Being raised in Rockland County for most of my childhood/teen life, I feel like I had taken advantage of the beautiful Hudson Valley area. Looking back, I did some hikes and explore some terrain while I lived there, but the older I get  the more scenery I feel I’ve discovered (perhaps because I was too occupied with being a teenager at the Palisades Mall!). My fiance and myself  love to take day trips out of Brooklyn to anywhere we can get to within two hours, so I called my mom (who is now residing in the beautiful Pocono Mountains) if she had any suggestions for a nice hike. She recommended Rockland State Park being only 50 minutes from Williamsburg, Brooklyn where we currently reside pointing out that they had trails with beautiful look out points.  I yawned and asked for more guidance seeing as how I grew up 5 minutes from there and felt I already had explored it enough as a kid. We opted for Nyack Beach which sits right on the Hudson River just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge, feeling that it would be a picturesque walk along the path that ultimately connects to Rockland Lake a few miles down. About a third of the way on the path we became a little bored as we like hiking uneven terrain better, so we turned back and drove over to the originally suggested location, Rockland Lake. (Side note: Nyack Beach would a great day trip for Andy’s mother ; easy and beautiful. Reminds me a lot of Hazard Beach in NJ.) Boy were we so glad we made the switch! The trail was amazing which edged around the mountain that surrounded the Hudson River and there were two routes to choose from (both required a little energy uphill, but were fairly easy).  I forgot how fun the once thriving community was a blast to explore: cemeteries, a fire house, an old school, and lots of old, broken down houses, and of course the lake. Best part of course: dog friendly (except on the path around the lake).  I wish I had taken more photos but my camera had died halfway through.  Guess you will have to explore on your own!