View from the Copake Section of the Rail Trail
This is such a great resource for cyclists and cross-country skiers alike that I am continually surprised by how few people know about this resource. Right now the trail in blanketed in snow, so its better for snow shoeing, x-county skiing and skijoring (and yes I have seen quite a few skijorers out on the trail).Where it is: Wassaic, NY through Millerton New York through Copake, NY
What it is: 15 paved miles of abandoned rail bed just north of New York City in Columbia and Dutchess Counties. They will be adding more miles soon, for now if you want to go between the Millerton trailhead and the Under Mountain Road trailhead (near Copake) you can take Rudd Pond Road to Boston Corners Road to Under Mountain Road. Here is a link to the Google Maps page of the route to bike from one trailhead to the next. The route has very low traffic and is incredibly scenic.
How to get there: Take Metro North to the Wassaic Station on the Harlem Line (last stop). The southern most trailhead is the Wassaic Metro-North station on NY 22. There is also a parking lot there for those of you who want to drive and parking on weekends is free. Additionally, there is a trailhead further north in Millerton, New York near the intersection of US 44 with NY 22. There is also a trail head on Under Mountain Road (about 10 miles North of Millerton, see Google Maps link above) and one near Copake Falls, New York (look for the signs about 13 miles north of Millerton on route 22).There are also free parking lots at all the other trailheads.
Great Places to Eat: Irving Farm is a great place to eat in Millerton and they also have cafes in New York City. Millerton also has a great diner in town right by the trailhead for the Rail Trail. McEnroe's Organic Farm is located between Amenia and Millerton on NY 22. Not only are they an organic farm but they have delicious sandwiches and barbeque options for lunch.
For More Information check out: The New York and New Jersey Trail Conference and the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.
P.S. I've recently heard that one can bike all the way from Manhattan to The Harlem Valley Rail Trail on designated bike trails that run through Westchester up through Dutchess County. I will do some research on this and report back. For you true distance cyclists, biking the entire way sounds like a lot of fun!
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There is one bike trail that goes almost the entire north-south length of Westchester county.
ReplyDeleteThe South County trail starts at Tuckahoe road and Touissant Avenue in Yonkers, and goes up to Elmsford, where there is about a half-mile break in the trail. You have to make your way north to Eastview to get on the North County Trail, which will take you all the way to the Putnam County line.
At the Putnam County Line, the trail goes on for another 6 miles north (as the Putnam County Trail) to Lake Glenida. No more trails after that-- You will have to ride on U.S. Route 6 east to Brewster, and get on NY Route 22 to go north to Wassaic.
The Westchester County Trails + the Putnam trail extension gives you a total of about 32 miles. From Lake Glenida to Wassaic is another 30 miles or so on US Route 6 and NY Route 22. And the Harlem Valley Rail Trail is another 12 miles to Millerton. Then another 10 miles on NY Route 22 to Undermountain Road to the northern section of the HVRT, and 2 more miles to Copake Falls.
One way trip total would be about 86 miles.