Abram S Hewitt State Forest

If you’re a beginner: take the blue trail to the yellow yo the lookout scene. Then turn around. Trust me that’s the highlight of this park.
We took the yellow trail all the way around to the Appalachian trail back to blue and it was rediculously difficult.
I deducted 2 stars because we are novice hikers and no where does it state how difficult yellow and Appalachian trails are. You literally have to climb up boulders and ledges to continue on the trails. Not recommended for novice hikers or those with health problems.

I love the great outdoors (see my other reviews), but this hike is very challenging due to the number of boulders, elevation required, and bad or missing trail markers. You can read my review at
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I did the Surprise Lake loop in Abram S. Hewitt State Forest this past weekend. I would say this was a intermediate level hike, there was a lot of rock scrambling. Nothing too crazy, but a few spots were a little tricky. The hike offered some challenges because of the torrential rains the previous day. The rocks were extremely slippery at some points.
We carpooled to the parking lot opposite the marina. The parking lot can accommodate probably 10 cars. There was one porta potty at the parking lot, no other facilities. We started with the blue trail, followed it up to the yellow trail on the left. From yellow, we moved on to a portion of the Appalachian trail then backtracked to reach the blue all the way to the parking lot.
The hike offers some great views of the Greenwood lake and the surrounding peaks and valleys from the top of the Bearfort mountain. We traversed the ridge line and arrived at the Surprise Lake where we took a break for lunch. Total distance covered was about 5 miles.
We didn’t spot any bears or snakes while hiking, but kept an eye out just the same as they are supposed to be common in the area. A good pair of hiking shoes will be useful on this hike, be careful while scrambling over the rocks if you’re wearing sneakers. As always, carry sunscreen and map of the trail.
Hiking map: www​.nyn​jtc​.org/​f​i​l​e​s​/​u​1​/​P​e​t​t​y​H​J​H​_​c​h​p​2​4​-​S​u​r​p​r​i​s​e​L​a​k​e​L​o​o​p.pdf