Skip to content

Bull Hill (Short Loop)

Hudson HighlandsLoopVerified September 7, 2026

14

Minute walk from Cold Spring

Official timetable
Bull Hill and the Hudson from Breakneck Ridge, looking south
Bull Hill and the Hudson from Breakneck Ridge, looking south, seen from nearby. Photo: ScubaBear68, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Distance

4.6 mi

NYS Parks

Elevation gain

1,191 ft

USGS 3DEP

Time

2–3 h

park estimate · NYS Parks

Difficulty

moderately strenuous

index 105, computed

Blazes

White (Washburn Trail)Yellow (Undercliff Trail)Blue (Cornish Trail)

NYS Parks

From the train

Cold Spring

14 min walk · NYS Parks

The route

Topographic map of 1 hikes and 1 stations1234PPWashburn TrailheadPPPPPBull HillRNorthgate FarmRRStern-Cornish Estate (Northgate)RCornish Estate Ruins (Northgate)RJapanese gardenTrailhead© OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Washburn Trailwhite blazesUndercliff Trailyellow round blazesCornish Trailblue blazesmile markerswalking direction, as the park describes the loop

Trail line from OpenStreetMap (5622148, 5622348, 5622235), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Tiles © OpenTopoMap, CC-BY-SA. Dashed line: the walk from Cold Spring station to the trailhead, 1.1 mi by the shortest OpenStreetMap route (computed).

Download GPXGeoJSONWalk there in Google MapsApple Maps

Weather at the trailhead

DayHighLowForecastRainWind
Fri, Oct 2360°F 16°C33°F 1°CSunny, night: partly cloudy then areas of frost0%7 mph N
Sat, Oct 2461°F 16°C35°F 2°CAreas Of Frost then Partly Sunny, night: mostly clear then areas of frost0%3 mph NW
Sun, Oct 2564°F 18°C36°F 2°CAreas Of Frost then Sunny, night: clear then patchy frost0%2 mph W
Mon, Oct 2668°F 20°C44°F 7°CAreas Of Frost then Sunny, night: mostly clear0%2 mph W
Tue, Oct 2759°F 15°C37°F 3°CSunny, night: mostly clear1%5 to 8 mph N
Wed, Oct 2858°F 14°C44°F 7°CMostly Sunny, night: partly cloudy3%2 mph E
Thu, Oct 2966°F 19°C48°F 9°CMostly Sunny, night: mostly clear3%1 to 7 mph S

Forecast for Bull Hill (Short Loop) trailhead from the National Weather Service (OKX office), issued Oct 23, 2:43 PM, fetched Oct 23, 3:27 PM; refreshed hourly. Public domain.

Today at the trailhead: sunrise 7:16 AM, sunset 6:04 PM (computed, NOAA solar algorithm). Check the last train against sunset.

Route by trail

MileTrailBlazesLength
0.0Washburn TrailWhite1.3 mi
1.3Undercliff TrailYellow round1.5 mi
2.8Cornish TrailBlue1.6 mi

Trail names and blazes from the OpenStreetMap route relations, lengths measured along the drawn line, in walking order.

Along the way

MileWhatNameElevation
0.0Information boardunnamed—
0.0Information board: Hudson Highlands State Park PreserveHudson Highlands State Park Preserve—
0.0Parkingunnamed—
0.1Parking: Washburn TrailheadWashburn Trailhead—
0.6Viewpointunnamed—
0.7Viewpointunnamed—
0.8Parkingunnamed—
0.8Parkingunnamed—
0.8Parkingunnamed—
0.8Parkingunnamed—
0.8Parkingunnamed—
0.8Parkingunnamed—
1.0Viewpointunnamed—
1.1Viewpointunnamed—
1.3Viewpointunnamed—
1.4Viewpointunnamed—
1.6Viewpointunnamed—
1.9Viewpointunnamed—
1.9Viewpointunnamed—
2.2Viewpointunnamed—
2.2Summit: Bull HillBull Hill1,421 ft
2.4Viewpointunnamed—
2.4Viewpointunnamed—
2.7Ruins: Northgate FarmNorthgate Farm—
3.3Ruinsunnamed—
3.5Ruins: Stern-Cornish Estate (Northgate)Stern-Cornish Estate (Northgate)—
3.5Ruins: Cornish Estate Ruins (Northgate)Cornish Estate Ruins (Northgate)—
3.7Ruins: Japanese gardenJapanese garden—
4.4Information board: Cornish Trail / Washburn TrailCornish Trail / Washburn Trail—

Features within 394 ft of the line from OpenStreetMap (ODbL), fetched 2026-09-08. Mile is the distance along the line to the nearest point on it.

Getting there by train

Cold Spring

Metro-North Hudson Line

14 minute walk from the platform.

Official timetable

Source · verified 2026-09-07

Topographic map of 1 hikes and 1 stationsTrailheadCold Spring© OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors

Dashed line: 1.1 mi on foot from the platform by the shortest OpenStreetMap route, computed, not an official figure.

Elevation profile

0 ft600 ft1,200 ft0.0 mi1.1 mi2.2 mi3.3 mi4.4 mi
Elevation sampled every 164 ft from USGS 3DEP Elevation Point Query Service (2026-09-08). Gain 1,191 ft, loss 1,184 ft. Hover the profile to see the spot on the map.

Every fact, with its source

Distance4.6 mi
Elevation gain1,191 ft
Route typeLoop
Time2–3 h
Difficultymoderately strenuous (index 105, computed)
BlazesWhite (Washburn Trail), Yellow (Undercliff Trail), Blue (Cornish Trail)
Managed byNYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
TrailheadBull Hill (Short Loop) trailhead 41.42662, -73.96515
Parking, fee, lot timesNot yet verified

Permits & closures

No permit, reservation, or capacity rule is recorded for this hike. Check the official sources before you go.

Report a correction

Wrong walk time? Closed trail?

Tell us and cite a source if you have one. Submissions go to a review queue; we change a fact only when a source supports the change.