The Harlem Valley Rail Trail
by Kathryn Matthews
Last summer, my husband and I made an unexpectedly wonderful discovery: the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, a piece of local history in the re-making. This stretch of railbed between Wassaic in Dutchess County and Chatham in Columbia County was part of the Harlem Division commuter train line until 1972, when service to these points was discontinued. Since 1986 The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA), a not-for-profit group, has been working with the cooperation of county and state government to transform this corridor into a multi-purpose recreational pathway.
To date, four sections totaling almost 15 miles of what will eventually be a continuous, traffic-free 46-mile path are complete. The Rail Trail rules? No cars. No snowmobiles. No horses. But dogs are allowed, provided they are on leashes and their owners clean up after them. "It's a great place to teach kids how to ride a bike, says HVRTA executive director David Shufelt.
The southern portion of the trail passes through the Dutchess County hamlets of Amenia, Millerton and Wassaic; the northern part of the trail runs through Columbia County, from Undermountain Road in Ancram, to Copake Falls. A nine-mile gap between the Millerton and Under Mountain Road trailheads can be traversed off-trail via county routes 62 and 63.
The newest segment of the trail--a 2.6-mile link connecting Amenia to the Metro North Wassaic Station--opened just this past May 17th. "Now, City visitors can board the train with their bikes at Grand Central, take it to Wassaic, get directly on the trail, then bike 10.7 miles up to Millerton," says Shufelt.
Not that the Rail Trail is by any means "undiscovered" already. Over the course of a year, an estimated 50,000 visitors use the trail for biking, running or walking, with 75% from Dutchess and nearby Columbia and Litchfield Counties. The Rail Trail has boosted the local economy, too. "Visitors tend to spend money in town, or return to Millerton another time to explore the village," notes Dick Hermans, Dutchess County chairman for HVRTA and owner of Oblong Books & Music in Millerton and Rhinebeck. It's easy to understand why any visitor would return. Certainly, I remember our own excursion as though it were yesterday.
Opening our eyes to a sunlit-flooded bedroom that bright July morning, we decided it was the perfect day for a bike ride on the Rail Trail we'd heard so much about. The fact that we didn't own bicycles only proved a minor obstacle when our neighbors Ann-Marie and Michael kindly lent us theirs. Nor did our Suzuki Aerio, too small to transport those bikes, deter us. After a side trip to Dick's Sporting Goods in Kingston for a bike rack and an hour spent tethering our borrowed bikes in a ropey tapestry of loops, knots and twists, we were finally ready for action by mid-afternoon. Unfortunately, heading east, we found ourselves following an ominous-looking black cloud overhead. By the time we began unloading our bikes in the parking lot across from the trailhead entrance in Millerton raindrops pelted us, dissolving our sunblock-caked arms and legs into pasty white streaks. Spirits literally dampened, we dashed to a nearby gazebo and waited for the shower to pass.
To our delight however, the skies cleared 15 minutes later, and after a quick pit-stop (the weak of bladder will be happy to learn that there are three port-o-johnnies along the way), we pushed off. About 150 feet from the entrance, The Village Bike Shop loomed into view--a handy spot that rents bicycles and sells bottled water (518-789-9262). I made a mental note for next time.
The trail is nearly level, so you don't have to be Lance Armstrong to finish it. Legs pumping, hair flying, and with a gentle breeze bussing our cheeks, we glided along the ten-foot wide asphalt-paved trail. On the 8.1 mile path between Millerton and Amenia various cyclists, walkers and skaters loomed into view: parents herding tiny tots on training wheel-propped banana-seat bikes into single file; middle-aged rollerbladers rhythmically swiveling their hips side-to-side; an Indian family enjoying a bicycle outing, with the women's colorful saris creating a silken ripple as they pedaled by; and the occasional high-wire act--the teenaged in-line skater, for example, who had hitched herself like a waterskier to her mother's bicycle, all the while keeping tight rein on a loping golden retriever a few paces behind.
"I'm king of the jungle," a little boy shouted to his family, arms flung wide open, as he skipped giddily down the path. We could see how he might feel that way. The trail wends through sylvan territory, thick with second-growth birch, poplar, cedar, maple, and white pine, as well as wetlands. Rabbits and groundhogs skitter into underbrush entwined with black-eyed Susans, purple thistle and goldenrod. Through a veil of blackberry bramble and wild shrub, trimmed well back from the two-foot shoulder, we glimpsed scenes of bucolic country life--Holsteins chewing placidly, sheep napping en masse, green cornfields and big red barns. The zen-like hush of our ride was broken only by the trill of songbirds and the clicking of our gears. We had worked up a light sweat, so whenever we hit a rock cut (blasted out years ago to make a straight rail track), the natural temperature dip of 10 to 15 degrees felt heavenly. Along the way, picnic tables and wooden benches with lovely views popped up, subtle reminders to stop and take a moment.
We arrived in Amenia in well under an hour. There, at the Corner Bicycle Shop (845-373-4731), which also rents and repairs bikes, we bought bottled water for the return trip. Back in Millerton, we munched on oatmeal-raisin cookies at Irving Farm coffeehouse and coaxed out bow-legged kinks with a leisurely stroll down Main Street. From the parking lot, we watched a few stragglers dismounting at the trailhead. They looked as invigorated as we felt. Despite the brief rain, it had turned out to be an idyllic summer bike ride.
