When it comes to most people’s view of New York the state, they tend to see it as a continuation of New York the city. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. New York state is a combination of several different geographic locations, as well as a number of diverse social, economic & cultural regions. From my perspective, there are essentially two very different areas, New York the city and the rest of the state. Either way, it is a wonderful place to visit because of the differences discovered between the two.
While New York City dances to the rhythm of urban excitement, the rest of the state is more relaxed and down to earth. No where is that contrast more sharply defined in terms of rail trails than New Paltz with the Hudson Valley Rail Trail and The Walkway over the Hudson. New Paltz is a small college town populated with roughly 14,000 souls located in Ulster County approximately 85 miles north of the city.
After dropping off an old college chum in the city, I drove north on the New State Thruway for about 2 hours arriving in New Paltz just after lunch. That gave me plenty of time to settle in to my lodgings and hit the Hudson Valley Rail Trail to the Walkway over the Hudson.
New Paltz is a bike friendly community with well marked and maintained bike paths, one of which started directly outside the door of my AirBnB and took me straight to the beginning of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail. The trail itself follows a clearly marked ribbon of asphalt 8.4 miles to the Walkway over the Hudson.
At the beginning, the trail runs along a highway for a little over a mile. About the time I began to wonder why this trail was named to the Rail Trail Hall of Fame it took a turn to the southeast leaving the highway behind transforming itself into a delightful treelined passage through the woodlands of upstate New York. It was at this point that the trail began it’s gradual 2-3% down grade into the Hudson River valley.
There are a few reminders of the trail’s origins embodied in crossings under old & new bridges as well as several surviving railroad signals. This section personifies my vision of New York state. Large old growth timber shading a winding path through forest hiding undiscovered artifacts from the states past. My only regret is that this segment seemed too short as I arrived at the walkway before I knew it, or more correctly really wanted to.
The western terminus of the Walkway over the Hudson seems to appear out of nowhere. There are a lot more people, development and enough signage to make it abundantly clear that you have arrived. Translation: you can’t miss or mistake exactly where you are.
In 1889, the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad bridge opened crossing over the Hudson for a distance of 1.28 miles at an elevation 212 feet above the river. Over the years, there were several railroads that used the bridge until 1974 when a fire destroyed the wooden parts of the bridge. However, the bridge’s story didn’t end there thanks to a group of forward thinking citizens working diligently to save and repurpose the remaining structure. In October 2009, the bridge reopened as the Walkway over the Hudson State Historic Park.
While riding one’s bike 212 feet above the river with awesome views to the north and south can become a heart stopping experience if heights aren’t your thing, the view laid out before your eyes is unquestionably breathtaking!
The pictures speak for themselves. All I can say is, if you’re in the area and you don’t take the time to ride or walk this wonder then shame on you. This is an experience I’ll never forget and the views, I will never fail to recall.
Heading back into town and towards dinner seemed shorter than the ride out. The return part of my rides always feels bittersweet for the simple reason I don’t want the ride to stop. Fortunately a group of geese with their goslings had something different in mind.
Apparently, the geese were out for a stroll along the trail on their way to dinner. The elders protectively shepherded the youngsters effectively blocking the route to all. Perhaps there was a deeper truth they choose to reveal to the strangers sharing the trail with them. Stopped there, watching their backlit forms on the trail, it came to me. Life isn’t just a list of rail trails you check off as quickly as possible just for the brag of having ridden them. What’s truly important isn’t the list but the experiences on it. So take some time along the way to stop, look around and savor the adventure.
https://hudsonvalleyrailtrail.net/