Sterling Ridge, Fire Tower, and Sterling Lake Trails Loop is a 6.9 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Tuxedo Park, New York that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and nature trips and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
As of May 2020, the fire tower is closed.
January 19, 2021nice spot! quiet and pretty. there is mud but that should be rather expected when walking on a plannet coated in the stuff. lots of brooks and water to hang around. will be back in the changing seasons.
January 16, 2021January 9, 2021January 3, 2021January 2, 2021January 1, 2021Great
December 13, 2020Yellow very muddy
December 12, 2020Lovely and quiet in the fog. Not too difficult. Probably has great views but the fog limited visibility (love that!). Last part of hike is very wet and muddy.
November 8, 2020November 4, 2020October 11, 2020September 18, 2020Very pleasant this time of year, in spring it’s very wet. I hike with my Ridge Back she likes the lake.
September 8, 2020Hiked this trail two weekends ago and it’s probably between easy and moderate. The trail was free from storm debris as well. I started from the Visitor center instead of at the tiny parking lot where the Sterling Ridge and South Valley loop trails meet so that probably adds maybe 0.75 miles onto the loop. The sterling lake and south valley trails are easy trails that have wide dirt paths and don’t have much elevation gain. The hike picks up a little bit on the Sterling ridge trail and you will get to a do a little uphill hiking as well. There’s no point on this trail where you will need to climb over boulders so it is not challenging in that aspect. It’s a somewhat easy hike and one I would recommend if you’re looking for one with decent length and no scrambling.
June 27, 2020Great hike! Saw lots of red spotted newts, toads and even a snake!
June 24, 2020Went a few times over the last month, early weekend mornings or weekdays to get away from the crowds. And we had the trails to ourselves (+dog) until we got closer to the lake. Saw turtles frogs snakes chipmunks squirrels. We took the path counterclockwise starting from the Sterling Ridge trailhead small dirt parking lot. Mind the bumps and rocks if your car has low clearance. The shaded forest paths are slightly overgrown but still easy to follow. Muddy in some spots but you can usually get around it. Check for ticks afterwards!
June 21, 2020The trail is ok. Not many viewpoints. I would have enjoyed it anyway, but the black flies were horrendous today.
June 13, 2020Fire tower was closed due to COVID, but overall a great trail. Some parts were muddy on the second half. Took me under 3 hours to complete
June 10, 2020This was a great trail to go on! Get there early on a nice day because it will get hot really quick. Thankfully you're mostly in the shade but the sun can be very strong though. I recommend starting clockwise while going up the ridge so you can come down and enjoy a light walk by Sterling Lake.
May 19, 2020Parked at visitor center (very friendly, map available personnel with open, IMPECCABLE bathrooms!) Started with blue trail/sterling lake (pretty!) to red/ fire tower connector trail (ROCKY!) and learned as we approached the end that the fire tower was currently closed (would have been another 0.8 miles to actual tower) Hiking with our 5 & 7 year olds they were disappointed but enjoyed the detour along the yellow trail (lakeville ironworks trail) back to the car. Passed few people, respectful of social distancing with available masks. Our total trip was 2.5 miles here.
May 10, 2020May 10, 2020some great views along the route. well marked. very muddy.
May 3, 2020April 29, 2020Blue trail is hard course..no fun just walks and walk
April 11, 2020Nice hike with well kept trails. Dog friendly!
