A popular hike in Harriman State Park around scenic Pine Meadow Lake, with a little side trip to Conklin Cemetery.
We took a day off during the week and figured we’d hit up a popular hike that is normally quite crowded on weekends (and we hadn’t done since October of 2009 (“Halloween Hike at Harriman“).
Miles: 8.4
Route: RED (Pine Meadow) – WHITE (Conklins Crossing) – Unmarked Trail – Pine Meadow Road – RED (Pine Meadow) – WHITE (Kakiat) – YELLOW (Stony Brook) – RED (Pine Meadow)
For complete hike info visit our main Harriman State Park – Pine Meadow Lake page.
Harriman State Park is packed with excellent hiking trails but everyone tends to start from the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center so that area gets mobbed.
We even got a spot in the main lot instead of parking way down the road – which hasn’t happened in ages.
It’s a very nice hike so it’s popular and crowded for a reason. Even on a weekday, there was a decent handful of people out on the trail.
Pine Meadow Lake:
It was a beautiful day but a little hot – but a sweaty day on the trail trumps a day at work anytime!
The cicadas were making a racket and got even more active as the day warmed.
They were flying by us all day long – slow and drunkenly – constantly thunking their fat little bodies into our heads.
This was more amusing than annoying, especially since they made a yell-like sound when flying close.
(For anyone squeamish about bugs, I don’t suppose I just made hiking during cicada season sound very enticing.)
We took our usual route on RED towards the lake and then circled around it, including taking a break out on the little peninsula of land that juts out into the lake.
New bridge at the junction of RED, WHITE and BLUE trails:
We spotted a black snake sunning itself on the rocks below us.
Pumphouse remains:
While making our way around the lake, this time we decided to follow the woods roads over to where Conklin Cemetery is marked on the map.
Pine Meadow Lake from the bit of land that juts into it:
Nice break spot:
Plenty of views of the lake as you make your way around.
There is a pipe on a berm on the unmarked trail around the lake that is walked on:
By following some casual, unmarked trails we made our way over the to cemetery, tucked away in the woods.
There are a handful of graves of the Conklin family, including Ezekial, a veteran of the Revolutionary War.
We wandered around a bit and stumbled upon a big stone chimney with a plaque with “CCC Co. 201” on it.
(For some history of the cemetery and the rest of Harriman, plus details on every trail, check out the excellent Harriman Trails: A Guide and History)
After our little side trip, we took our usual route back.
Some of the bridges in this area are still out from Irene/Sandy but the ones on this route have been repaired.
Wildlife Spotted: Turkey vulture, snake, fishies, a frog and some dragonflies.
Wildlife Constantly Flying Into Our Heads: Those wacky Brood II Cicadas.
2/2023 – Archived the original route from the hike guide to here. This was hiked in 2013 and 2009 but was changed in 2023 to avoid a bridge that has been out for awhile.
5.6 – Pass the bridge on your left where you crossed the brook earlier. You are now following WHITE (Kakiat)/BLUE (Seven Hills).
5.7 – Follow just WHITE now. The BLUE trail goes off to your right.
Pass another bridge on your left. One of the many bridges that connect the trails over the brook:
A large boulder has directional arrows marked for HTS and K… HTS is Hillburn-Torne-Sebago (ORANGE) and K stands for Kakiat (WHITE)
You could turn left here and follow RED back to the lot if you’d like to avoid some upcoming minor rock scrambles (maybe a good idea if the trail is wet – if you do, after the bridge, turn right and follow red back)
Continue following WHITE. The trail heads down, negotiate some minor rock scrambles.
6.3 – Turn left and go over a bridge. You are following WHITE/YEL.
Pass another larger bridge on your right, where the WHITE trail heads off. You are now just following YELLOW.
YELLOW will rejoin with RED, and follow that back to the lot.
I’m really glad those square-headed suckers are done for another 17 years! I know they’re harmless and all, but it just really skeeves me out when I see their crusty shells dangling from the trees, and hear them thrumming in the air. Or — worse! — when they’re on the ground flopping around and you have to crunch across their backs to get anywhere. But I guess cicadas emerging from the ground are better than the ol’ Conklins.
Thank for the post and the great set of pix. This reminds me that I haven’t been to Pine Meadow Lake in some time, and it’s one of my favorites! Hope you’re enjoying your summer at Harriman.
I was there but did not find the cemetery and got lost. How can I find it next time?
Alberto – the cemetery was kinda hard to find, we wandered around on the unmarked trails and used the Harriman Trails paper map and our GPS to locate it.
My grand mother (Munsee) was born where Harriman state park is located. I am looking for information about their settlement that used to be there with a cemetery on an island that was built .