The Dutchess Rail Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

that stretches from the former

Hopewell Junction Hopewell Junction is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 1330 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical ...

train depot, north to the Poughkeepsie entrance of the

Walkway over the Hudson The Walkway over the Hudson (also known as the Poughkeepsie Bridge, Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, Poughkeepsie–Highland Railroad Bridge, and High Bridge) is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York, ...

. It's a shared use rail trail open for pedestrians and bicyclers. The Dutchess Rail Trail forms part of the

Empire State Trail The Empire State Trail is a multi-use trail in New York State that was proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in January 2017 and completed in December 2020. The trail runs from Manhattan north to the Canadian border in Rouses Point near the northern t ...

. Construction was initially set to begin in July 2007. It was built in five phases. The final stage from Morgan lake in the Town of Poughkeepsie to the Walkway over the Hudson was completed in July 2013. Conrail's

Maybrook Line The Maybrook Line was a line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad which connected with its Waterbury Branch in Derby, Connecticut, and its Maybrook Yard in Maybrook, New York, where it interchanged with other carriers. It was the main ...

was double tracked, allowing for a simultaneous paved and packed dirt trail. In January 2012, a 1-mile stretch of property was purchased from

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

. An effort was made to develop this stretch of property in 2013, resulting in connections with

Walkway Over the Hudson The Walkway over the Hudson (also known as the Poughkeepsie Bridge, Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, Poughkeepsie–Highland Railroad Bridge, and High Bridge) is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York, ...

and the Hudson Valley Rail Trail.Poughkeepsie Journal, January 18, 2012
Walkway Over the Hudson to be connected to Dutchess Rail Trail. The railroad line was built in 1892 by the Central New England Railway; it was severed by a fire on the

Poughkeepsie Bridge The Walkway over the Hudson (also known as the Poughkeepsie Bridge, Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, Poughkeepsie–Highland Railroad Bridge, and High Bridge) is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York, ...

on May 8, 1974.

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organ ...

originally purchased the Maybrook Line to build a limited access highway to Interstate 84 but did not want to pay the monetary and environmental costs of connecting from Hopewell Junction to I-84. This trail, the

Maybrook Trailway Maybrook is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie (city), New York, Poughkeepsie&ndash ...

, was later completed in 2020 as part of the

project.

References

External links

Dutchess Rail Trail Map
{{Rail trails in New York Parks in Dutchess County, New York Tourist attractions in Poughkeepsie, New York