Skip to content

Doris Duke Trail

Tuxedo Park (Orange County)

Why we love it

For its modest length — 4 miles — this trail offers a surfeit of scenic attractions, including a swamp with a beaver lodge, fascinating rock formations and a magnificent vista of the Manhattan skyline 50 miles away. (It makes you imagine how Dorothy felt when she first glimpsed the Emerald City.) The trail’s name honors the philanthropist whose foundation purchased the 1,400 wooded acres around the trail in 2000 to prevent its development. The land has since been added to Sterling Forest State Park. The trail is long (and uphill) enough to provide a good workout without exhausting you for the rest of the day.

More to explore

Open summer-early fall, the New York Renaissance Faire just down the road offers “a rollicking romp through Elizabethan England,” including entertainment, rides and food.

Highlights

  • Moderately strenuous
  • Outstanding scenery
  • Kid-friendly (maybe with some prodding on uphill sections)
  • Usually not crowded

Directions, hours, etc.: https://www.nynjtc.org/hike/sterling-forest-doris-duke-wildlife-sancturary