Hike Description:

From the cul-de-sac, proceed ahead on a path which soon turns left and reaches a junction with the Yorktown Trailway – a wide path that parallels the Taconic State Parkway, with occasional green blazes. Turn right onto the Yorktown Trailway. At first, the Trailway follows a boardwalk below the level of the Parkway, but it soon climbs to the level of the Parkway, then again descends. After moving some distance away from the Parkway, it again approaches it – this time, overlooking the road.

About a mile from the start, the Yorktown Trailway again curves to the right, away from the Parkway, and reaches a junction with the purple-blazed Dynamite Run, which joins from the right. Just ahead, follow the purple blazes as Dynamite Run turns right, leaving the Yorktown Trailway, and heads uphill, passing on the right the southern end of the yellow-blazed Arthur's Ramble. Just before reaching the top of the rise, Dynamite Run ends at the pink-blazed Taconic Bridge Trail. Continue ahead on the Taconic Bridge Trail, which almost immediately reaches a junction with the white-blazed Circolara Trail, which joins from the right. Continue ahead on a footpath, following the co-aligned Taconic Bridge and Circolara Trails. In a short distance, you'll reach a junction where the yellow-blazed Arthur's Ramble begins on the right and the pink-blazed Taconic Bridge Trail turns left. Continue ahead on the white-blazed Circolara Trail, which now follows a woods road and descends.

After passing a huge fallen tree, the yellow-blazed Stark Hollow Trail begins on the left. Soon, the green-blazed Granite Knolls Trail crosses. Just before reaching stone gateposts, the purple-blazed Giant Boulder Trail joins from the left. Continue ahead, following the co-aligned Circolara and Giant Boulder Trails through an area strewn with boulders of various sizes. After passing a small quarry on the right, the two trails diverge. Bear right to follow the purple-blazed Giant Boulder Trail as it heads uphill to reach a huge rock pushed by a glacier to its present location. It is not considered an erratic, as the boulder is made up of the same kind of rock as the adjacent bedrock. Pieces of the Giant Boulder that have been removed are scattered at one end, but this gigantic boulder is still impressive. Note the drill marks visible at the edges of the boulder.

When you’re ready to continue, backtrack for about 100 feet to the green-blazed Granite Knolls Trail and turn right (north) onto this green-blazed trail, which follows a winding footpath around many smaller boulders. Be alert for three red blazes on the left, which mark the start of Bruno’s Run. Turn sharply left and follow this red-blazed trail, which descends steadily. It switchbacks to the right just before reaching a stone wall and bears left at a fork with an unmarked trail. After crossing several stone walls, Bruno's Run crosses the white-blazed Circolara Trail and continues to descend. Mountain bikers designed the narrow trails in this park, which accounts for their many twists and turns. 

Bruno’s Run reaches the orange-blazed Happy Ending (so named because it is considered a great way to end your bike ride in Granite Knolls). Turn left onto Happy Ending and continue downhill. When Happy Ending ends at the Yorktown Trailway, turn left and follow the Yorktown Trailway back to the end of Buckhorn Street, where the hike began.