Empire State Trail to Open This Year

The Empire State Trail was first envisioned in 2017 and is set to open this year. The question still remains of when exactly will the trail open? The Empire State Trail will bring together fellow New Yorkers along with millions of visitors. It allows exercise enthusiasts, nature lovers and travelers to explore all of the beauty throughout New York. Fellow historians will...

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The Adirondacks: Hiking America’s Original Wilderness

Many are those who say the Adirondacks are unique. That may be an overused word, but in numerous ways the region is distinctive, and in some cases even certifiably unique. Let’s consider some of those ways. The Adirondacks are big. Not vertically, which is what most people think of when they hear the word “big” associated with mountains, but horizontally. Consider the...

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A hiking trail connecting NYC to Canada is in the works

During his 2017 State of the State address, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo laid out an ambitious proposal to develop 350 miles of new biking paths and hiking trails that will connect New York City to both Canada and Buffalo through Albany. Dubbed the Empire State Trail, the whole project will stretch 750 miles and include roughly 400 miles of existing trails. It’s...

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Old Erie Canal Trail hosts seasonal fun

The Erie Canal in New York State is a 363-mile man-made waterway started in 1817 and finished in 1825 and celebrated the commencement of its bicentennial in 2017. The canal was built to allow mule and horse-drawn packet boats to haul materials on the east-west travel route between Buffalo and Albany. The original canal was enlarged three times and eventually re-aligned...

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A New Trail Would Connect 3 States Across 1,650 Miles

The NY-NJ-CT region features hundreds of parks and landscapes, from the Catskills and Pinelands to the beaches of Jersey and Long Island. Despite all of this open space, these recreational spots are disjointed from each other and from the communities that would use them. A New York-based non-profit has proposed a plan to connect the state with Connecticut and New Jersey...

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New Ulster hiking trail will link to 750-mile NY system

Neil Bettez said he saw the future of New Paltz, NY after a recent Town Board meeting. The town supervisor and his deputy, Daniel Torres, were walking along one of the few complete portions of New Paltz’s future River-to-Ridge Trail, which isn’t yet open to the public. It was sunset. The sunlight warmed their faces as the corn stalks bordering the trail stood sentry over...

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Hiking trail improvements are on track in NY

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $2 million in funding for projects to improve and expand State Park hiking trails and outdoor recreational access projects in State Parks across New York. The 2017-18 budget dedicates nearly $2 million to 12 projects to improve and expand State Park hiking trails and outdoor recreational access projects across New York. The trails...

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Avoid most popular hiking trails in Adirondacks this fall

New York conservation officials are urging Adirondack hikers to stay off the most popular trails in the High Peaks region this fall and range into other parts of the six-million-acre park. Growing numbers of hikers in the Adirondack Eastern High Peaks region are trashing trails, crowding summits and negatively affecting the experience for others. The Department of...

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Momentum builds for Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail

It’s been four years since it was first announced. And years remain before it is to be completed. But momentum continues to build for one of the most ambitious trail projects in the mid-Hudson Valley, a potential 9-mile pathway linking Beacon and Cold Spring, New York. The Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail will provide hikers and bikers safe passage through the towns of...

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Victor Hiking Trails plans for next steps in NY community

It was nearly 25 years ago that a small group of hiking enthusiasts huddled for the first time. Their passion: enjoying and preserving Victor’s natural beauty. Their goal: to create a system of multi-use trails that would preserve open space and provide an educational and recreational experience for everyone in the town of Victor, New York. Mission accomplished. Although...

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Whistle-stopping the Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail platform on the Metro-North Rail Line is merely a whistle-stop in Pawling, NY but it is from here that hikers from the metropolitan New York region are able to directly step onto the Appalachian Trail. And while New York has the only whistle-stop on the entire Appalachian Trail, it is testimony to Metro-North’s commitment to hikers that it offers...

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Wild Walk gives NY museum visitors treetop view of forest

A new wooden walkway in New York’s Adirondack Mountains takes nature lovers on a tour of the treetops to let them experience the forest from the perspective of the birds and beasts that live there. The $5.5 million Wild Walk is set on the 80 wooded acres of the Wild Center, an interactive natural history museum in Tupper Lake, NY. It opened Saturday, July 4, 2015....

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Hiking Snake Hill and the historic sites of Newburgh along the Hudson

There is no better vantage point of historic Newburgh and the northern entrance to the Hudson River’s highlands than Snake Hill – maintained through a partnership of Scenic Hudson and the Orange County Land Trust. Ascending the only route up Snake Hill – a closed asphalt road – a rosary of erratic rocks line its right shoulder, the largest being a yacht-sized boulder and...

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Park in Ulster County, NY Features Unique Hiking Trails

Minnewaska State Park Preserve in Ulster County, New York offers breathtaking views from some of the most unique vantage points the Empire State has to offer. “There’s so many different trails to see,” said Eric Humphrey, superintendent of the Minnewaska State Park Preserve. “But the accessibility of some of them, to get to some of these rugged...

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