Turkey Mountain

This past Monday I hiked Turkey Mountain which is part of the Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area. I was already a little familiar with area from hiking Pyramid Mountain and already had the trail map so I wasted no time getting to the start of the trail. I began my journey on the Yellow Trail which started off relatively easy but was loaded with mosquito's from a nearby swamp. After being on the trail for sometime I passed by the ruins of what looked like on old shed. After inspecting the ruins I continued on the Yellow Trail toward the Limestone Quarry. The trail started to get a little difficult at this point with a pretty steep climb. I wasn't 100% sure if I saw the Limestone Quarry but if i did it was nothing special. Next I came across Botts Pond which I got to by going off the trail down a hill.

Botts Pond was a nice spot to rest and grab a drink but beware of all the mosquito's and other insects that are lingering around this wet area. While I didn't see any fish in the water I did see plenty of tadpoles darting around. After my rest I climbed back up the hill and continued back on the Yellow Trail. This part of the hike was rather boring with not much to see and for a good portion your are hiking next to a road and even have to cross over the road. As I approached the Scenic Overlook I spotted some interesting wildlife. I saw what I believe is an eastern garter snake and a toad.

The Toad was very tolerant and let me get several photos from different angles. Once the toad went on his way I did the same and continued on the Red Trail to see the Stone Ruins. After hiking on the Red Trail I turned left on the Green Trail and saw the Stone Ruins. There are two sites with ruins in this area, with one being much easier to find than the other.

This location also offered a scenic overlook which was nice but was obscured by power lines. Although it was hard to see there is a view of the NYC skyline.

From the Green Trail I hiked towards the 100 steps on the Blue Trail which leads back to the visitors center. This part was the least interesting and you are hiking underneath power lines. The 100 steps weren't bad going down but I could imagine they would be much worse going up. Although Turkey Mountain is a less traveled hike than Pyramid Mountain there is a reason why and that reason is that it is rather boring. However if you don't want to be around many people this is a good hike.