This Park Outside of NYC Was Named the Top Hiking Spot in the U.S., According to Google

It's the start of the new year, so it's time to look back and analyze everything we did over the last 12 months — including what we searched for across the internet. And nobody has a better view of that than Google.

In December, the search giant released its annual Year in Search, which shared data on the top trending searches for 2024. To create its list, the team looked at "trending" queries over the last year, defined as searches with a "high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2024 as compared to 2023." To be clear, it doesn't mean the "most searched." Rather, it's all about the things we searched more over the last year than the year before. And for the Top Hiking Areas of 2024, nowhere had a bigger sustained spike than Dater Mountain Nature Park.

The park, located in Rockland County, New York, offers 350 acres of land to roam and flies a bit more under the radar than other hiking areas despite being just a 45-minute drive from Manhattan.

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Travelers can make their way here for a little break from the city and find themselves amid a lush forest, which you can explore through its expansive network of trails. According to AllTrails, the No. 1 trail in the park is the Dater Mountain Loop, an easy 2.2-mile route that it says takes a little over an hour to complete. "This is a popular trail for birding and hiking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day," AllTrails explained. It added that the trail is open year-round and dogs are welcome, so long as they remain on leash.

According to Rockland County's website, the park also offers spectacular views of the Village of Tuxedo and Orange County as a whole, which "may be seen from the high elevations, some rising 940 feet above sea level." However, it's important to note that the park does not offer bathroom facilities and is not accessible to those with mobility disabilities.

As for what you can spot while hiking, the county's website listed the endangered northern cricket frog, the Allegheny woodrat, the timber rattlesnake, and the white-tailed deer, along with both the red and gray fox, woodchucks, porcupines, raccoons, weasels, mink, and plenty of squirrels, chipmunks, and opossum. It added, "There are more than 41 species of birds, including a large number of Hawks and Turkey Vultures."

Though Dater Mountain Nature Park wasn't the only place to have a sustained spike in search. Google noted the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Oregon, Garden of the Gods in Colorado, and Looking Glass Falls in North Carolina also garnered more interest throughout 2024. And dare we say, they'd all make excellent hiking trips for 2025, too.

See more about the trends at trends.withgoogle.com.

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