Hiking: Appalachian Trail in New York | Depot Hill Road Southbound to RPH Cabin & Hortontown Road

Posted by Adventures In The Outdoors November 18, 2018

Hiking: Appalachian Trail in New York | Depot Hill Road Southbound to RPH Cabin & Hortontown Road | November 10, 2018

The Appalachian Trail in eastern New York travels across the ridges of the Hudson Highlands. Traveling east from the Hudson River and the Bear Mountain Bridge, the trail heads generally northeast into Dutchess County and then into Connecticut near Pawling, NY. For this hike, we headed southbound on the Appalachian Trail, starting at Depot Hill Road in Poughquag and hiking about 10 miles to RPH Cabin, located just off of Hortontown Road. There's nothing especially difficult about this section of trail. For the most part it follows ridge lines except where it crosses Interstate 84, Route 52 and Hosner Mountain Road. In those places it descends to the crossing and then climbs back up to the ridge lines.

Given that it was November, the weather wasn't conducive to taking our time. There are plenty of areas to rest along the way, along with several nice viewpoints. For our trip, we covered the 9.7 miles in about 4 1/2 hours.

Trail Description: Appalachian Trail Southbound (Depot Hill Road to Hortontown Road)

Difficulty: Moderate
Length: 9.7 miles
Elevation Gain:1,437'
Map & Guidebook: Trails Illustrated: NY/NJ Appalachian Trail Map | Appalachian Trail Guide to New York

The Appalachian Trail through this section is well constructed and maintained. There are a few small rock scrambles along the way, but the majority of the trail has a solid tread and is relatively easy to walk for hikers of all abilities.

Parking for the Appalachian Trail on Depot Hill Road is to the north of the trail crossing. There's a small lot for 5-6 cars. From the parking lot, walk south on Depot Hill Road (a communications tower will be up the hill to your right) about 200 yards to the Appalachian Trail crossing. For this hike, turn right (southbound) onto the Appalachian Trail and begin your trip.

After 1.3 miles of moderate hiking, you'll reach the Morgan Stewart Memorial Shelter. This lean-to is available on a first-come, first-serve basis for hikers. There's the shelter itself, along with overflow camping areas, a water source and a privy.

From the shelter, it's 0.2 miles to the summit of Mount Egbert, where you get a view looking northwestward up the Hudson Valley and towards the Catskills. The trail descends steeply for about a tenth of a mile at this point and then slowly descends over the next mile and a half until you reach Stormville Mountain Road.

The trail crosses a bridge and then ascends a steep slope to the road. From here you cross Stormville Mountain Road and then follow Mountain Top Road across Interstate 84. After crossing I84, you turn right on to Stormville Mountain Road and follow almost to its end and to where the trail turns left and ascends into the woods.

From here the trail gradually ascends and then it's a little over a mile through generally wooded areas before beginning to descend to cross Route 52. Route 52 is a fairly busy road and you should keep an eye on traffic as you try to cross.

After crossing, the trail re-enters the woods and then begins to ascend steadily until it levels off about halfway to the Hosner Mountain Road crossing. Shortly thereafter, the descent begins to Hosner Mountain Road, which you cross a mile and a half after Route 52. The last of the descent to the road gets fairly steep. Cross Hosner Mountain Brook on a bridge and then cross Hosner Mountain Road.

After the road, the trail climbs steeply for about 3/4 of a mile as it climbs Hosner Mountain. After about 1.3 miles, the trail reaches its highest point on this section and then begins to traverse along the ridge, just below the ridgeline. The trail makes several short ups and downs until it begins to descend in earnest to its crossing of the Taconic State Parkway. About 3/4 of a mile before you reach the Taconic, the trail begins to pass through an area of tree blow downs from a windstorm that occurred in 2018.

The trail crosses underneath the Taconic State Parkway on Miller Hill Road and then cuts back into the woods just after the underpass. The trail continues to descend another 0.4 miles before reaching Hortontown Road and RPH Cabin just afterwards.

For more information about the Appalachian Trail

You can visit the National Park Service's Appalachian Trail Park Page, which features a link to the AT brochure and map. Guides and maps are produced and sold for the AT as it passes through each State between Georgia and Maine. There are several books including the Thru-Hike Planner, the AT Guidebook, the AT Thru Hiker Companion and the Data Book to name just a few that can help hikers who are planning on hiking the entire AT or sections of it. We also maintain a section for Appalachian Trail Guides, Maps and Books at on Adventures in the Outdoors Online Shop.