Bull Hill Short Loop is a 4.3 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Cold Spring, New York that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, nature trips, and snowshoeing and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
This is the "short loop" indicated by the park in various signs along the way. You start at the parking area at Little Stony Point (just north of Cold Spring). Take the Washburn Trail (white) to the right, which follows an old road to the entrance of a large old stone quarry, which the trail then skirts. The climb then sometimes becomes fairly steep, but never reaches the level of rock-scrambling. You pass a nice view south (looking down on Cold Spring), with a couple more views south along the Hudson further up. When you reach a crossing with the Undercliff Trail (yellow), turn left onto it, which soon passes another good viewpoint west and south onto the Hudson River and West Point. A bit further there's a view to the northwest (Breakneck Ridge, Storm King Mtn and Newburgh). The trail then makes a sharp turn to the right, with fairly minor ups and downs, and then descends (in large part following an old road) to the valley between Bull Hill and Breakneck Ridge. Turn left onto the Brook Trail (red). In a few minutes, at a Y-junction, bear to the left onto the Cornish Trail (blue). At the point where you reach the ruins of the Cornish estate, the road becomes a concrete driveway. Just before you reach the bottom of the driveway, the trail turns left and parallels NY Rte 9D on its way back to your starting point.
January 24, 2021January 23, 2021Great hike. Good distance, wonderful views and a soolid workout. Windy and very cold at the top in January so dress appropriately. Prefer clockwise with the steeper incline at the start.
January 23, 2021love it . pandemic times = winter hikes
January 23, 2021It was a great walk. Steep hill in the beginning, but definitely nit as hard as breakneck ridge. The kids enjoyed it. It was cold and windy, but after an hour of walking we warmed up. The views were great!
January 22, 2021January 18, 2021January 18, 2021January 17, 2021Top ! Boue dans la montée. Vues très chouettes en haut.
January 17, 2021Steep climb to start, some patches of mud and ice but beautiful views and a gentle decline.
January 15, 2021January 15, 2021January 11, 2021Starting on south side offers a bit tougher accent. But the long down loop with the ruins is a must see. Beautiful views of the Hudson and Cold Spring is the perfect spot to recover with a coffee. Really good. Don’t miss the ruins!
January 10, 2021Awesome hike, great views and the Cornish mansion ruins were really cool! Some icy spots but not too challenging. Nice day too, get there early for good parking!
January 9, 2021Lovely views in the first third, but a bit crowded if you’re like me and like solitude (to be fair, it was a Saturday). The last 2/3 is more quiet and ends on some really cool ruins. Overall a fun hike with only a bit of ice on the downhill at this time.
January 9, 2021January 9, 2021Really nice, not too challenging, excellent views. Went in Jan and was somewhat icy on the steep parts down — nothing major, but hiking boots definitely recommended.
January 9, 2021Great trail and great view. Very icy on the descent. My poles were very useful.
January 8, 2021Great, easy trail!!! As of Friday afternoon, there was little to no ice on the trail. I did it in regular running shoes with no traction without a problem. Instead of doing the loop, we turned around at the last lookout (marked "Beautiful View" on this map) to make it a little shorter
January 4, 2021January 2, 2021December 31, 2020The route was in pretty good shape this morning: no snow on the ground, a little muddy on the uphills and downhills, and ice in a few locations.
December 19, 2020Well marked and beautiful in the snow. Almost complete solitude. Snow was not as packed as I would’ve expected. Washburn parking lot closed as of 12/19.
December 13, 2020Really easy to follow markers
December 13, 2020Nice hike. Lots of elevation gain in the first mile. A bit crowded with a 9:30 start, but it dropped off once we turned on to yellow.
December 7, 2020Great hike. Rocks. River streams. Forest
