I'm not a meander kind of cyclist so the thought of riding great flat distances doesn't appeal to me... but this one has some long gentle inclines as well as really nice descents! That is, when you're heading in the NE direction. Coming back from the Middle Branch Reservoir you'll have some tough slopes to deal with if you're more of a rec rider but you can always walk your bike. All in all I loved it!

I parked at the southern trailhead at 6 and 118. Beware, there were only a few spaces left and the lot on the side of the street with the trailhead is off limits.

Parking:
There were a handful of free parking spaces (weekday morning) at the Old Mine Trailhead Park-and-Ride lot mentioned in the TrailLink description. I also passed three large Park-and-Ride lots in Mahopac that were directly adjacent to the Putnam Trailway. The large Park-and-Ride lot on Woodcrest Gardens at Route 6 opposite Lake Mahopac and the Four Brothers Pizza was completely empty.

Trail Condition:
The new trail section between Willow Street in Carmel Hamlet and Putnam Ave in Brewster was completely open as of my ride on Sept. 9. Unlike the North County Trailway in Westchester, there was very little tree damage from Tropical Storm Irene -- and aside from some minor flooding, the trail was in excellent condition the entire way.

Steep Grades:
Beware that this new section is NOT a graded rail trail and if you are an older rider or have young children, take a careful look at the Google Terrain map. There are three steep hill climbs that left my admittedly aged, but not terribly-out-of-shape legs, trembling. The most formidable was the Carmel Ave. overpass which, according to the Google Terrain Map climbs 50 vertical feet in about 500 feet of trail -- or almost a 10-percent grade! No wonder you see reflective-yellow "Steep Grade" signs.

New Segment Design:
Don't expect the deep woods feel of the North County and southern portion of the Putnam County Trailways on the new trail extension. The entire stretch has been cleared and landscaped with elaborate drainage catch basins and even storm-sewer grates along the hillside portions. Ironically, the tree clearing could have opened lovely views to the Middle Branch Reservoir, but the designers purposefully added a high berm (perhaps to mollify property owners) that effectively seals off any glimpse of water -- except for a short causeway which does offer views up and down the length of the reservoir.

At Willow Ave on the south end of Lake Gleneida, the transition between the old rail trail and new extension is immediately evident. There is even a display titled "A Tale of Two Trails."

Limited Services:
Ironically, although you are seldom out of sight of buildings along the new trail extension, with the exception of one bike shop located in a warehouse building the abuts the trail, there are exactly zero places to stop for a snack or coffee until you reach Lake Mahopac.

Bottom Line:
The new extension offers a nice suburban-style off-road trail ride -- with some steep grades not normally associated with rail trails.

Although there's still an orange fence that's modestly preventing users from using the new and final segment, you can just hop right over. From the Brewster train station, travel east on Rt 6 for .9 miles and you'll see the trail entrance on the right at the intersection. If you turn right, there's a gravel space for about 5 cars with green bike trail parking signs.

This last segment mimics the landscaping of the rest of the trail with nice planters and curbing. The drainage on this new section is impeccable and you can clearly see they are not finished with it yet as some stones are in place and the web netting with hay is still waiting. A typical wooden fence on the left is in place.

There's no "grand" overhead wooden signage like on CT's Farmington Canal line and since the "Ol' Put" ended/started in Brewster, it doesn't feel right just yet. Perhaps they should advertise at the train station about the trail being so close.

Eight years ago it was piecemeal and all 11 miles are finally finished.