New York trails · East River Trail
East River Trail
A 8.1-mile out-and-back in New York, with 1,121 ft of climbing. Reaches Hanging Spear Falls and other lake/waterfall destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 70% of the ascent, between mile 5.4 and mile 8.1.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Hanging Spear Falls (waterfall)
- Flowed Lands (lake)
- Lake Sally (lake)
- Lake Jimmy (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
East River Trail access — parking nearby. 44.08128, -74.05529 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:47 a.m., the sun rises at 6:17 a.m. and sets at 7:34 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:04 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 16.3-mile round trip takes roughly 7 h 09 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:26 p.m. — 6 h 08 min before sunset.
Loop options
- East River Trail — 1.9 mi loop, 324 ft gain
- East River Trail + Beaver Meadow Trail + Lost Lookout Trail — 2.5 mi loop, 854 ft gain
- East River Trail + West River Trail — 5.8 mi loop, 1,173 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Duck Hole Via Preston Ponds Trail — 1.9 mi
- Duck Hole Via Preston Ponds — 1.9 mi
- Allen Mountain Trail — 5.8 mi
- Van Hoevenberg Trail To Marcy — 7.4 mi