Easy but rewarding AT day hike around NY?

[emmessann]

I am so excited to find this forum! It's been hard to find a good answer to my particular situation and I hope that folks will have some great advice for us here.

Three sisters, 30-37 and ranging from above-average to below-average in fitness, are seeking an easy in-and-out day hike for our trip next week. Could be anywhere from PA to ME, really.

I'm the below-average fitness: I can walk on level ground for hours at a stretch but know that I wear out very quickly on significant inclines. I also have some fears of walking where there's uncertain footing that make the descriptions of even moderate-difficulty hikes pretty worrying to me.

I've done a lot of searching online, but people tend to talk up the most beautiful hikes, which sound fantastic but for the most part I think are too hard for our group. I'm looking for the kind of day hike where people say "Yeah, my four-year-old managed it, no problem."

I know from experience that the Poughkeepsie area of NY is really beautiful, but I've been having trouble pinning down a genuinely easy AT hike around there. (Does anyone have experience with the Nuclear Lake hike?) We'd also happily consider other areas within our reach -- we're already traveling from NYC to ME, and could stop off anywhere between.

I've been able to find non-AT excursions that are supposed to have a very strong low-effort-to-high-reward ratio, so if it's the group's opinion that the northern Appalachian trail is just too hard for out-of-shape novices, we may set it aside for another trip in the future when we're better prepared. But if anyone familiar with this part of the AT has a particular recommendation for an easy day trip, we'd be most appreciative.

Thanks very much!

[Old Grouse]

You didn't mention how you're traveling and how far you want to walk. But since you mention Nuclear Lake, you could certainly park on Rte 55 and walk in from there to NL. That's only an easy mile each way. Once you get there, if you feel up to it, you can keep going north a ways. It's mostly uphill for the next three miles (though not terribly strenuous) to the top of West Mountain, which affords some nice views. Then it would be downhill again past Nuclear Lake to your car. And if things got too tiring, just turn around wherever you are and head back.

[emmessann]

Thank you, that sounds perfect! The other descriptions I've seen of the hike have a more distant start point. I like the idea of having the option to continue after we've achieved a satisfying goal. Appreciate the advice!