emerge onto an old paved road (the former route of what is now Route 6), passing between a salt dome on the left and an abandoned stone building on the right. Continue ahead on the paved road for about 1,000 feet. When you reach a locked gate on the right, bear left and continue to follow the paved road.
In another 500 feet, as the paved road curves to the left, turn right onto a footpath marked with the blazes of the 1779 Trail and descend to Route 6. Follow the 1779 Trail as it crosses Route 6 (use care, as this is a very heavily trafficked road), turns left, and follows the grassy shoulder of the road to the Long Mountain Traffic Circle. Here, the 1779 Trail bears right, then turns right onto the Seven Lakes Drive.
In 500 feet, at a sign for the Seven Lakes Drive, follow the 1779 Trail as it turns left, crosses the road, and climbs into the woods on a footpath. Soon, you’ll reach a junction with the Anthony Wayne Trail and the temporary route of the A.T.
Turn left at this junction, leaving the 1779 Trail, and follow the joint route of the Anthony Wayne Trail (2"x3" white blazes) and the A.T. (2"x6" white blazes). The trails climb to the shoulder of a hill, then descend to a ramp of Exit 17 of the Parkway. Turn left onto the ramp, cross the Parkway on an overpass, and continue to the parking area where the hike began.
To view a photo collection for this hike, click here.
Publication: Submitted by Daniel Chazin on 11/24/2010 updated/verified on 09/16/2022This loop hike follows two historic trails and runs along the shore of Queensboro Lake and Turkey Hill Lake.