Vertically Inclined Wilderness Guides

Yesterday was a nice day, weather was perfect. Love the views «At Storm King Mountain» Ed was our guide and he was great! I’ll go back for sure! Thank you Ed and Vertically Inclined… I definitely recommend Vertically Inclined.

Best Hike! My first and 100% memorable. Enjoyed with a great deal of friends. I feel like I actually learned quite on the hike; the difference in fitness, nature’s beauty, and quality time with friends. Vertically Inclined is awesome and will use again for different activities that are offered.

I definitely recommend Vertically Inclined. Mid October, I did my first hike up in the Catskill and the views were amazing. Ed was our guide and he was great. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and fun. You want a different kind of work out, try hiking! I will be doing another hike with them again in the future for sure.

It was a great day!
Love the views and Brenda was wonderful.
She was so caring with my 10 years old daughter, and explain everything to us and to her.
I’ll go back again for sure!
Thank you so much Brenda!

This was my first time hiking in the NY area and it will definitely not be my last. Amazing experience! Ed was very personable and knowledgable. Our hike was pretty long but it was enjoyable. Ed made sure we were all safe, and he would always slow down to make sure the group was together. I had a lot of fun, and I will definitely book another hike with this company in the future.

My boyfriend and I bought a deal on living social for a hike with vertically inclined. We had a great time. The weather was perfect, and our guide Brenda was an absolute doll to get to know. We did the Anthony’s nose trail in early November. The hike was just enough to feel like you actually hiked, not strenuous at all. Some of the stuff I loved about Vertically Inclined was they didn’t push people beyond their capability everyone kept up with the slowest persons pace, Brenda (our guide) took professional photos of everyone FREE of charge (group, couples and individual shots), she also educated us on how to read marker trails and answered all our hiking related questions. The hike itself was great/​good? I don’t know how to classify a hike, the views were amazing and it was pretty cool to eat lunch on top of a mountain. Definitely looking forward to more hikes in the future. Thank You Brenda and Vertically Inclined!

I used a Groupon $ 35/​pp for me & my husband plus paid extra $ 20 as hike&wine was not included in Groupon but they still let me use it so I just paid the difference. It was my first experience for hiking after a long time. If you read all reviews it pretty sum up. It depends how patience you are and how you want to enjoy.
Hike & Wine
— We left on time 9am (13 people) 2 didn’t show up but we didn’t wait so that’s good.1 Van & 1 Jeep both owned by owner’s.
— We had 1^st rest stop for bathroom. I won’t say gas stop bc everyone had to use bathroom and buy some snacks etc. In 40 mins we were there.
— Anthony Nose Mountain: Hike was fast paced like we did entire hike in 2 – 3 hours didn’t get enough time to spend on top of Anthony Nose as we have to leave for winery.
— 50 mins drive to winery beautiful view everywhere. When we arrived it was super crowded and that’s not I was expecting after been tired from hike. no place to sit. super long lines. cash only for food. However wine tasting was good and Wine tasted good. We still enjoyed bought 3 wine bottle decent prices for reference it was «Warwick Winery «.
— Left at 4.30pm on time however we arrived by 7pm to NYC (Parkchester). SERIOUSLY 2.30 minutes drive I slept my whole trip. It seems it was because of Beerfest traffic and everyone trying to go back to city,
Brenda & Ed are amazing and we had good experience .
So anyone going for Hike/​Wine please know this is what you are going for. They took all our pictures and emailed us same day. That was awesome.
I am happy plus I saved money with Groupon.

Great adventure, learned new trails close to home. Would recommend for all looking for beginners hiking experience.

Ed & Brenda are just an extraordinary team. They’re knowledgeable, make you feel secure and are hilarious. It was an amazing experience and I wouldn’t of wanted a different guide. The climb and view was amazing and the stories Brenda has in store for you will leave you inspired. Great trip, definitely recommend it for beginners or expert levels. I completed Anthony’s nose trail and it was perfect for a first timer. An amazing day away from the city. Plus try a great bagel from the meeting spot Zorras in the Bx.

My brother and I went on the hike and winery tour. We had a great time on the hike and at the winery (Warwick Valley Winery). We even received a free wine glass. The views were really nice and Brenda was a lot of fun. There’s always some sour grapes in the bunch but most of the people in our group really enjoyed themselves.

I purchased a Zozi deal back in October and I finally was able to redeem it right before it expired. The registration process was a breeze when I called and spoke with Brenda, the owner of Vertically Inclined. She was great to chat with and really helpful in getting us prepared for the hike. Proper clothing is a must!
My boyfriend and I went on the hike with Ed just yesterday (a Sunday) and it was a total blast. Ed was respectful, helpful, funny, personable and very informative throughout the entire trip. The drive there and back was great because we got to take a nap (yay!) and Ed gave us a lot of information regarding some of the areas we were driving by. The actual hike was perfect because it was not too difficult as some people had never hiked before, but it was not too easy so it was a nice workout. We also stopped every now and again to take short breaks after intense climbs.
Everyone on the hike was very fun /​funny to hang out with so I hope to keep in touch with them to go on future excursions together.
The Wine Tasting at the winery was yummy and the food there was delicious! We recommend the French Fries as well as the Sausage and Gorzonzola Cheese Pizza. Simply Delish!!! We also purchased a couple of bottles of wine because they were really tasty.
We are looking forward to going on another hike with Vertically Inclined! Thank you for an awesome experience!

I LOVED THIS ADVENTURE! I love to hike back home and I have had a hard time finding anything that compares to the Smokey Mountains, but Brenda and Ed really know what they are doing and where they are going and I truly enjoyed every part of this trip. I recommend that everyone go — even if you aren’t a great hiker, they don’t rush you — it’s a just a great time.
If you do read reviews before purchasing, I suggest that you ignore all of the 1 stars, 1 trip out of hundreds went poorly.
I received this as a gift and now I will definitely return on my own and probably with all of my friends. The wine tour sounds amazing — you can’t beat a great view and a bottle of wine! Brenda and Ed were such a treat and so interactive, encouraging and caring.
I can’t wait to go back! :)

My wife and I went with 2 friends on the hike and winery tour and had a great time.
— Everyone was very friendly (both staff and hikers)
— The hike was as promised (short and easy), and
— The winery was packed, but still fun
At the winery, I would highly recommend the pear or pumpkin cider. At the winery there is apple picking for those inclined and there are lots of grass fields, so you should also bring a blanket (you can leave it in the van while you are on the hike) and make a picnic out of it. We were at the winery for 3 hours and bought an extra bottle of wine. For us, this was the highlight of the trip.
Would definitely go again and recommend to others!

The previous reviews by Chanti and Hans sum up the day’s events quite nicely. I was in attendance with them on the same day so I can verify that their accounts are 100% accurate. This company’s lack of preparation and planning ruined the day. Plain and simple.
In short, if you’d like to spend a large portion of a beautiful day riding around in an over-​crowded van rather than hiking or sipping wine then this is the tour for you.

I have to agree with the other bad reviews on here. The «organization» by the company was poor.
I agree with the complaints about timing. Though we were told times we would start and end the day on time, neither happened. The trip leaders said first that we read the wrong hike information for the return time. After our overcrowded van reiterated what we had all read, the company blamed Living Social for the wrong information. Even if we had gone by the information provided by their website and not the information the company emailed and gave to a third party (I doubt Living Social or other websites randomly pick times for return), we were still 40 minutes late.
The hike itself was okay… I don’t know that we needed a guide as group members ended up ahead of our guide at several points both up and down the mountain.
We were told that the winery was only 20 minutes away after the hike, nearly an hour later, we arrived. I think the winery probably was only 20 minutes away, but like others have stated, the route Vertically Inclined was inclined to take was not the most direct.
We did stop for gas twice on our trip, to a destination less than 60 miles away from New York City.
The Winery experience was overcrowded, though we did get a private tasting that spared us from the 30 – 60 minute lines at the winery.
In short, don’t go with Vertically Inclined, find a professional organization or just go it alone.

I was on the same tour as all of the other 1 star reviews below.
This may have been a fluke, and certain things were out of their control (like the other van not showing up), but things could have been handled a LOT differently to make up for the poor start, and this review perhaps would not have to be 1 star.
The hike was fine and had pretty views, the winery experience — while completely overcrowded with ½ hour to hour long lines — was fine. Had the transportation/​logistics worked out as promised, I would have given them 3 stars, even possibly 4.
Reasons for the stars being taken away:
– The «8:45am start, for a PROMPT 9:00am departure,» was a lie. We then stopped for gas. I understand the owner’s own vehicle not being gassed up as it was not going to be used, but the arranged van should have been 100% gassed up and ready to go. Little did we know that the vehicles had not been fully filled up at our first stop, and we would have to stop AGAIN on the way home… more on that later. It was now 9:40 and we were first leaving.
– No extra van meant an extremely uncomfortable ride in a van with a 3 seater now squished with 4 people for an hour and ½. This is after one of the passengers was asked to use his own car.
– After the hike, we were told it would be a 20 minute drive to the winery, but it was 50 minutes. I would have been fine with the 50 minutes drive, if that is what we were told.
– The 4:30 departure at the winery, turned into 5:00 departure, as we were waiting for people to return from the bathroom and finish smoking a cigarette while chatting with one of the drivers. Our van was completely full, but were forced to wait 20 minutes while the mini-​van passengers were rounded up.
– Stopped for gas… AGAIN (should have completely filled up the first time, or gone to fill up while we were at the winery) Then stopped for ANOTHER bathroom break 15 minutes later. Even though nobody in our van had to go, we were forced to wait and not proceed home.
– Route taken home to save money on tolls added time to our trip, which was already much delayed. Living Social said 5:30 arrival back to New York, so many people (including myself) had made plans for the evening. Not returning until 7:10 for reasons that were totally avoidable made for a very unhappy group of people.
Didn’t even get an apology… poor

I think the reviews here are not from people who actually went with Vertically Inclined.
We got there on time, one van was missing so half of the group had to go in the owner’s car. First stop was the gas station, because they forgot to fill up. They didnt tell where we were going, but we ended up doing a hike of 2,5 miles. Then we had to drive an hour to the winery, which was crazy busy.
Wine tasting was good. Afterwards they said «we’ll find you at 4:30»… Which meant we actually left at 5:15. They said we would be home at 5:30. It’s 6pm now and i’m still sitting in the van, 1) because they wanted to save $ 5 dollar on toll 2) because they again didnt fill up their tank (the group leaders apparently were also chilling at the winery…)
Never again.

This was by far one of the coolest adventures I have been on in a while. It was a group of 4 of us that signed up for this, and it was awesome from start to finish. The Vertically Inclined guides have all the overnight gear you need, including tents, overnight packs, sleeping bags and food. The gear is new and has clearly been cared for.
The trip itself started with a the ride up to Lake Placid. After a stop in town for a quick bite, we hit the trail and hiked a few miles until we hit the camp ground and set up shop. It was fun learning how to pitch our own tents and cook our own food, all with the help of the guides. The camp you will build will not disappoint. After a fun and quiet night out in the wild, complemented by some smores, we were ready to hit the trail again and begin our ascent to the summit of Whiteface Mountain.
Scaling the rocks into the mist is definitely a memory I will have of this trip. Once at the top, we hit the lodge for some grub. From there, we begun our descent. Overall, this trip is well planned, and the perfect amount of time. It’s good for friends and couples. Ed and Vanessa, our guides, were awesome to be around and shared their knowledge throughout. Given our experience (or lack thereof) we could have never had this much fun and hiked so much without them. As an added bonus, they take high quality pics throughout the trip and send them to you at the end. You essentially don’t even need to bring a camera. Seriously!
I’ll definitely be looking to book my next trip soon.

Whoohoo! Vertically Inclined is fun, patience and hilarious. The guides, Brenda & Ed, are true urbanites who know how to maximize the big NYS’ backyard. This was my 1^st NY hiking experience, it was invigorating & earthy. The Hike & Wine tour had a nice mixed of seasoned and newbies hikers — all trailing at our own comfy pace under the skilled & knowledgable guides of Bren & Ed. We saw «postcard-​ready» views, paused on boulders for photo ops and banter collectively along the appr 4 mile trek. Bambi even showed up to capstone the wilderness experience.
Post hike was to the wine outing to a local winery. The perfect weather afforded us the opportunity for fun wine tasting, artisan dinning & cool company for an fab outdoor experience.
Love it! Thanks

Had a great experience doing the Whiteface overnight backpacking trip with our guide, Ed. I’d never gone camping or backpacking before, but Ed was so knowledgeable about all aspects of the great outdoors that I had a blast and learned a lot in the process. Additionally — the group size (6) was perfect — had the opportunity to meet some cool people without the overwhelming nature of a large group.
The hike & views at the top were simply amazing — such a therapeutic rest from the bustle of the city, and a great way to stay active and enjoy some of the U.S.‘s most beautiful outdoors.