Was really surprised as to the condition of trail, was great. The only thing that would be great to see would be mile markers. As a resident of the area was looking forward to when trail would be black topped, now that it is completed its great to ride with a trike, Thanks

After many years of driving over an hour from NJ to Turner st in Hopewell Junction to ride the Dutchess trail to Walkway Over the Hudson - it was fun to go south / east in the other direction. I rode about 14.5 miles from Hopewell Junction to Holmes, a mile or so past Whaley Lake. That's roughy half of the Maybrook trailway . 29 miles round trip on a perfect day (7/22/21). As someone noted it is uphill 13 of these 14 miles. But hardly noticeable. Since the locomotives can't manage hills, the railroad builders levelled the right of way. Here with the existing track next to you - you're assured of no steep hills whatsoever. About 65 minutes to the turn around point, very leisurely done but flew back to Hopewell Junction at 17 mph and 40 minutes.
Will explore the other half next week starting in Brewster. I expect it to be just as enjoyable as this was.

We rode 50 miles on trail and had best rail trail experience ever. Maybe next weeks Rail Trails .org inaugural 5 day ride sponsored to go from NYC to Buffalo NY was reason for pristine surface & great signage but every part of trail was in immaculate condition even after last five days heavy rains.

As described, this trail varies from a wide gravel path to a single track dirt track with grass. We started in Tarrytown and went south. This is not a trail for a road bike but you are ok on a gravel bike as long as you are comfortable with rough spots and roots. The trail has lots of road crossings and they vary from neighborhoods where the cars have stop signs to steep hills where no one stops. Almost all have large granite curbs that you have to dismount to lift your bike over. As long as you are cautious you are ok. We made it to Yonkers when we turned around due to a raccoon which was blocking the trail and threatening to attack. Others on the trail kept going and one group was going all the way to NYC. We rode a bit of the River Walk as well which looks like it connects the southern part of this trail with the northern.

There is a bathroom at the Keepers House along with a museum and lovely docents who had lots of fascinating information about the aqueduct.

This was a fun outing to try something new but will likely not be on our list of gravel trails we love to ride and go to frequently.

Paid $3.50 parking at Metro on weekday; suggest you park free at the Pete&Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park next door, north. Klara Sauer Riverfront Trail ends south at Dennings Point State Park which on a map shows a 1.2 mile loop trail. Caution: Only the riverfront half of the loop is accessible and only by walking - at some parts too narrow a path for bikes. The 2nd half of the loop is now an ESTUARY. The weeded, rooted, overgrown remnant of trail is trouble for anyone not heeding the warning signs to turn back.

Rode from Harriman through Goshen in to the new about 3 and half mile section, from Hartley Rd to Palmer Ave in Middletown. This section as of now (7/6/21) is not on the map here but it exists and is very nice.

Okay, I road the whole trail, but on 2 days separated by a month. First I started at the Hopewell Junction parking lot (the end of the William R. Steinhaus Dutchess County Rail Trail). The second time I started riding in Brewster, near the end of the Putnam Valley trail. Either way you are going up a 1-3% grade until the level area near Whaley Lake.

Since it was paved with asphalt last year, this is a very smooth trail. There are several lovely watery areas on this trail and it is a great place for bird watchers. Except for either end, it is a somewhat secluded trail and very quiet. Thank you NYS for your investment.

This is all part of a section of NY's Empire State trail, and includes off road portions in Kingston, NY (the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail - gravel), continues through New Paltz, NY to the Hudson Valley RT, across the Walkway Over The Hudson and then to the Dutchess section. Then it continues through the Maybrook, Putnam, North County and South County rail trails to NYC. So you could ride more than 100 miles paved off-road.

Starting from either end Whaley Lake is the mid-point. From Hopewell Junction you ride east, north, and then south. Views include the Green Haven Correctional facility in Stormville, with its imposing and very high walls, and inmate sounds from inside those walls. From Brewster you ride northward past Ice Pond with its very long straight stretch (one mile?) for time trials. Going this way to the lake is shorter by about 3 or 4 miles than from Hopewell Jct. As you go upward the trail becomes very beautiful with flora and fauna. There are forest areas, beautiful mountain streams, marshlands, swamps, and then Whaley Lake. Also, there are many signs to "Stay on the Trail" to avoid snakes, poison ivy, and ticks, as well as "Stay off the Tracks" or private property.

Great day on the Maybrook. Rode from Lake Tonetta to Hopewell Junction and back, about 44 miles. Having previously ridden from Lake Tonetta to Whaley Lake, I was familiar with the basic trail..gradual uphill from Lake Tonetta to Whaley Lake, gradual downhill then from Whaley Lake to Hopewell Junction. The incline is very gradual, so not super hard but makes for a fairly long pull either way, so keep this in mind. Trail in fine shape. The first part to Whaley Lake passes several nice ponds with some hills in the background. And then Whaley Lake is beautiful, there’s a long stretch right alongside it. From Whaley Lake to Hopewell Junction, the trail is more secluded, passes over a couple of country roads and through rock cuts, and there are a few nice peeks through the trees and a view of the valley. Trail also passes the somewhat harrowing sight of Greenhaven prison briefly and also an area for NYPD canine training with big fences. But I could see this being pretty spectacular in the Fall, and it’s very quiet and peaceful. Hopewell Junction has a great stop at their old train station with picnic tables and restrooms…they did a great job with that. In Hopewell Junction you connect directly to the Dutchess County trail that leads to the walkway over the Hudson. All in all, a really nice trail, good variety of sections and sights. Note that you don’t pass through local downtowns per se, I saw restrooms at the Stormville parking area and at Lake Tonetta and Hopewell Junction. I understand there are a couple of services not far from some of the crossings (e.g. Route 292) but I did not go off the trail on this trip. Definitely worth a visit!

Per the advice of the other reviewers, we started from Schodack. We parked at the SEFCU right off the I90 exit for Schodack (if heading from west take right off exit). There is gas station/Dunkin’ Donuts right next to the exit and the SEFCU is right next to that. This way we avoided on road sections in East Greenbush. There are some hills between Schodack and Nassau but they weren’t terrible. After Nassau the trail to Kinderhook was much easier (aka flatter). We didn’t go all the way to Kinderhook but I’m looking forward to that another day. Beautiful trail.