NORTH COUNTY TRAILWAY:
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Last Updated: May 27, 2007
Length: North County Trailway; 20.3 miles
Baldwin Place to Millwood (before the on-road detour); 12 miles
Tarrytown Lakes Spur Trail; 1.9 miles
Andre Brook Trail (connection to Old Croton Aqueduct Trail); 0.8 miles
Difficulty: North County Trailway; Moderate. Paved rail trail, but some grades could be tough for kids on bikes. The on-road section after Millwood is not recommended for kids or bike novices.
Tarrytown Lakes Spur Trail; Easy. Flat paved/crushed stone rail trail.
Andre Brook Trail; Moderate. Hilly, stone-dust, packed dirt & grass trail.
Directions:
To start from Baldwin Place [Northern End]; Take exit 7 off of I-684 to Route 116 west. Turn left when you reach Route 202. Take Route 202 southwest to the junction of Route 118. Turn right and head north on Route 118. Just before the junction of Route 6 in Baldwin Place the trail will cross the road. Parking is available at the Baldwin Place Shopping Center between Routes 6 and 118.
To start from the Yorktown/Somers border parking lot [Northern End]; Take exit 6 off of I-684 to Route 35 west. When you come to the junction of Routes 118 & 202, continue straight on Routes 35, 118 & 202. You'll come to the parking lot where the trail crosses the road at the border of Yorktown and Somers.
To start from the New Croton Reservoir parking lot [Center Section]; Take exit 13 off the Taconic State Parkway and travel west along Underhill Ave. Turn left on Route 129 and continue straight on Route 118. After 0.6 miles parking lot is on your left.
To start from the Route 117 parking lot [Southern End]; Take exit 4 off the Taconic State Parkway to Route 117 west. The lot is on the left side. An overflow lot is located just west of this lot.
To start from the Old Saw Mill River Road parking lot [Southern End]; Take exit 23 off the Saw Mill River Parkway. Northbound; The parking lot is right off the exit ramp. Southbound; Turn left on Old Saw Mill River Rd and travel underneath the Parkway. Turn right up the off-ramp, then left into the parking lot.
The Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line has a stop in Southeast, which is 4 ½ miles east of Carmel (start of the Putnam County Trailway) and a stop in Pleasantville, which is 1.4 miles from the Route 117 parking lot along the North County Trailway. This gives the hearty biker the option of doing a roughly 30 mile bike trip and then returning to your vehicle via the Metro-North Railroad. This is how we were able to bike so much of the trail without having to backtrack. The route to the stations is on-road and includes a couple of tough hills and thus is recommended for experienced bikers only. For more information visit; Metro North Railroad . If you click on the individual stations, they have available both directions and maps.
The North County Trailway is one of four interconnected rail-trails on the former New York Central Railroad's Putnam Division line. This former railroad provided freight and passenger service from 1881 to 1958 between the Bronx and Putnam County. Starting from Van Cortlandt Park in the northwest Bronx, the Old Putnam Rail Trail travels north to the South County Trailway in Westchester County. When you cross Old Saw Mill River Rd the trail turns into the North County Trailway and continues north to Putnam County where it becomes the Putnam County Trailway . The Putnam County Trailway will soon connect (Bridge still under construction as of August 2020) to the Maybrook Trailway in Brewster. The Tarrytown Lakes Spur Trail travels west from the junction of the North & South County Trailways following the old rail bed of the Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad and provides a connection to the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail .
The North County Trailway is part of the Empire State Trail , which is a continuous 750-mile route spanning the state from New York City to Canada and Buffalo to Albany, creating the longest multi-use state trail in the nation. To the south it connects to the South County Trailway and to the north you continue along the Putnam County Trailway .
Starting from Baldwin Place [Northern
End]; A signboard tells the history of the
old Putnam Division Railroad at the start of the trail. Other informative
signboards are scattered throughout the route. Brown mileage posts indicate the
distance from the start of the old Railroad Line in New York City
on top and mile markers on bottom.
Note; The Putnam County Trailway heads North from here.
Heading South; The North County
Trailway
heads into the woods
along a paved surface that is bumpy in spots from root growth. Also note that
scatted all along the trail are blue "emergency" call boxes. After 1
½ miles, you travel along a high berm, with power lines along your right. Be
prepared for a long downhill, then uphill ride as you pass by a wide open horse
farm. Very scenic. As you pass through some wetlands at 3.6 miles, another
signboard informs you, as well as, showing your location on a map. You reach the
Yorktown/Somers border parking lot after 4 ¼ miles. Next you come to a
bridge at 4.4 miles over a stream. Continue
across the bridge passing a sewer treatment plant on the right. At 5 ¼ miles,
just before entering Yorktown Heights, keep a lookout for an old Brakeman's
Warning pole. This consists of a rail in the shape of an upside down L,
hanging over the center of the trail. The chains hanging down over the trail
would hit the Railroad Brakeman, who was on top of the train and warn him
of an upcoming bridge or tunnel. *See below for history. Another
informative signboard is located here as well. Next you'll come to
Railroad
Park
in Yorktown
Heights. Here, you'll find the old Railroad Station built in 1905, as well as picnic
tables. After passing through town you travel past a marsh and go through a
couple of tunnels before you finally reach the New Croton Reservoir parking
lot at 8 ½ miles. Use caution crossing busy Route 118 as you come to
the highlight of the trail, the crossing of the reservoir over the old Putnam
Railroad Bridge, which was built in 1905. Fantastic views and not to be
missed. The trail heads back into the woods along the reservoir before heading
through a tunnel, after which a spur trail takes you up to a small parking area
off of Route 134 at 9.8 miles. You enter Millwood at 11.7 miles and pass by
their old, dilapidated Railroad Station. Finally, after 12 miles, you come to
the last parking area, just off Route 100 in Millwood, before the on-road
detour. Note; This 3 mile on-road detour is not
recommended for kids or novice bikers as it takes you along Route 100, with high
speed traffic.
From the parking lot the
trail takes you to a cross-light over Route 100. A wide shoulder is used for the
bike lane as you head south. You travel underneath the Taconic State Parkway
and come to a crosswalk at 13.2 miles that takes you over to another parking
lot. Cross over and continue south. You'll reenter the paved trail for a bit and
then head back on-road at 14.7 miles after you cross back over. Use caution when
you must cross over the on-ramp to Route 9A. After passing under a bridge
the trail is now separated from the road via a guardrail at 15 miles.
Note; A spur trail at 15.3 miles takes you to the
Law
Park
& Briarcliff Library parking lot. This Tudor-revival style Library
was once the Briarcliff Manor Railroad Station.
The trail finally heads
back into the woods at 15 ½ miles, however, you still parallel the roadway.
You'll come to a fork in the trail at 17 miles. Right takes you up to Route 117.
Continue straight underneath Route 117 and another spur trail will take you up
to the Route 117 parking lot.
Note;
See above for information on taking the Metro-North
back to the Southeast Station.
Continuing along the trail, the Saw Mill Parkway is on your left and the transmission lines are along your right. After about ¾ miles, you pull away from the highway a bit and head into the woods. You'll pass by an old railroad mileage marker at 18.9 miles that reads NY22, meaning 22 miles to New York. The trail runs along a ridge and at 19.4 miles begins a slight accent until it levels off after passing through a rock cut. At 20.3 miles you'll come alongside some old railroad tracks just before a bridge over Neperan Rd. This is the end of the North County Trailway and the start of the South County Trailway straight ahead.
Note; Right leads to the Tarrytown Lakes Spur Trail.
Tarrytown Lakes Spur Trail/Andre Brook Trail:
See also; Scenes from the Trail for more information and a map.
From
the end of the North County Trailway turn
right up a short hill then down to
Note; You can connect to the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail via the "Orange" Andre Brook Trail (can be a little tricky to follow) on your left. Travel up the narrow crushed gravel/grass trail to Wilson Park Drive. Head left on-road (residential) past a small parking lot, then turn right back along a stone-dust/grass trail that travels through a residential right of way. Spot a fence on your right. To the left is a narrow opening where the trail continues down a steep ravine to an intersection at 0.5 miles. I believe you can go either way but I went straight out to the field and traveled right to a dirt & gravel road which took me around the Sleepy Hollow HS sports fields to Bedford Rd. Here, the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail crosses Bedford Rd after 0.8 miles.
*Brakeman
Prior to 1888 when Westinghouse developed a reliable air brake, stopping a train
or a rolling car was very primitive. Iron wheels, located atop cars, were
connected to a manual braking system by a long metal rod. The brakemen, usually
two to a train, would ride on top of the car. On a whistle signal from the
engineer, the brakemen, one at the front of the train and one at the rear of the
train, would begin turning the iron wheels to engage the brakes. When one car
was completed, the brakeman would jump the thirty inches or so to the next car
and repeat the operation to apply the brakes on that car. The brakemen would
work towards each other until all cars had their brakes applied. In good
weather, the brakemen enjoyed riding on top of the cars and viewing the scenery.
However, they had to ride up there in all kinds of weather - in rain, sleet,
snow and ice, as well as good weather. Jumping from one car to the next at night
or in freezing weather could be very dangerous, not to mention the fact that the
cars were rocking from side to side. Today, a train brakeman assists the
conductor by throwing switches, hooking the train cars together and ensuring the
safety of the train, passengers, and freight.
HH
CLICK HERE FOR NORTH COUNTY TRAILWAYS MAP
CLICK HERE FOR SOUTH COUNTY TRAILWAY MAP
CLICK HERE FOR HUDSON VALLEY GREENWAY MAP
CLICK HERE FOR EMPIRE STATE TRAIL MAP
BEFORE YOU SET OUT BE SURE TO READ THE
WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER
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