Bike Camping at Lake Skenonto, Harriman State Park, NY

Words and Photos by Donalrey Nieva

The plan for the weekend was to ride to Lake Skenoto, roughly 50 miles north of NYC.  We had a late start and ideally, by this time our, tents would already be set up by the lake.  However, a late start usually means  catching the sunset which I'm usually stoked for.  I was also excited to try out some new bikepacking gear along with my new fishing pole.  As we left the city limits we made sure to take all the dirt roads all the way to the lake.  A quick stop at the grocery store to stock up on some food and next thing you know we were almost at the lake. Perfectly timed, as the sun was just setting.  We made it just before it got dark.  We set up our tents and started a fire.  The fishing poles were brought out but with no luck as expected. This was my first time fishing after all.  Good thing we didn't count on that for dinner.  Luckily, Ronnie had brought with him some carnitas he had sous vied the night before.  It was hands down the best camp food I've had.  We couldn't have asked for a better weather, the air was perfectly chilly, and the camp fire was invitingly warm.  That night we slept good under the open sky.  The next morning, as the early fog was rolling out, we made our fire and cooked a quick breakfast. Another 30 miles and we made it to Peekskill  before noon to catch the train back to the city.  It was the perfect weekend get away!

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