Flirtation Walk is a historic rocky foot trail at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. The trail follows the shoreline of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

along the western bank. The southern trailhead starts at the edge of the Lincoln Hall parking lot and winds north along the river around Gee's Point and the

West Point Light The West Point Light, also known as the Discovery Park Lighthouse, is an active aid to navigation on Seattle, Washington's West Point, which juts into Puget Sound and marks the northern extent of Elliott Bay. The lighthouse is similar in design to ...

. The trail turns west-northwest, passing Battery Cove, where the

Great Chain The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These served as defenses preventing British naval vessels ...

was anchored during the Revolutionary War. The trail ends near the helipad of West Point's North Dock. There also is an access trail that descends steeply to the river level from

Trophy Point Trophy Point is a scenic overlook of the Hudson River Valley located at West Point, New York. It has been the subject of numerous works of art since the early 19th century. Trophy Point is the location of Battle Monument, one of the largest column ...

. The trail varies in consistency from level and even to steep and rocky. By academy tradition, only cadets and their guests may use the trail. Visitors escorted by cadets should wear sturdy shoes. The 1934 film ''

Flirtation Walk ''Flirtation Walk'' is a 1934 American romantic musical film written by Delmer Daves and Lou Edelman, and directed by Frank Borzage. It focuses on a soldier ( Dick Powell) who falls in love with a general's daughter (Ruby Keeler) during the gen ...

'' was named after the trail. The film was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...

Cadets refer to it as "Flirtie Walk", or just "Flirtie". The cadet knowledge manual, known as ''Bugle Notes'', refers to Flirtation Walk as a "scenic walk where only cadets and their escorts may go." The trail was first used during the Revolutionary War to access the Great Chain that deterred British ships navigating the turn in the river. As it originally had a military application, this path was off limits to cadets until the 1840s. After the military garrison's purpose at West Point became obsolete, the trail was opened and encouraged to be used by cadets. As the academy grew in size in the mid-19th century, more visitors began to frequent the cadets. Given the limited transportation opportunities of the day and the lack of places for the young men of the academy to take their lady guests, the walk became a popular place to go. The administration of the academy allowed cadets the rare opportunity to have some privacy with their guests. This policy is still traditionally held and signs are posted to keep visitors to the academy away from the trail. The signs read "Visitors must be accompanied by a cadet".

Monuments to former cadets

Because of the sentimental place in the hearts of cadets, and perhaps because of the relative amount of space available compared to the rest of the academy's grounds, Flirtation walk is home to several memorials to former cadets. Most are dedicated to cadets who died during their time at the academy. The largest and most prominent monument along the trail is Sheridan Memorial near Gee's Point that is dedicated to Richard B. Sheridan Jr, who died on the gridiron of the Yale Bowl in Oct 1931. File:West Point - Flirtation Walk - IMG 1543.jpg, Kelleher-Jobes memorial arch at the north trailhead File:Class_of_1941_Memorial_Plate_on_Flirtation_Walk_at_West_Point.jpg, Memorial plate to class of 1941 on the back side of the Kelleher-Jobes arch File:Sheridan_Memorial_on_Flirtation_Walk_at_the_United_States_Military_Academy.jpg, Sheridan Memorial near Gee's Point File:Class_of_1980_Memorial_Bench_on_Flirtation_Walk_at_the_United_States_Military_Academy.JPG, Class of 1980

Memorial bench A memorial bench, memorial seat or death bench is a piece of outdoor furniture which commemorates a dead person. Such benches are typically made of wood, but can also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials such as plastics. Typically mem ...

near the north trailhead

Battle memorial engravings

Because the Mexican War was the first war where West Point graduates played a commanding role, several of its major battles are commemorated on Flirtie Walk. There is a large engraving that states "MEXICO 13,14 SEP 1847" along Howard Road leading down to North Dock. There is also a large engraving commemorating the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

on the cliffside at

Kosciuszko's Garden Kosciuszko's Garden is a small retreat garden built by Tadeusz Kosciuszko on the side of a cliff overlooking the Hudson River at West Point, New York. First constructed in 1778, it still offers visitors and cadets a place of quiet tranquility dur ...

about a quarter mile south of Flirtie Walk. File:Mexico_Engraving_West_Point_NY.JPG, Mexican War engraving off of Howard Road File:Palo Alto.JPG,

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

engraving near Gee's Point File:Resaca_De_La_Palma_Memorial_on_Flirtation_Walk_at_the_United_States_Military_Academy.JPG,

Resaca De La Palma The Battle of Resaca de la Palma was one of the early engagements of the Mexican–American War, where the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican ''Ejército del Norte'' ("Army of the North ...

engraving which is adjacent the Palo Alto engraving File:Yorktown_Memorial_engraving_on_Flirtation_Walk_at_the_United_States_Military_Academy_at_West_Point.JPG, Yorktown engraving which sits high above the Sheridan Memorial just to the south File:Veracruz_Memorial_engraving_on_Flirtation_Walk_at_the_United_States_Military_Academy_at_West_Point.JPG,

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

engraving. The more horizontal and exposed orientation of the lettering has led to significant weather erosion. The engraving is towards the north end of the trail. File:Great_Chain_Battery_memorial_engraving.JPG, Location of the supporting artillery battery for the

during the Revolutionary War.

References

{{USMA United States Military Academy