![]() Note: The shuttle stops running at 5:30 p.m. which includes the shuttle bus ride from the lot to the Mountain House where the start of the trail was located. over to the Mohonk Mountain House parking lot to hike the Labyrinth Trail. We loaded up the bikes and drove 20 mins. The Lake Awosting Trail roundtrip total time was 3 hours including ½ hour stop for lunch. I felt somewhat redeemed when I noticed a muscular young man also walking his bike up the steep hill that had twice defeated me. The ride down was a welcome relief to the strenuous uphill ride on the way up. The trail continues around the circumference of the lake, but since we wanted to fit in some hiking, we opted to head back down to the parking lot. So last year my friend Jim decided to put this to the test, much to our protests of “Are you crazy?” However, he suffered no gastrointestinal repercussions and can personally vouch for the water’s purity. Word has it that this lake is so clean you can even drink the water. We relaxed and enjoyed our lunch here and never even felt the earthquake that was taking place at that time that had sent shockwaves up and down the east coast. The only way to access this beautiful lake is either on foot or by bike so it’s never crowded. ![]() There’s a place to park the bikes, restrooms, and changing rooms. We continued on our way and finally arrived at my favorite part of the trail, a place to swim in crystal clear Lake Awosting, The lake “beach” is actually a massive rock slab that slides into the lake. Dean and Jack didn’t fair much better and we all took a welcome water break on one of the cliffs to admire the view of the lake below and mountains in the distance. ![]() This year would prove no different even though I had worked out on my stationary bike all year long. Last year, this part of the trail had defeated me and I ended up escorting my bicycle up the hill. We started our ascent and after making good speed we came upon one of the steepest parts of the trail. This gravel rocky bike path traverses through the forest and has sheer cliffs that drop off to the lake below. (We chose to take Lower Awosting Trail to Upper Awosting Trail to Lake Awosting Trail.) This is the link to the park trail system: We had decided upon a mountain trail system that was 7 miles roundtrip. The park has a minimal entry fee, ample parking and restrooms in the parking lot. First stop was scenic Minnewaska State Park.
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