Trails News

CLC has been coordinating planning and design for an approximately 5-mile extension of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in Columbia County from Copake Falls to Hillsdale.

In support of this effort, CLC received a planning and design grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for $121,965. The grant required a $40,655 matching contribution that was provided by a new community partnership, the Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Alliance, with leadership also from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Alliance. Construction documents for a full build-out of this trail segment are close to completion. In the meantime, two sections of the trail will be opened to the public on an informal basis in the coming months.

Kinderhook Trail offers sights of Roxbury Farm – photo by Andreas Stresemann

The opening of the first leg of a new Kinderhook trail system was recently celebrated. The trail joins four centuries of Dutch farming by linking the Luykas Van Alen house with the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, by way of present day Roxbury Farm. For the last four years, CLC has provided technical assistance for the project, including lending assistance from the National Park Service through the Rivers and Trails Program. The Kinderhook Dutch Farming Heritage Trail can be reached from trailheads at both the Luykas Van Alen House and at “Lindenwald,” the Martin Van Buren home.