Harlem Valley Rail Trail

 

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.

Other information: The trailhead near Copake Falls is next to a great bike shop, cute deli  and wonderful swimming hole in an old rock quarry. Its a great place to cool off and relax. For more information on the bike shop check out Bash Bish Bicycle. They also rent bicycles for those of you who don't own them or can't transport them.

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!

Thinking about a Ski/Snowboard Getaway?

If you are thinking about taking a day out of the city to hit the slopes the Frugal Traveler may have the answers you are looking for.

In 2009 The New York Times published an article on its Frugal Traveler Blog about day trips to Vermont ski areas from the New York City metro area. Now Vermont seems like a long trip, but the Frugal Travel makes it doable and affordable (two pluses in my book). Check out his post here.

More recently, the Frugal Traveler provided us with an even more doable option for skiing in the metro area, Rail to the Trails. How much easier could skiing in the Tri-State Area be when you can just hop on a train straight to Thunder Ridge?

Over all, I usually recommend keeping an eye on the The Frugal Traveler. While he discusses world-wide travel ideas, he also often discusses things to do locally, as well as day or weekend getaways.

So what do you think, are day trips to Vermont worth the effort and expense? Would you do a Metro North Railroad ski trip? Have you gone on either of these trips or similar ones? Got any reviews to share?

Freshies in Central Park

Right now Central Park, and for that matter all the other incredible parks in New York, are blanketed in all of this fabulous white stuff… SNOW! 

There are so many ways to enjoy the parks during the winter. The first one happens to require no other equipment then your own two feet and uses one of New York’s best and most well known resources, Central Park. And at 834 acres, there is plenty of Park to explore, in fact if you decided to walk all the paths in Central Park you will have walked approximately 58 miles!

Right now Central Park happens to be blanketed in 7 inches of blissfully white snow. Just walking in the park at this time of year is idyllic enough. The sun glistens as it reflects off of the snow, bridges (there are 36 bridges and arches in Central Park), buildings and lampposts.  There are also many statues in Central Park, Wikipedia lists 29, though they don’t mention my favorite one. If you are interested in seeing some of the more popular statues try a self guided walking tour. There are several free options. The central park conservatory offers 10 different walking tours year round. If a group tour isn't your bag, try the download-able walking tours from CentralPark.com. 

There are some notable hills for sledding in the park. There is a rather tame hill by the Met at 84th Street, and another tame one as you enter the park at 81st Street on the West side. This particular picture was taken on a very short hill on the back side of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some of the bigger hills are Cedar Hill and Dog Hill both on the east side at 79th and 72nd Streets respectfully. Snow ball fights often break out on the Great Lawn and fields and there are always impressive snow men to be seen. What are your favorite places to go sledding in the City?

The Bridle Path is also great for those of you who love to cross country ski or snow shoe! They don’t salt or plow it. So you don’t have to be out there on the day of the snow storm in order to get in your fix. The Bridle Path is over 4 miles long (the Reservoir Loop is 1.65 miles, the North Meadow Loop is 1.1 miles and the Southern Spur is 1.5 miles) and it has plenty of rolling hills, so it a great place for a good workout.

Picture courtesy of The New York Times

So for now: get out there and enjoy all that gorgeous white stuff!

Run for a Good Cause

It seems as though Haiti has been on everyone's minds and hearts lately. So many people have already donated their money and time to help a nation in critical need. Here is another opportunity to help and to be active at the same time!

Run for Haiti - A 4-mile race taking place in Central Park starting at 9:00a.m. with kids races taking place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 20. Perhaps, best of all, its a double qualifier for those of you NYRR members who are hoping to qualify for the 2011 NYC Marathon. Online registration closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. So why are you still reading?.... Get going!!! Click here to register.

I'll be out there Saturday morning cheering you all on!!

Welcome

Welcome Everyone to Outside in New York.

The philosophy behind this blog is simple: create a community!

Allow a forum for individuals who enjoy participating in different activities, from all different walks of life to share their experiences and knowledge about the myriad of different ways to get outside in New York City... or even different places to go for outdoor activities outside of New York.

I will always try to post about new and exciting events and clubs I hear about, as well and fun and interesting places to go. My hope is that you will also share all your ideas with me and the community at large!

A little about me: I am a born and bred New Yorker, former competitive downhill ski racer, horseback rider, hiker, sailor, avid sports enthusiast, and newly converted distance runner. With a master's in Social Work and a bachelors in English and French, I've always wanted to help build communities and now I hope to start a community around one of my true passions, being outdoors.

So friends, its time to walk away from the key board for a while and get outside in New York!