Historic trail with varied terrain and beautiful scenery. We parked in Rockland County and rode over the Tappan Zee Bridge and made am easy connection to the trail.

Miles of secluded, smooth, paved trail. We were there on a Tuesday and hardly met anyone. Typical rail trail views with woods and rocks, but the view of the lake and wetlands was very pleasant and broke it up. Surprised to find the white blazes of the Appalachian Trail where it crossed the bike path. Starting in Hopewell Junction heading south east there is a slight incline until Whaley Lake. Not a problem, just made it easier on the way back. After the Whaley Lake continuing south there is a slight decline which did make it a a bit of a grind on the way back but really nothing to be afraid of. We thoroughly enjoyed the day. The only reason I did not give this trail 5 stars was because of lack of and condition of bathroom facilities. When you are of a certain age this becomes more important to you :-) We did the William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail, Walk Over the Hudson, and Hudson Valley Rail Trail the previous day, making for a nice mini-vacation. We travelled 3 hours for this trip and it was worth it.

I have done the trail four times so far, and it is a great experience. I usually take route 25 up to Monroe, hang a right off of 25 to the park, and park my car there. The last leg of the north end takes you to an abandoned factory, and it’s a little sketchy. I don’t recommend it. But if you take the south route all the way down to Trumbull round-trip at 15 miles it is beautiful. The paths are extensive, and as a bicyclist, you could call out to everyone if you were on their left or right. It’s a very safe and fun trail for the whole family.

Skip those two segments. Boring. If you insist on checking those out, do so on a bright, sunny day. They both have a spooky, remote feel.

The trails that have any signage at all are overgrown. The rest is either not marked or unreadable signage. Not even adequate for mountain biking. The only saving grace is the arboretum in Morristown.

Must park on Halpin Rd or you’ll struggle with parking at the trailhead. Slight down hill grade from Ridgefield, but otherwise an easy walk, crossover roads marked well. No bikes just walkers and runners.

I’ve been riding this trail weekly since June 2021. So far, it is relatively undiscovered by users that can make biking treacherous: people walking dogs on leashes and small children weaving across the trail. In July the trail had ripe raspberries all along it for snacking. There are port—a-potties at the parking lot trailheads and even a couple bike service kiosks at a couple parking lots. Some sections of the trail can be quite remote; I’ve ridden miles without seeing another biker/runner. As a female cyclist riding fast, I feel safe, but female runners/walkers may feel safer with a partner. My only critique is that the trail does not connect at the Brewster (east) end with any of the Westchester county trails. But maybe that is coming.

Starting from Elmsford the road has been completely repaired and has less bumps and cracks than before. The path from Briarcliff towards Millwood has been repaired and the road seemlessly transitions from elmsford to Yorktown Heights which is the furthest I have run so far. The important notes: -Well paved for running biking and even roller blading. -signage great but not necessary because trail is clearly designed -only one major road crossing but when I ran there was no traffic -few quick street crossing

The trail is good and scenic with moderate inclines/declines but the biggest issue is proximity to a busy road along with constant crossing of driveways and roads making it quite dangerous for small kids who don’t pay attention. Park at the St Catherine’s church’s parking but crossing the street itself is a bit risky with small kids.