RESCHEDULED - RAIN FORECAST

WHERE: The Mid-Hudson Bridge and the Walkway Over the Hudson, Poughkeepsie, New York

START/FINISH: Poughkeepsie station, Metro North Railroad and Amtrak (fully accessible)

DISTANCE: 3.1 miles (5 kilometers)

All are welcome; just let me know you’re coming and be on time.

Map of this route, going clockwise from the Poughkeepsie station. Map courtesy Google Maps.

Traveling by train between New York and Albany is one of the most scenic train rides in the United States, hugging the east bank of the Hudson River nearly the whole way. Along the way, one can see Bear Mountain, Storm King Mountain, and the United States Military Academy at West Point on the opposite shore. Midway between New York City and Albany is the city of Poughkeepsie, home of Vassar College and Marist College, and just south of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home at Hyde Park.

From the Poughkeepsie station we’ll walk to the Mid-Hudson Bridge, then west over the bridge to Highland, then uphill to the Walkway Over the Hudson, a magnificent pedestrian and bicycle path on the former Poughkeepsie railroad bridge. We’ll then go down to the river, on to lunch, and back to the train. This walk will make for a nice one-day holiday.

We’ll meet in the waiting room at the Poughkeepsie station for a departure at 1.10 PM. Metro North trains run hourly between Grand Central Terminal and Poughkeepsie; take the train leaving Grand Central at 10.50 and Harlem - 125 Street at 11.01, or take Amtrak from the Moynihan Train Hall (Pennsylvania Station), train 233 departing at 11.20. I will be on the Metro North train in the front-most open car. There is parking at the Poughkeepsie station if you prefer to drive.