D & H CANAL
HERITAGE CORRIDOR;
SOUTH LETTERBOX:
KERHONKSON, NEW YORK
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted:
July 13, 2008
Length:
Kerhonkson to Accord section; 3 ˝ miles.
Kerhonkson to
Letterbox; 1.1 miles.
Berme Road parking
lot to Letterbox; 0.2 miles.
Summitville to Wurstboro; 4.1 miles
Bashakill Wildlife Management Area/O & W Railroad Trail; about 6 miles.
Difficulty:
Moderate. Flat, grass and hard packed dirt trail.
Directions:
To start from Kerhonkson; From
the junction of Routes 209 & 55, Follow Route 209 northeast into
Kerhonkson. At the traffic light turn right down
Frances Lane
and follow across the
Rondout
Creek
Bridge
. Take you’re first left onto
Main Street
(does not look like a normal
Main Street
) and you'll come to the Firehouse on your left. Parking is located on your
right. To reach the
Berme Road
parking lot continue past
Main Street
on
Frances Lane
and take a left onto
Church Street
. At the end of Church, turn right on
East Street
, then left onto
Berme Road
. The parking lot will be on the left.
To Start from Summitville/Wurstboro;
From Route 17 take exit 113 to Route 209 north into the
village
of
Wurstboro
. Then…
To start from
Wurstboro; take a right down
Sullivan Street
(Route 171) and you'll see a small pavilion on your left between
Canal Street
and
Burger Lane
. This is where the trail crosses.
To start from
Hornbeck's Basin; continue along Route
209 north and after 2.2 miles from Route 17, look for the entrance sign on your
right.
To start from
Summitville; continue along Route 209
and after 5.8 miles from Route 17 look for Bova Road on your left and the
entrance to D & H Canal Interpretive Center.
For the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area;
From Route 17 take exit 113 to Route 209 south. Travel 1.9 miles, ignoring the
first sign you see for Bashakill on your left, until you come to
Haven Road
on your left. Cross over the Bashakill and the trail crosses the road
here. Take a left along the gravel road to the parking lot. See map for other
parking options. For the
D & H
Canal
, continue south on Route 209 until you come to
Stone Field Lane
on the left. This should take you to a parking lot for the canal.
The D & H Canal Heritage Corridor
runs for thirty-five miles in central
Ulster
County
. This route traces the Delaware & Hudson Canal, the New York,
Ontario & Western Railroad, and the scenic Rondout Creek. Most of
the northern section of trail that I describe follows the old route of the
abandoned O&W Railroad, while the southern route contains bits of the
old D&H Canal towpaths and locks, as well as, the O & W
Railroad. There are two letterboxes planted, one along the southern section
and a second along the northern section. See; D
& H Canal Heritage Corridor North Letterbox . For more
information visit; D
& H CANAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR
.
This southern section is broken into two
parts; the first leg I describe follows the old O & W Railroad from
Kerhonkson to Accord and contains the Letterbox. The second leg follows the
D & H
Canal
from Summitville to Wurstboro. I also provide information concerning the
section of trail that travels through the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area.
As with most trail systems of this length there are undeveloped sections along
the route making a complete journey difficult.
Starting from Kerhonkson; From the Firehouse,
continue east along
Main Street
and you'll come to a gate after 0.2 miles. The grass-lined single track trail
starts here following the old rail bed of the former O & W Railroad.
The
D & H
Canal
crossed somewhere along this section, but I couldn't spot where. The trail
travels through the woods and soon crosses a small bridge at 0.4 miles. The
trail improves with a crushed cinder surface but you still have to contend with
the occasional tree root. Down to your left is Rondout Creek. After 1.1
miles you cross a larger wooden bridge. After crossing, go around the railing
along the right side and over to the bridges stone embankment. NOTE; ONLY
ADULTS SHOULD RETRIEVE THIS BOX. Look underneath the bridges support and
you'll spot a small flat rock on the cement support. Remove only this rock along
with another on top of the box that helps protect it and you'll be rewarded with
the D & H Canal Heritage Corridor South Letterbox. Continuing along
the trail, you'll pass by the
Berme Road
parking lot at 1.3 miles on your right. At about mile 2 will be a dirt
path on your left leading to a picnic table overlooking the creek. After passing
through a rock cut the trail ends at 3 ˝ miles next to the Town of Rochester
Park in Accord. There is a picnic pavilion and playground here. Out to
your right is
Granite Road
(Route 27).
Starting from Summitville;
Located here off
Bova Road
is the
D & H
Canal
Interpretive
Center
. It was under construction when I was here in
July of 2008, so it may not be open yet. Lock # 50 of the canal is
located here (there were a total of 108 locks between
Hornsdale
,
PA
and
Kingston
,
NY
) as well as informational signs and wooden mileage posts. This is a grass lined
trail that follows alongside the old canal (called Basher Kill).
Note;
Heading north the trail ends at Route 209. See the map below for directions to
visit Locks # 42-45 nearby.
Heading south the old canal is on your right
and marsh along your left. After a mile you come to
Summitville Road
. A short 0.3 mile detour is necessary.
Turn right and cross the bridge, then cross the road and go to the dirt road
near the power lines. A quick left up a dirt trail will take you out to a
parking area along Route 209. Travel right a short distance and then cross over
Route 209 to the canal. USE CAUTION AS THIS IS
A HIGH SPEED ROAD
AND THERE IS NO CROSS- WALK. The canal is wider and more open along this
section with a marsh along your left side. The trail is double-track grass and
gravel, but contains multiple wooden culverts that you must cross over. Can be
annoying on a bike. There is also a picnic table and Porto-potty here. The trail
follows the canal through woodland and marsh until just past Leadmine and
McDonald Roads. You then cross a bridge over the canal and head back into the
woods. At about 3.2 miles you'll come to the gravel trail access on your right
for Hornbeck's Basin which contains parking and a Porto-potty. Continuing
along the trail you enter Wurstboro and will start to see houses. When you come
to
Ferguson Lane
at 3.6 miles, you'll need to take a 0.3 mile
on-road detour. Turn right up
Ferguson Lane
(dirt road) and then left onto
First Street
(residential road). Travel past the Town Water Authority on your left and
you'll come to a sharp right turn. Look to your left and head into the woods
past a chain gate. This will bring you back to the trail atop a berm. A wooden
fence runs along it. I'm not sure why they haven't connected this gap yet. If
you head left, you'll see that the gap is small. Heading right, you cross over
an iron bridge, pass by the white fire department building and cross over
Pine Street
. This brings you to a pavilion with benches, a picnic table and an
informational sign and
Sullivan Street
at 4.1 miles. The trail crosses over
Sullivan Street
and goes around a sub-station, but I stopped here so I don't know the trail
condition or if you can reach the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area
which is another completed section of trail.
The Bashakill Wildlife Management Area
consists of 2,175 acres and is the largest freshwater wetland in southeastern
NY. There are 15 miles of trails and several observation towers. One trail
follows the D & H Canal, which borders the Bashakill on the
west and another follows the old O & W Railroad bed on the east side.
I didn't have a chance to ride either trail, but I did check out the old O
& W Railroad bed. It appears to be a flat, grass-lined trail and looks
to run from
Walker Lane
, which is just north of Route 17, south crossing over Bashakill Creek,
then alongside the Bashakill and ending near
South Road
close to Route 61. I don't know the distance, but I estimate it to be about 6
miles. I hope to get back there next year, however, if you have any information
on these trails, please email me at letterbox@snet.net
.
HH
CLICK
HERE FOR MAP
CLICK
HERE FOR SUMMITVILLE SECTION
CLICK
HERE FOR BASHAKILL SECTION
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED
ON
AUGUST 30, 2008
TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION
CLICK
HERE
BEFORE YOU SET OUT BE
SURE TO READ THE
WAIVER
OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER
BIKE IT OR HIKE IT
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