I had first heard of this hike while looking through a friend's Facebook photos when I came across a post of this same hike (Surprise!). I did a bit more digging and found another post on my favorite hiking forum, it's an older post, but it had a bit more information. I was surprised at how long it has been available to the public.
I knew it was a short hike based on what I had read. The sign at the trailhead said it was 1.5 miles to Clements Pond; however, I assume that is to the pond's edge. When you add in the distance beyond that, that goes out on what seems like a peninsula; it was more like 2 miles. Someone can correct me if I am wrong about the distance. It is a nice hike through mostly hardwoods on a gradual uphill to about 1700 feet, then heading down toward the pond. There are some switchbacks along the way that make it even easier on the legs.
Once I reached what appeared to be the end of the trail, I found a fire pit (unofficial campsite) and a boat upside on the shore. I cannot imagine carrying that up there. While taking a quick break, I could hear some young children coming from across the pond. After a quick snack, we were soon on our way back and had reached one of the lookouts on the pond before the family of 4 came walking by. Seeing this young family reminded me of my earlier days of hiking with my son.
Again on our way up from the pond, we came upon a couple who advised us there were a small group of people carrying canoes up. This seems quite an effort, but I think it would be very relaxing on the pond in a canoe or kayak. Sure enough, I ran into the group of 3 around 1700 feet as they made their way up. "Hardcore," I said as they chuckled. We exchanged pleasantries and were each soon on our way. We continued down to the tail head, crisscrossing the brook uninterrupted.
What a beautiful hike that would be a nice place on a hot summer's day, as the trail would be under a canopy of leaves. This would be fun to snowshoe in the winter as well. The trailhead parking lot is located off Styles Brook rd in the town of Keene, New York. It is small, probably worse in the winter, assuming it is plowed.