June 13-14, 2009

Posted: July 31st, 2009 | Filed under: Feed, Manhattan, Out Of Town

We made yet another trip up to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Camp in the hills next to Beacon, in Dutchess County:

Malouf’s website explains the deal:

Wow!! Camping without a car? No camping gear? No problem! Welcome to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Campground, a hike in, hike out, fully catered camping resort. We can supply you with almost everything needed to spend a relaxing weekend in the woods.

Whether coming from the south or north, enjoy a scenic train ride on the Metro North Hudson River Line. From the Beacon train station our shuttle will take you to the hike of your choice. Hikes range in duration from a half hour to five hours. While you hike in to the camp, enjoying the views, we transport your gear to the campground and place it at your site for your convenience.

They didn’t mention the stop at the trailhead at the general store where you can buy your beer, which they’ll also transport to the campsite; that’s also important.

More:

Upon arrival, the first thing you’ll notice is the privacy of each site. You will find a stack of firewood and your fire pit for cooking. You will see your covered platform which is especially nice because you’re not stuck in your tent if it rains. There is also a cover over your fire pit. You can bring your tent or rent one of ours. Then, there is our chow box — it has everything you will need for your stay, from pots and pans to a pad of paper and a deck of cards.

They also have a bathhouse with showers and toilets, big sinks for cleaning and dryers, too. Basically you need your sleeping bag and that’s it. This season they added a shuttle service to and from the train station at Beacon. It’s fantastic and we’ve been there three times now in the past couple of years. It’s about $60 a night for a site for two people. Highly recommended.

The idea is to do a long hike, and end up at the campsite. Here’s the portion of the map of the trail we took:

(You can buy the map here.)

Along the way we took more pictures of and from the old Casino site up on the ridge:

Then we checked in on the Rusted Red Car along the Casino Trail. It’s still there:

And the animals on the trail, what I think was a “Red Eft Newt” and a “Black Rat Snake”:

On the way back to town the next day we had time to poke around the Beacon Farmers Market, held Sundays on the ferry dock next to the train station:

Then one of us dropped by the 7th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party at Madison Square:

The other one of us was way too tired . . .