After the disaster yesterday on the Walkway over the Hudson with my Verizon tablet, I dug out my old Canon Powershot, bought an SD card and used it today. What a difference - one handed videos are back!
(click to enlarge)
I started out at a bizarre spot, south of Eastview at the end of Fairview Park Drive. Not sure why Google Maps sent me here as there was no place to park near the trail so I drove further up the hill and parked in a corporate lot.
The trail was easy and fairly flat and even though I paralleled the Highway - it was well forested, shady and peaceful. For a mile or so I was on the
South County Trailway then it seamlessly turns into the
North County Trailway.
There were very few folks out on the trail and I pretty much kept a steady brisk pace all the way to the first trail sign and “feature”: still intact tracks.
Forest areas alternated with open areas where massive power lines either criss crossed or parralleled the trail.
Roadways were usually crossed at the same level but there were a few times where the trail bridged a road or went underneath.
At Briarcliff Manor, I stopped to take a photo of the Library which was the former depot.
There were a few signs along the way which detailed the railroad history of that section.
There’s couple of sections where you have to ride along the roadway. It’s a little weird but at least there's plenty of shoulder to ride on since it is considered part of the trail way.
The most popular section was where the rail trail went along the shore of the Croton reservoir and crossed it. The reason for this was clear - this is beautiful and very picturesque!
I shot a few short one-handed riding videos as well as a 360 at the bridge
Finally my butt was getting a little sore so after about 16 miles I stopped here (past the reservoir, up the hill in the Croton Heights area), and turned around and headed back. I'll be back to ride the rest of the trail (it goes up to Carmel/Brewster but I'll be sure to get a better starting point next time!
There's a gap between the South County Trailway and the North County Trailway. There's a three block section where the railroad ran through the back of the scrapyard, and the scrapyard now occupies the railbed.
ReplyDeleteThe North County ends at Warehouse Lane in Elmsford, and the South County ends at East Main Street. You can continue north on Vreeland Avenue and Hayes Avenue. It's a busy industrial street, but even with that, it's safer than NY-9A, which has NO shoulder.