Roosa Gap hikes: sunrise, ridge walks and the Long Path

Start with the section you want to walk

Roosa Gap is a recurring destination in the HBTrails archive, from sunrise outings to snowy ridge days. Those titles describe several visits, not one prescribed loop. Choose your start and turnaround from the current map before borrowing an idea from a video. A quick lookout outing and a Long Path section day deserve different plans.

Source: DEC Roosa Gap State Forest

Connect the ridge to a longer project

Use the Long Path Section 12 guide as the starting point for a section-hiking record. Check the current endpoints and record exactly what you walked. A ridge photograph or a tower visit alone does not establish that a whole section is complete. The Shawangunk Ridge Trail guide is useful for understanding the wider corridor and planning the next outing.

Make sunrise a planned outing

Lay out the map, light and layers the evening before. Decide whether the objective is a viewpoint or a longer walk after dawn, and agree on a turnaround. On the way home, leave room for Wurtsboro rather than adding mileage simply to make the day feel bigger. Your trip note can be short: actual start, surface conditions and one thing you would do differently.