OLD CROTON AQUEDUCT
TRAIL NORTH LETTERBOX:
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted:
August 27, 2005
Length:
Old Croton Aqueduct Trail; 26 miles
Croton
Gorge
Park
to Spring Street in
Ossining
; 5 ½ miles
Croton
Gorge
Park
to Letterbox; ½ mile
New Croton Dam to Letterbox; 0.4 miles
Difficulty:
New Croton Dam to Letterbox; Easy. Flat, gravel and hard packed Aqueduct Trail.
Croton
Gorge
Park
to Letterbox; Moderate. Must take a gravel switchback trail up to the Aqueduct
Trail.
Old Croton Aqueduct Trail; Moderate overall. Original trail sections are flat
and either hard packed dirt, grass or single track. Detour sections
include steep grades and on-road sections that are not always well marked.
Mountain bike recommended. Detour sections not recommended
for kids.
Directions:
To start from New Croton Dam;
Take exit 6 off of I-684 to Route 35 west. At the Routes 35 & 100
junction, go left on Route 100 south. At the next junction, go right on
Route 118, then continue straight onto Route 129, when Route 118 turns right.
When you see signs for the Croton Dam, look for a left hand turn that will take
you up to the dam. Note; when we planted this
box, you had to take a detour to get up to the dam by continuing straight and
following the detour signs. When you
reach the top of the dam, a small pullout for cars is located on the eastern
side of the dam, next to a small granite traffic circle. Here, you'll spot a
metal gate blocking the start of the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, which starts out
as packed gravel.
You can also access Route
129 from Routes 9 & 9A along the
Hudson River
.
To start from Croton Gorge Park; Take
exit 6 off of I-684 to Route 35 west. At the Routes 35 & 100
junction, go left on Route 100 south. At the next junction, go right on
Route 118, then continue straight onto Route 129, when Route 118 turns right.
When you see signs for the Croton Dam, continue straight past the turn off and
you'll come to the left turn into the park, next to the sign. You
can also access Route 129 from Routes 9 & 9A along the
Hudson River
.
Note; There is a gatehouse
at the park entrance to collect a fee, but when we went, on a weekend, there was
no fee and speaking with others in the park, we were told they haven't been
collecting any fees lately. So call ahead or check on-line.
The Old Croton Aqueduct Trail follows the
route of the Old Croton Aqueduct, which carried water to
New York City
from 1842 to 1955. Most of the structure lies beneath the trail and has
been designated a National Historic Landmark. The aqueduct itself remains
intact; the northern sections continue to supply water to
Ossining
. The Croton Dam is the second Dam to bear that name. The first dam was washed
away in 1841 while still under construction. The New Croton Dam began
construction in 1892 and was completed on New Years Day 1907. The dam is over
180 feet high and built of large block stones. An arched bridge crosses over the
jagged rock spillway. This is a must see. It's about a ¼ mile trek to cross the
dam. For more information visit; OLD
CROTON AQUEDUCT TRAIL or OLD
CROTON AQUEDUCT .
The trail starts from the New Croton Dam
at the New Croton Reservoir and ends at Van Cortlandt Park at the
NY City line, although not all sections of the trail are still intact. There are
various detours along the route, some of which are not well marked. The detailed
map below is a must for navigating these detours. The Metro-North Railroad's
Hudson Line closely parallels the trail allowing you to ride the trail south
and take the train back up to the Croton-Harmon Station from various other
stations. A bike trail along Route 9 allows you to ride from the Croton-Harmon
Station to
Old Albany Post Road
, where you can then access the trail. For more information visit; Metro
North Railroad . For information concerning taking your
bike on the Train visit; METRO
NORTH; BIKES .
Starting from
Croton
Gorge
Park
; This park is located directly
below the New Croton Dam and contains picnic areas, a restroom, a small
playscape and a large circular water fountain. The spillway flows down jagged
rocks into the
Croton
River
, which you cross over into the park. Above the spillway, an arched bridge
crosses over to the dam. Definitely worth checking out the views from both on
top of the dam and below it in the park. From the playscape, take the gravel
trail to its left. You'll come to a junction for the River Trail, but
bear left for the Aqueduct Trail. This is a steep switchback trail that
takes you up to the Aqueduct Trail and the top of the dam. At about 0.4
mile, you'll come to a trail junction. Left takes you up the gravel trail to the
top of the dam, but you turn right and head along the flat, level, hard packed Old
Croton Aqueduct Trail. At a ½ mile, you'll come to a ventilation shaft.
This looks like a stone chimney emerging from the earth. These were placed every
mile along the underground aqueduct and thus let you calculate how far you've
traveled along the trail. With your back to the ventilation shaft, look across
the trail and spot the stone wall along the hillside. Follow the wall right to
spot the fallen tree lying across it. Go to the trees root end, where you will
remove a large flat rock to reveal the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail North
Letterbox with a small rock on top of it to help protect it. Please replace
the box as you found it. Continuing along the trail, you'll pass underneath two
sets of transmission lines. Notice that the aqueduct was built right into the
hillside, with the river valley down below. Keep an eye out at around 0.8 miles
for a beautiful stone built house with slate roof below on your right. There are
some very steep drop offs along the trail, as well as a few rock cuts. At 1.2
miles, you cross over a small road and at 1 ½ miles, you'll come to another ventilation
shaft. You cross a couple more small roads before you come to a sign that
reads "unique area" at the 2 mile mark. A small parking
area is located here and a wooden bridge takes you over a small gorge. We saw
people heading down a path, so maybe it takes you to the
Croton
River
and a unique feature? At 2.9 miles you come to the first Detour.
Some steep climbs are included, as well as an on-road section, so it’s not
recommended for kids. The trail from here travels through more of a residential
area. Head right and spot a green wooden post with the letters OCA. A
grass trail takes you up and then down past the GE Management Institute
complex, where you emerge onto another road. Here, you must go right and then
left under the bridge to bypass Route 9A. Follow
Old Albany Post Road
up the hill and then go left up a steep
Ogden Road
. At the top, the trail continues right, across from another green OCA
post. This is roughly a ¾ mile detour. You'll come to another ventilation
shaft at 3 ¾ miles, where you have to climb up a short, but steep hill to
another road crossing. At 4.1 miles you come to Route 9. Turn left and cross at
the crosswalk to continue on the trail. The trail takes you over a wide grassy
area, but just stay straight to remain on the trail. You reach a square stone
building at 4 ¾ miles, that serves as an access point down to the aqueduct. You
can feel the cool air emerging from the open bared door. Next, cross the road
and head right where the trail veers left across a grassy median. You come to
another road at 5 miles where the trail enters a linear park. Follow the paved
path up the hill and then down the steps on the other side. Across another road
is the
Ossining
Weir Chamber. This is a National Park Service Historical Site.
This large, square stone building accesses the old aqueduct below. There are
tours that descend down into the huge brick lined tunnel of the aqueduct. Here,
you cross over the Sing Sing Kill (river) on top of the aqueduct along
the
Village
of
Ossining Linear Park
. When you reach the other side, a path left leads to a museum of the
aqueduct and a path right takes you down to a viewing platform to see the Double
Arches below the bridge you just crossed. The trail here is brick lined as
it brings you to
Main Street
. Cross over
Main Street
and continue along the brick path to
Maple Street
. Take a right down Maple to Spring Street at about the 5 ½ mile mark..
Here, another detour begins by heading left down Spring Street. I'm ending my
tour here because it gets very confusing trying to follow this detour and the
scenery is not worth it. Note however, that Sing Sing Prison is only a
few blocks south alongside the
Hudson River
and worth a quick look.
HH
CLICK HERE FOR MAP
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED
ON
MAY 12, 2009
TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION
CLICK HERE
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SURE TO READ THE
WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND
DISCLAIMER
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