Rail-Trails New Jersey & New York: The definitive guide to the region's top multiuse trails

by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Overview

Explore 58 of the best rail-trails and multiuse pathways across two states

All across the country, unused railroad corridors have been converted into public multiuse trails. Here, the experts from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy present the best of these rail-trails, as well as other multiuse pathways, in New Jersey and New York. Explore four Hall of Fame Rail-Trails: the High Line, New York City’s famed aerial greenway, and a trio of connected rail-trails—the Hudson Valley Rail Trail, Walkway Over the Hudson, and William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail—that form a seamless 20-mile pathway through New York’s scenic Hudson Valley.

Learn about ambitious trail projects, like New York’s state-spanning Empire State Trail and the 800-mile Circuit Trails network in Camden and Greater Philadelphia. And discover paths that offer views of some of America’s most iconic natural treasures, such as Niagara Falls, the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean coastline, the Finger Lakes, and the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains.

In this book, you’ll find:

• Detailed maps for every rail-trail, plus driving directions to trailheads
• Icons indicating the activities each trail can accommodate
• Succinct descriptions written by rail-trail experts

“You can now throw away all your self-help books on fighting depression, losing weight, toning muscles, finding something to do with your kids, and learning American history. Just use this guide, find a great trail—and enjoy!”
—Peter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence, Trust for Public Land

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643590554
Publisher:	Wilderness Press
Publication date:	05/21/2019
Series:	Rail-Trails
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to converting former railroad corridors to public, multiuse recreational trails that offer easy access to runners, hikers, bicyclists, skaters, wheelchair users, and equestrians. It serves as the national voice for more than 160,000 members and supporters, more than 23,000 miles of open rail-trails across the country, and more than 8,000 miles of potential trails waiting to be built—with a goal of ensuring a better future for America made possible by trails and the connections they inspire. To find out more about Rail-Trails, check out the Conservancy's official website at railstotrails.org.

Read an Excerpt

Keuka Outlet Trail

• County: Yates
• Endpoints: NY 54A/Elm St. between Burns Terr. and Lakeview Cemetery (Penn Yan) to Seneca St. between Main St. and Margaret St. (Dresden)
• Mileage: 6.7
• Type: Rail-Trail
• Roughness Index: 1–2
• Surfaces: Asphalt, Ballast, Dirt, Gravel
• Uses: Walking, Biking, Wheelchair Accessible, In-Line Skating, Mountain Biking, Fishing, Horseback Riding, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowmobiling

The Keuka Outlet Trail offers a sinuous route of nearly 7 miles between Penn Yan and Dresden in New York’s Finger Lakes Region. The rail-trail follows a railroad corridor that traced a former canal dug along the natural drainage of Keuka (KYOO-ka) Lake Outlet from Seneca Lake to Keuka Lake. Today, the scenes of former millsite ruins along the watercourse add another dimension to the natural beauty of cascading waterfalls and rocky ravines.

Settlers moved into the area in the late 1780s, and by 1790 the first mill began operation on Crooked Lake Outlet, as it was then called, based on the “crooked” shape of Keuka Lake. By 1830 as many as 40 mills and 12 hydropower plants operated along the stream. New York’s canal-building boom led to construction in 1833 of the Crooked Lake Canal, which required 27 locks along its course. The canal never made money and was abandoned in 1873.

The Penn Yan and New York Railroad Co. opened a branch in 1884 that used the towpath as its corridor. Later renamed Fall Brook Railroad, it was acquired by New York Central, which stopped using the route after extensive damage from Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

From Penn Yan, the trail climbs an easy grade to Dresden. Both towns are tourism destinations with plenty of services. The first 1.3 miles in Penn Yan are paved, and the remainder of the Keuka Outlet Trail is gravel, ballast, and dirt. The Friends of the Outlet have installed numerous interpretive signs along the route; you can also visit its website to learn about trail events. Snowmobiling is allowed east of Penn Yan.

Penn Yan is named for its early transplants from Pennsylvania (PENN) and New England (YAN-kees). The trail begins at a sports complex at Keuka Lake’s northern tip and joins the Keuka Outlet in 0.4 mile. Crossing under Main Street at 0.7 mile, one of the area’s first mills—Birkett Mills—still operates across the stream. After Cherry Street, you’ll soon be on the unpaved portion of the trail.

You’ll pass nearly a dozen old lock sites along the canal, as well as seven former millsites, some deteriorated to crumbling brick walls or a set of rusty gears. At 3.5 miles, you’ll likely hear the roar of Seneca Mills Falls before you see it, as it drops more than 40 feet in three cascades at the former paper millsite, now a popular picnic area. This is the only spot where you’ll leave the old towpath and drop into the former canal channel as you pass through Lock 17.

The trail follows the creek through a narrow glacier-cut gorge for the next 3 miles. The Cascade Mill waterfall appears 1.3 miles past Seneca Mills Falls and is one of the few millsites on the eastern half of the trail. A covered picnic pavilion here educates visitors with interpretive displays.

At 3.1 miles past Seneca Mills Falls, you’ll cross under the NY 14 overpass on your way to the Dresden trailhead in another 0.2 mile. Seneca Lake is 0.5 mile east.

Contact: keukaoutlettrail.org

Directions

To reach the trailhead in Penn Yan from I-90, take Exit 42 and turn right onto NY 14 after passing through the tollbooth. Go 0.7 mile and turn right onto Cross Road, and then go 1.8 miles and turn left onto Pre-Emption Road/County Road 6. Go 18.4 miles and turn right onto NY 54/Clinton St. Go 1.5 miles, turn left onto Main St., and then go 0.2 mile and turn right onto Elm St./NY 54A. Go 0.5 mile and look for Penn Yan Sports Complex on the left. The trail starts at the rear of the parking lot.

To reach the trailhead in Dresden from I-90, take Exit 42 and turn right onto NY 14 after passing through the tollbooth. Go 5.4 miles and turn right onto NY 14/Seneca St., and then go 0.2 mile and turn left onto NY 14/S. Main St. Go 13.2 miles and turn left onto Main St., and then go about 200 feet and turn right onto Seneca St. Go 0.2 mile and look for parking and the trail on the right.

Table of Contents

About Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

How to Use This Book

New Jersey

• Atlantic County Bikeway
• Barnegat Branch Trail
• Cold Spring Bike Path and Middle Township Bike Path
• Columbia Trail
• Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail
• Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway
• Elephant Swamp Trail
• Henry Hudson Trail
• Historic Smithville Park Trails
• Lawrence Hopewell Trail
• Middlesex Greenway
• Monroe Township Bike Path
• Paulinskill Valley Trail
• Pleasantville to Somers Point Bike Path
• Saddle River County Park Bike Path
• Sandy Hook Multi-Use Pathway
• Sussex Branch Trail
• Traction Line Recreational Trail
• Union Transportation Trail

New York

• Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail
• Allegheny River Valley Trail
• Auburn Trail
• Bethpage Bikeway
• Black River Trail
• Bronx River Greenway
• Catharine Valley Trail
• Clarence Pathways
• Ellen Farrant Memorial Bikeway
• Erie Canalway Trail
• Genesee Riverway Trail
• Great Gorge Railway Trail
• Harlem Valley Rail Trail
• Heritage Trail
• High Line
• Hudson River Greenway
• Hudson Valley Rail Trail
• Irondequoit Lakeside Multi-use Trail
• Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail
• Keuka Outlet Trail
• Lackawanna Rail Trail
• Lancaster Heritage Trail
• Lehigh Valley Trail
• North County Trailway
• O&W Rail Trail
• Ocean Parkway Coastal Greenway
• Old Croton Aqueduct Trail
• Old Erie Path
• Ontario Pathways Rail Trail
• Pat McGee Trail
• Putnam Trailway
• Raymond G. Esposito Memorial Trail
• Shore Parkway Greenway Trail
• South County Trailway
• Walkway Over the Hudson
• Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
• Warren County Bikeway
• William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail
• Zim Smith Mid-County Trail

Index

Photo Credits

Support Rails-to-Trails Conservancy