I returned to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail for my second time yesterday.  I went two summers ago and have been wanting to get back to it asap.  So, even though I fell off my bike last week after an incident with a dog, I headed out to this 10+ mile trail for views I describe as perfect, unbelievable, and glorious.  Rolling meadows, ponds, horses, bright orange birds, flowers.  “Picture postcard,” is how my Dad would describe views like that. It’s like almost Disney perfect. It doesn’t seem real.  But it is.

Rail trails are my obsession.  Traffic free riding or running, on converted rail beds is genius.  On the trails, I feel a sense of mystery, of the past that once demanded more rail, less trucks, and created these long long passageways.  Men on long stretches of track, transporting the goods that would build our country.  What a brilliant idea to make these into public recreational use.  I hear there are some out west that run for hundreds of miles.  Back country scenery. A window to our land beyond city and suburb.

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail is a doable day trip for NYCers, even without a car.   MetroNorth to Wassaic gets you to the area for around $20 and the trail starts right at the rail station.  The Rail Trail is divided in sections, with the first stretch here at Wassaic the longest paved section as yet (Work is being done to add on to it).  Ride up to the section’s end in the cute hamlet of Millerton where you can take a break at Irving Coffee, the sister to 71 Irving in Gramercy.  Or explore other options. Then, carry on northward through bucolic towns and pick up the rail trail again or return back down on the trail to Wassaic for the ride back to the big city.  Or stick around.  There are a few great restaurants and many B & B/Inn options in the area.