Hike of the Week 4/13/2006

Wappingers Greenway Trail set for opening

Location:  Village of Wappingers Falls and neighboring municipalities.

Length:  10.7- or 4-mile loops.

Rating:  Easy to moderate.

Dogs:  dogs

Map:  Trail map and walk book available from Wappingers Greenway Committee.

Features: A super walk above the lower Wappinger Creek through the Reese Audubon Sanctuary and Scenic Hudson properties on some world-class constructed trail. A link to the extensive Bowdoin County Park trail system. Reese Park. Street walks through historic Wappingers Falls linking the parks.

Watch out for: Short sections of trail may be overgrown, and could be Deer Tick City.

Background:

The Wappingers Greenway Trail Grand Opening was scheduled for Oct. 15, 2005, but five days of torrential rain washed it out. An Open Forum will be held April 20 at 7 p.m. at the Wappinger Town Hall, Middlebush Road, to review the trail network and future plans. The Grand Opening has been rescheduled for May 20 at Temple Field, Creek Road, Wappingers Falls, at 11 a.m. There will be guided walks on the trail at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The trail is the brainchild of Hank DiMarco, lifelong Wappingers Falls resident, business owner, retired IBM engineer, who 10 years ago envisioned a walking path from the New Hamburg railroad station to the village of Wappingers Falls. The 10-person Wappingers Greenway Committee was formed, with representatives from the Town of Wappinger and Village of Wappingers Falls, and the Town of Poughkeepsie. When Hank passed away, current chair Joe Ennesser picked up and carried the ball. The trail was constructed by more than 120 local and New York/New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC) volunteers, headed by Eddie Walsh, NYNJTC Trail Projects Coordinator.

Hike Description:

The section of trail from the Market Street Industrial Park (the old bleachery) to New Hamburg above the lower Wappinger Creek is the creme-de-creme of the Greenway. Pick up the trail on the left just across the bridge over the creek. Head up stone steps and switchbacks reminiscent of the best of the Appalachian Trail or the Everest Base Camp trail in Nepal and continue along some superb trail paralleling the creek until you reach an "End of trail, dangerous erosion" sign. The experienced and adventurous can bushwhack past two Grand-Canyonesque drainage ditches and eventually pick up the trail again and follow it to the New Hamburg Ball Field. Sensible people will go back to their car and drive to New Hamburg and walk in the other way.

Who to call: For more information, contact Eileen Sassmann, Secretary of the Greenway Committee, at 845-297-2405.

How to get there: 

From Poughkeepsie, take Route 9 to Route 9D south through the village of Wappingers Falls. Make a right onto Market Street just past the bridge over the falls and a left onto Creek Road. Temple Field is on the left.

About the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference : The NY-NJ Trail Conference is a federation of hiking clubs, environmental organizations and individual members who volunteer their time and resources to build and maintain hiking trails and protect related open space in the bi-state region.

Information : For a more detailed description of this hike including a map, visit www.nynjtc.org and click on Hike of the Week. For information on NYNJTC activities, call 201-512-9348 or email info@nynjtc.org.

Hike of the Week is a regular feature in the Poughkeepsie Journal Players section, call 845-437-4848. This hike is contributed by Ralph Ferrusi of Stormville

V3 Last updated: April 13, 2006   Copyright © 1996-2004  New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Privacy Statement.