Most of the people who visit Onteora Lake never set foot on the trails. They are there to enjoy the lake. This summer-themed guide to Onteora Lake swimming will help you prepare for a day at the lake!
Necessity drove my decision to swim across the Hawaiian ‘Au‘au Channel. Six months into the pandemic, I craved a sanity break from hunker-in-the-bunker mode. The prolonged isolation had induced an existential quandary: was the enormous time spent on my writing worth the effort?
When my father inquired about my plans for the free time I had gained due to the Nigerian university strike of 2010, I surprised both him and myself. Instead of expressing a desire to enroll in a coding program at one of the city’s computer centers, I found myself uttering the words, “I want to take swimming lessons.”
If you’ve ever seen Baywatch starring David Hasselhoff, you might have a glimpse of why this decision seemed unexpected.
Lake Onteora has some of the easiest and most accessible hikes near Kingston, New York. It’s located up Route 28 just three miles west of Kingston, within the Bluestone Wild Forest.
As a Kingston local, I’ve hiked each of Lake Onteora’s trails multiple times, from water snowshoe treks to summer blueberry picking hikes. So read on for all the Onteora Lake Trail details and my favorite locals’ tips to make the most of these accessible hikes near Kingston, NY!
That summer, the fields had become my dance floor, sunsets had replaced box sets, and getting lost was an invitation, not an insult. I’d returned to the country of my birth, seeking solace and retreat. Now I’d come home to myself. I’d grown stronger, braver and bold.