By jmnewsweek in January, 2012
Thanks to the relatively mild Winter so far, as of late January the North County Trailway remains in great shape for cycling.
The rail trail between Millwood, NY and the Putnam County border has been remarkably clear of fallen branches and debris all Winter. Yesterday (Jan. 24) I discovered why.
Westchester County has a two-man tree crew with a leased cherry picker working along the trail to clear overhanging deadwood. From a brief conversation, I got the impression this was mainly a safety/liability issue -- the County is (rightfully) concerned someone could be clocked by a potentially deadly falling tree limb. But it's also a boon to cyclists!
The chronic flooding north of Route 35 seems to have been solved by placing a drain pipe about 18"-inches below the top of the beaver dam. The water level remains high alongside the trail, but even after 6" inches of snow on Sunday and a heavy rain on Monday, there was no flooding on Tuesday.
In fact, there was only one significant icy patch to be found on the entire 12 mile ride between Millwood and the Putnam County border. Ride on!
By jmnewsweek in October, 2011
The complete off-road section of the North County Trailway from Milwood, NY to the Puntam County Border (at the Route 118 Trailhead and Mirabella's Cafe) is now completely open--as well as the Putnam County Trailway from the Route 118 Trailhead to the Brewster Trailhead.
HOWEVER, following a heavy rain there is a short section -- about 200 feet -- of the North Country Trailway which floods thanks to the work of eager beavers (literally!!!!) that have built a dam at a low spot along side the trail. The flooded area is about a mile north of Route 35 (between Yorktown Heights and the Putnam County Border).
When flooding happens, the Westchester authorities post a "Trail Closed" sign on the north side of the Route 35 crossing -- as was the case several weeks ago when we cycled the trail after a heavy rainfall the previous night.
We ignored the signs -- along with most other cyclists -- and found the flooded stretch to be passable at slow speed with only about 4 to 5 inches of water over the asphalt in the deepest area. Not even a problem for our Terra Trikes with 20" wheels.
The trail is especially beautiful right now as the Fall foliage is nearing its peak--although the presence of wet leaves and fallen branches may pose problems for road bikes.
By jmnewsweek in September, 2011
As of my ride on Sept. 8, there were still barricades with "Path Closed" signs on a portion of the trail between Millwood and Yorktown Heights.
The barricades were being universally ignored -- and even on the officially "closed" section, all fallen trees had been cut and cleared at least enough to open the full width of the trail.
There were, however, many dead branches, and even several trees, still hanging precariously overhead.
There was also some flooding and lots of debris--mud, gravel and branches--on the trail. In a few spots, the trail shoulders were eroded. And in several places the asphalt had partially collapsed, effectively narrowing the trail to one lane. However, these were all well marked with orange cones and the trail was passable -- even for my recumbent trike.
I didn't travel north of Yorktown Heights -- although while driving home, I could see yet another "Path Closed" barricade on the north side of Route 35.
On Sept 9, I triked the Putnam County Trailway between downtown Mahopac and the trailhead at Putnam Ave. in Brewster. The trail was open with minor debris and flooding along with a few fallen, but cleared, trees in the heavily wooded section of rail trail between Mahopac and Willow Road. The new bike path extension between Willow Road and Putnam Ave. in Brewster showed very few signs of storm damage.