Lake Awosting, Minnewaska State Park State Minnewaska Awosting, Lake View from Balsam Mountain Balsam from View Bluestone Wild Forest Forest Wild Wild Bluestone Bluestone Hudson Hudson the the Over Over Walkway Walkway Trails Biking Biking Hiking and Mohonk Mountain House House Mountain Mohonk Featured Reservoir Ashokan Hudson River Towns & Cities 6 Falling Waters Preserve (Town of Saugerties) 12 Mohonk Preserve Approximately two miles of varied trails exist on this 149-acre preserve. The trails (Towns of Rochester, Rosendale, Marbletown) 1 Walkway Over the Hudson & Hudson Valley are an excellent place to explore the rugged beauty of the Hudson River, while Located just north of Minnewaska Park, Mohonk Preserve is New York State’s Rail Trail hiking atop rock ledges that slant precipitously into the water. The 0.65-mile largest visitor- and member-supported nature preserve with 165,000 annual (Hamlet of Highland, Town of Lloyd) white-blazed Riverside Trail hugs the river and offers great views. The 0.9-mile visitors and 8,000 protected acres of cliffs, forests, fields, ponds and streams. The Walkway Over the Hudson (Walkway), the longest-elevated pedestrian walkway red-blazed Upland Trail affords views of the Catskills and a picturesque waterfall. Named one of the five best city escapes nationwide by Outside magazine, Mohonk in the world, spans the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland and links www.scenichudson.org/parks/fallingwaters Preserve maintains over 70 miles of carriage roads and 40 miles of trails for together an 18-mile rail trail network on both sides of the Hudson. Connected to the Saugerties Lighthouse Trail (Village of Saugerties) hiking, cycling, trail running, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback 7 riding along the Shawangunk Mountains. It is also a major destination for rock Poughkeepsie Train Station by an elevator and fully accessible, the Walkway has Located along the Hudson River at the confluence of the Esopus Creek, the land climbers, hosting 50,000 climbers each year. Day use fee or membership required. become one of the most popular destinations in the Hudson Valley for walkers, surrounding the trail to the Lighthouse consists of 17 acres of wooded grounds and www.mohonkpreserve.org cyclists, and in-line skaters. www.walkway.org/visit tidal wetland flats. The scenic half-mile trail to the 19th Century Lighthouse and its The Hudson Valley Rail Trail (HVRT) begins at the west end of the Walkway and surrounding public decks, as well as a forked trail to a beachside picnic area on the offers a 3.5-mile, paved trail that is also fully accessible and plowed for use in the Hudson, offer a family-friendly and enjoyable hike for kids and a preferred spot for winter. The HVRT offers extraordinary vistas of Illinois Mountain, the surrounding bird watching and a boat launch. www.saugertieslighthouse.com Wallkill Valley Region ridgelines, and the Black Creek wetlands. The trail provides public restrooms at the Walkway, at the HVRT Depot/Rotary Park in Highland, and at the trail end at Tony 13 Wallkill VALLEY Rail Trail Williams Park. www.hudsonvalleyrailtrail.net Rondout Valley Region (Towns of GARDINER, NEW PALTZ, ROSENDALE, ULSTER) This flat, naturally-surfaced rail trail welcomes hikers, joggers, bicycle riders, 2 Franny Reese State Park O&W Rail Trail equestrians, dog walkers, and cross-country skiers. The nearly 22-mile linear park 8 passes historic districts, downtown areas, woodlands, stunning mountain views, (Hamlet of Highland, Town of Lloyd) (Towns of Hurley, Marbletown, Rochester, Wawarsing) orchards, cement mines/caverns, and waterways and traverses the historic Overlooking the Hudson River just south of the Walkway and HVRT, this 251-acre The O&W Rail Trail is a shared-use trail open for walking, running, bicycling, Rosendale Trestle, a magnificent 940-foot long bridge spanning the Rondout New York State park offers 2.5 miles of trails, including an historic carriage road horseback riding, inline skating (northern section only), cross-country skiing and Creek. The trail is primarily hard-packed dirt and gravel. www.wvrta.org that passes the ruins of a 19th-century estate. The trails provide superb views of snowshoeing. The O&W Rail Trail is partially-completed and will eventually run from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge. Kingston to Ellenville. The northern section, also known as the “Hurley Rail Trail,” Walden-Wallkill Rail Trail www.scenichudson.org/parks/frannyreese includes two miles of accessible, asphalt-paved trail that connects to a naturally- 14 surfaced trail running 11 miles southward. The trail picks up again to the south in the (Town of Shawangunk, Hamlet of Wallkill) Located a few miles south of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail along the same former 3 Black Creek Preserve hamlet of Accord, offering a three-mile dirt/gravel trail to the hamlet of Kerhonkson. An railroad line, this asphalt-paved rail trail extends 3.2 miles from Route 208 in the (Town of Esopus) additional 1.5-mile section in the hamlet of Napanoch runs along the Rondout Creek. hamlet of Wallkill to the Wooster Grove Park in the Village of Walden in Orange The 130-acre Black Creek Preserve is a great destination for a family-friendly hike. www.ulstercountyalive.com/listing/ow-rail-trail_dh-heritage-corridor Kids love crossing the dramatic suspension bridge that spans the Black Creek Hike County. The fully-accessible trail is open for walking, jogging, bicycling, in-line as well as exploring the Hudson River shoreline. Two miles of trails pass through 9 Lippman Memorial Park skating, dog walking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. rolling forest while heading to the Pitch Pine Overlook on the Hudson River near the (Village of Ellenville, Town of Wawarsing) www.ulstercountyalive.com/listing/walden-wallkill-rail-trail inlet of the Black Creek. www.scenichudson.org/parks/blackcreek Located in the valley between the scenic Shawangunk and Catskill Mountains, Lippman Park has become one of the most popular destinations in the region for 15 Minnewaska State Park Preserve / Sam’s Point Area 4 John Burroughs Nature Sanctuary mountain biking. Offering approximately 15 miles of single-track trails ranging (Towns of New Paltz, Gardiner) (Town of Esopus) from beginner to expert, the trails were developed by the Renegades Mountain Bike The Minnewaska State Park Preserve is a 22,275-acre preserve located on the The Burroughs Sanctuary is a pristine and rugged 200-acre retreat where Club to offer fun and exciting rides for all skill levels. The park also includes a dramatic Shawangunk Mountain Ridge which rises more than 2,000 feet above literary naturalist John Burroughs built his rustic cabin retreat, Slabsides, in playground, ball fields, and walking trails. www.renegadesmtb.com sea level and is surrounded by rugged, rocky terrain. The park features numerous 1895. The Preserve offers a 4.5-mile network of trails, rated easy to moderate, Vernooy Kill State Forest / Sundown Wild Forest waterfalls, three crystalline sky lakes, dense hardwood forests, incising sheer cliffs 10 and ledges opening to beautiful views, clear streams cut into valleys, 35 miles of which wind through rocky ridges, deep forests, and onto a peninsula in a (Towns of Rochester, Wawarsing) carriage roads and 50 miles of footpaths on which to bike, walk, hike and simply stunning two-acre pond enabling you to experience the same forest, geologic New York State’s 30,000-acre Sundown Wild Forest and adjacent Vernooy Kill State enjoy. The park also includes Sam’s Point Preserve, the highest section of the formations, waterfalls, fern valleys, wildflowers, birds, and wildlife that Forest, which includes the former 5,000-acre Lundy estate, connect the Shawangunk Mountains, which features Ice Caves, a waterfall, and dwarf pine Burroughs reveled in over a hundred years ago. Trail features include a Shawangunk Mountains to the southernmost part of the Catskills and the State forests. Day use fee required. www.nysparks.com/parks/127/details.aspx 55-step stone stairway, boardwalks (one through Burroughs’ former celery Forest Preserve. These forever-wild forest lands are open for hikers, cyclists, swamp), and a ladder up a cliff. www.johnburroughsassociation.org equestrians, and other pursuits. A moderate 11.2-mile loop trail passes over the Mohonk Preserve Vernooy Kill and Balsam Swamp and leads to scenic Vernooy Falls, a spectacular 16 (Towns of New Paltz, Gardiner) 5 Shaupeneak Ridge 60-foot waterfall series. www.dec.ny.gov/lands/75346.html (Town of Esopus) Located just north of Minnewaska Park, Mohonk Preserve is New York State’s Located on the slopes and top of Shaupeneak Ridge, the 936-acre preserve 11 Minnewaska State Park Preserve / Sam’s Point Area largest visitor- and member-supported nature preserve with 165,000 annual offers wildflower-filled grasslands, a waterfall, pond, stunning rock (Town of Wawarsing) visitors and 8,000 protected acres of cliffs, forests, fields, ponds and streams. formations, scenic viewpoints, and an abundance of wildlife. Nearly nine miles The Minnewaska State Park Preserve is a 22,275-acre preserve located on the Named one of the five best city escapes nationwide by Outside magazine, Mohonk of trails of varying difficulty and length allow exploration of the preserve’s dramatic Shawangunk Mountain Ridge which rises more than 2,000 feet above sea Preserve maintains over 70 miles of carriage roads and 40 miles of trails for myriad natural and scenic treasures. The 0.1-mile Purple Trail (off of the White level and is surrounded by rugged, rocky terrain. The park features numerous hiking, cycling, trail running, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback Trail) leads to a scenic waterfall; the easy 1.2-mile Blue Trail encircles Louisa waterfalls, three crystalline sky lakes, dense hardwood forests, incising sheer cliffs riding along the Shawangunk Mountains.