Person I am just meeting: "Where are you from?"
Me: "Goshen!"
Person: "Where's that?"
Me: "It's about an hour North of the city."
Person: "Oh, so you're from upstate?"
Me: *sighs*

No, I do not live upstate. Compared to the city, yes I do, but compared to the state as a whole? No way. However, my county as a whole is the perfect balance between city and country. Do you know what that means? Hiking!! Here are some of my favorite hiking spots in the Hudson Valley.

1. Breakneck Ridge

Difficulty: 10. Distance: 3.7 miles (loop) Duration: Approx. 4 hours.

Breakneck Ridge is a mountain along the Hudson River between Beacon and Cold Spring, New York, straddling the boundary between Dutchess and Putnam counties. It has beautiful views, insane photo-ops and LOTS of rock climbing. Once you reach the top you will find a flag pole with the American Flag and a black flag of which it's origins are unknown to me (oops!).

2. Bear Mountain State Park

Difficulty: Strenuous. Distance: 4.1 miles (loop) Duration: Approx. 3 hours

Bear Mountain State Park features miles of hiking trails with some of the most breathtaking views of the Hudson River you’ll find. If you’re looking for a quiet day in the woods, maybe save this hike for another day. The park has lots of options: hiking, a zoo, a beautiful merry-go round, playground, pool, and boat rentals.

3. Minnewaska State Park

Difficulty: 6. Distance: 6.4 miles (loop) Duration: Approx. 4 hours.

Located in the Shawangunk Mountain's (aka the Gunks), Minnewaska State park has a beautiful waterfall called Awosting Falls. The park is open for hiking, swimming, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, horseback riding and rock climbing. Open daily and year-round. Parking is $10.

4. Mohonk Preserve, Labyrinth and Lemon Squeeze

Difficulty: 9. Distance: 5.5 miles (loop) Duration: Approx. 4 hours.

Now, If you're going to come to the Mohonk Mountain House you must do the Labyrinth and Lemon Squeeze trail. Insane views, awesome views of the mountain house, crazy rock labyrinth, claustrophobia-defying climb up a deep crevice. Weekdays they charge $21 per hiker and weekends are $26. But I highly recommend this hike, it's totally worth the money. Also, before you leave, stop by the gift shop and buy some of their signature tea -- you'll thank me later.

5. Sterling Forest, Fire Tower

Difficulty: moderate. Distance: 4.3 miles (loop) Duration: Approx. 4 hours.

This is my favorite hike. Not only do you get a great work out by hiking up the mountain, you get beautiful views once you're up there. To begin, start in the lodge. They have some pretty cool things inside, definitely worth seeing. They also have a huge map where you can visually see all of the trails, this may be helpful because the fire tower is a few trail combined. Then, walk along the road and explore the ruins. There is an old iron mine and some other cool structures to check out. Last time I was there I found a chickadee nest in an old tree stump. Then, once you get to the top of the fire tower you will see some unforgettable views that pictures can't even capture.

So next time you find yourself in the 845, you know where to go. Here is another helpful link to find hiking spots: http://hikes.nynjtc.org.

Happy hiking!