Bull Hill via Lone Star, Split Rock, Undercliff, Washburn, and Nelsonville Trails Loop

This loop is for those who like a good cardio workout (there’s plenty of climbing along the way!), but aren’t quite ready for the rock-scrambling rigors of nearby Breakneck Ridge. Though the vistas along this loop are not numerous, they are quite spectacular, most notably around the peak of Bull Hill/Mt. Taurus - views south to NYC on the south side of the peak and, on the north side of the peak, views to the northwest as far out as the Catskill Mountains. You can usually park right at the trailhead, where there is space for about 5 cars (with another such layby about 30 yards further east on Fishkill Road). You start out on the Lone Star Trail (blue blazes), which climbs fairly gently along an old woods road. After 0.3 miles, turn left onto the Split Rock Trail (red blazes), which continues the climb until you reach the Nelsonville Trail (green blazes) at the 0.6 mile mark. Turn left, and follow the Nelsonville Trail (an old road), losing most of the altitude you’ve gained. At 1.4 miles, turn right onto the Undercliff Trail (yellow blazes), which gradually gets steeper as it climbs up the south-southwest side of Bull Hill. Be sure to keep an eye out for the yellow blazes - it’s not so much that there aren’t enough of them, but rather that there are quite a number of herd paths which can easily lead one off the blazed trail. There are a couple of nice viewpoints to the south along the way (both are obvious). At 2.6 miles, you reach the Washburn Trail (white blazes) onto which you turn right to continue up Bull Hill. Just before you reach the summit, the trail does an almost-180 turn to the left. On the rock outcrop at this point there is an asterisk with “NYC” painted on the rock. Climb to the top of this outcrop and look directly south for a spectacular view of the Hudson River (with the Tappan Zee Bridge clearly visible) all the way down to the obvious skyline of New York City. (This, of course, assumes the air quality allows such views!). After one more short climb you reach the (quite flat) summit of Bull Hill, which the trail traverses. On the north side of the summit, there is another spectacular view, this time to the north and west, ranging from Breakneck Ridge in the foreground, past Newburgh, then the Shawangunk Ridge, all the way to the Catskill Mountains. The Washburn Trail then winds down the north side of Bull Hill on an old road until, at 3.8 miles, it ends at an intersection with the Notch Trail (blue blazes) and the Nelsonville Trail (green blazes). Stay straight on the Nelsonville Trail, which continues to follow the old road down the mountain. At 4.3 miles, turn left onto the Lone Star Trail (blue blazes) and continue on this trail as it descends. At 4.6 miles, be sure to make a sharp right turn to stay on the Lone Star Trail. (The fairly new Highlands Trail segment goes straight at this point.) At 5.4 miles, you will have returned to your starting point.