How many moderate hikes are there near New York City?

Our directory currently lists 20 matching routes near New York City, each with distance, elevation gain and a mapped route line drawn from OpenStreetMap data.

What is the average length of these trails?

The average is 8.7 km with roughly 188 m (617 ft) of climbing. The longest on this list is 13.0 km.

Which is the best one to start with?

Yellow Loop ranks highest here on our popularity score, which weighs route quality, scenery and how well documented it is.

Are these routes suitable for beginners?

Most routes on this list are rated moderate or harder. If you are just starting out, filter by easy difficulty or by distance under 5 km.

Moderate Hiking Trails near New York City

We track 20 routes that match this search near New York City. They average 8.7 km and 188 m (617 ft) of ascent.

That is 12 percent of the 171 routes we map near New York City. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 8.7 km against 4.5 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 188 m (617 ft) on average versus 99 m (325 ft) across the wider area.

Moderate routes are the sweet spot for most regular walkers: enough climbing to feel like a proper day out, never enough to turn into an ordeal. These lean toward the demanding end, so plan for a full day and check the forecast before you commit.

Moderate

Yellow Loop

Connecticut · United States

Distance: 7.1 km
Elevation gain: 80 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 36 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Bearfort Ridge Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 8.7 km
Elevation gain: 191 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 5 min

Mountain
Waymarked route

Moderate

Mountain Bike Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 9.4 km
Elevation gain: 208 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 17 min

Mountain
Waymarked route

Moderate

Lake to Lake Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 7.3 km
Elevation gain: 161 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 46 min

Lake
Waymarked route

Moderate

Sterling Ridge Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 13.0 km
Elevation gain: 286 m
Typical duration: 3 hr 8 min

Mountain
Waymarked route

Moderate

Cooper Union Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 7.6 km
Elevation gain: 167 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 50 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Crossover Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 11.5 km
Elevation gain: 254 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 47 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Croton Trails System

New York · United States

Distance: 9.1 km
Elevation gain: 200 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 11 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Fire Tower Trail

New York · United States

Distance: 7.1 km
Elevation gain: 156 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 43 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Hasenclever Iron Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 8.5 km
Elevation gain: 187 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 3 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Hoeferlin Memorial Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 9.5 km
Elevation gain: 209 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 18 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Red Back Hike Trail

New York · United States

Distance: 10.2 km
Elevation gain: 224 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 27 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Schuber Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 7.1 km
Elevation gain: 156 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 43 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Terrace Pond West Loop Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 7.5 km
Elevation gain: 164 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 48 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Triangle Trail

New York · United States

Distance: 8.0 km
Elevation gain: 176 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 56 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

West Valley Trail

New York · United States

Distance: 7.1 km
Elevation gain: 156 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 43 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

White Bar Trail

New York · United States

Distance: 11.7 km
Elevation gain: 258 m
Typical duration: 2 hr 50 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Wyanokie Circular Loop Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 8.0 km
Elevation gain: 177 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 56 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Wyanokie Crest Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 7.3 km
Elevation gain: 162 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 46 min

Waymarked route

Moderate

Yellow Trail

New Jersey · United States

Distance: 8.1 km
Elevation gain: 178 m
Typical duration: 1 hr 57 min

Waymarked route

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
Route	Distance	Ascent	Time	Difficulty	Best season
Yellow LoopConnecticut	7.1 km	80 m	1 hr 36 min	Moderate	April to October
Bearfort Ridge TrailNew Jersey	8.7 km	191 m	2 hr 5 min	Moderate	April to October
Mountain Bike TrailNew Jersey	9.4 km	208 m	2 hr 17 min	Moderate	April to October
Lake to Lake TrailNew Jersey	7.3 km	161 m	1 hr 46 min	Moderate	April to October
Sterling Ridge TrailNew Jersey	13.0 km	286 m	3 hr 8 min	Moderate	April to October
Cooper Union TrailNew Jersey	7.6 km	167 m	1 hr 50 min	Moderate	April to October
Crossover TrailNew Jersey	11.5 km	254 m	2 hr 47 min	Moderate	April to October
Croton Trails SystemNew York	9.1 km	200 m	2 hr 11 min	Moderate	April to October
Fire Tower TrailNew York	7.1 km	156 m	1 hr 43 min	Moderate	April to October
Hasenclever Iron TrailNew Jersey	8.5 km	187 m	2 hr 3 min	Moderate	April to October

If you only have time for one, start with Yellow Loop, Bearfort Ridge Trail, Mountain Bike Trail. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Other shortlists covering the same area or the same kind of terrain.

Trails

The shortlist, side by side

Frequently asked questions

How many moderate hikes are there near New York City?

What is the average length of these trails?

Which is the best one to start with?

Are these routes suitable for beginners?

Related guides

People also search for