A walk on the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad ROW between Laurel House Road and the Haines Falls Railroad Station. Work has begun to make this section of the former railroad a “rail trail” open to public access. A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling, and sometimes horse riding. 1 In nearby Tannersville a “rail trail” was open recently. The Tannersville Bike Path offers a 2.7 mile stretch of graded dirt path starting on Clum Hill Road directly across from Cortina Valley. The opposite end of the “rail trail” is on Bloomer Road. 2
On this day I started at the main parking lot for Kaaterskill Falls on Route 23a and hiked to Kaaterskill Falls reaching both the middle ledge and the top of Kaaterskill Falls. From there I walked up to the parking area for the top of Kaaterskill Falls which is located at the end of Laurel House Road. The former Ulster and Delaware Railroad crossed at this location. I then walked the former ROW (Right-of-Way) from Laurel House Road to the restored Haines Falls Railroad Station. I then walked back on Route 23a back to the Kaaterskill Falls parking lot where my car was parked. The GPS unit placed my walk at 3.8 miles. The photo gallery below showcases the images taken along the former ROW of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad. This section in the near future will become a “rail trail” open to the public.
Below the images is a file to download to open in Google Earth. This file when viewed in Google Earth will pinpoint where each photograph was taken.
Below is a Google map of the area walked.
Update June 2013: The Kaaterskill Rail Trail officially opened to the public on June 1, 2013. The KRT as it also is known covers most of the distance of the former right of row of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad between Laurel House Road and the restored Haines Falls Railroad Station.
Below is a link to the official map of the Kaaterskill Rail Trail (KRT).
Kaaterskill Rail Trail PDF Map @ www.gcswcd.com
Update- The official Kaaterskill Rail Trail in 2013:
Sources:
1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_trail
2- http://www.traillink.com/trail/tannersville-bike-path-%28huckleberry-multi-use-trail%29.aspx
Hi Charles: I saw a link for this fantastic site on facebook and shared it with Michelle Yost of the Greene County Soil and Water. She’s one of the people in charge of getting this project underway and done. She passed it around and everyone’s very impressed with your work and the incredible pictures. Please email me so I can put you in touch with Michelle. Elaine