Old Putnam Trail:
New York
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Description:
The Old Putnam Trail is located on the western edge of New York's Van Cortlandt Park. The park is New York City's fourth largest and is located in northwest Bronx.




The trail occupies the rail bed of the New York Central Railroad's Putnam Division. Construction of the rail line began in 1870 and was completed in 1880. The last passenger service on the line ended in 1958. Some freight was carried on the line until the early 1980's.




An entrance to the trail is in the northwest corner of a large parking lot that is entered from Van Cortland Park South. Just south of this entrance are the remnants of an old passenger platform. From this point moving north, the trail is frequently used and a wide dirt and grass corridor allows easy passage on foot or on bicycle. South of this point the trail is heavily overgrown.




As the trail stretches northward there are several connecting trails to the John Kiernan Nature Trail. This 1.25 mile trail named for a Bronx naturalist allows visitors to see the lake, a wetland and the forest.




Further north, the trail cross a small bridge that spans an arm of Van Cortlandt Lake. Across the lake are views of the Bronx skyline and the impressive golf course club house. Van Cortlandt is the largest freshwater lake in the Bronx. This man made lake is home to ducks, geese, swans and other waterfowl.




One of the most unusual sights along the Old Putnam Trail is 13 stones that were erected along the western side of the trail near a connecting trail to the Park's Parade Ground. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt placed the stone slabs along New York Central's Putnam Division as an experiment. Stone samples were sent to the location from quarries across the northeast to determine which material would be the most impervious to weathering. The choice building material would be used to erect Grand Central Station in New York City. In the end, the second southern most stone, Indiana limestone, was chosen not for its durability but because it was cheaper to transport.




At the Westchester County line, the Old Putnam Trail joins the South County Trailway. This asphalt paved trail extends for 2.35 miles to Redmond Park in Yonkers.

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Parking & Trail Access:
Van Cortlandt Park, New York, NY
From Broadway, US Route 9 go west onto Van Cortlandt Park South. Turn left at second light and bear to the left following signs for Van Cortlandt Golf Course. This leads to a large parking lot. At the far end of the parking lot on the left side is a pathway that leads to the trail.




Redmond Park, Yonkers, NY
From Central Avenue, exit at Palmer Road and turn left. Proceed on Palmer Road to Mile Square Road (traffic light) and turn left. Proceed on Mile Square Road and turn right onto Cook Avenue. Drive down Cook Avenue to the entrance to Redmond Park on the right. Turn left and proceed to the parking lot. A paved ramp leads up to the trail at the far end of the parking lot.
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Reviews: [1 trail ratings]
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Putnam trail Van Cortlandt Park
By aj10465 on August 22, 2010
I explored the Old Putnam trail in Van Cortlandt Park and was really put off by the shoddy condition of the portion of the trail I rode on. I'm sure this trail isn't on any politicians adgenda to spruce up anytime in the near future. I was totally disappointed to put it simply...
Old Putnam Trail Van Courtlant Park section
By sideburn on July 20, 2010
Natural Dirt trail through the woods of Van Courtlant Park. The trail connects the bronx to westchester's Paved south/north county trail. Trail width varies through out with some out growing roots, railroad wood protrusions, gravel on certain parts of the path.

It's a nice trail but the dirt surface is not fun to ride on. Certain sections are very uneven and bumpy. I would not recommending riding the trail after some rain. The path will have 3-4 sections where water will puddle up and become very muddy. In it's current state, it's more favorable to mountain bikes then road bikes. Hopefully this trail gets paved so it can connect to the paved section in westchester... It's a shame that it hasn't been paved, I think more people would enjoy this section of the trail if it were. For now, it's just a rough means to get to the paved trails in westchester.
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