Route: Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (NY)

The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail is a 22 mile rail trail and linear park that winds along the former Wallkill Valley Railroad rail corridor in Ulster County, New York. It goes through the towns of Gardiner, New Paltz, Rosendale, and Ulster to the Kingston city line.

Plans to create the rail trail began as early as 1983, when New Paltz considered uses for the then-defunct Wallkill Valley corridor; the railroad had ceased regular traffic in 1977, and by 1983 had begun to remove its tracks. In 1991, a local land trust purchased the 12-mile (19 km) section of the former rail corridor between New Paltz and Gardiner, and conveyed the New Paltz section to the town and village of New Paltz. The trail was formally opened between New Paltz and Gardiner in 1993, though Gardiner did not purchase its section from the trust until 2007. The length of the trail was effectively doubled by a county land seizure in 2009, extending the walkway north from Rosendale through Ulster to Kingston. The extension included the Rosendale trestle, a 940-foot (290 m) bridge across the Rondout Creek. There are several other bridges that carry the trail, though none are as long.

The trail serves hikers, joggers, bikers, horseback riders, and cross-country skiers. It passes through several historic districts, such as Huguenot Street in New Paltz, and the Binnewater Historic District and Snyder Estate in Rosendale. The trail also traverses U.S. Route 44 (concurrent with State Route 55), and state routes 299 and 213. Several natural features are visible from clearing along the trail, such as the Shawangunk Ridge to the west, and the Plattekill Creek between New Paltz and Gardiner. The trail passes through dense vegetation, and is frequented by many types of animals and overwintering birds.

-Submitted by Jason Friedman