Over the Hudson for Rails to Trails

It was an overcast morning last autumn when I boarded the train to Poughkeepsie. Arriving at the Queen City of the Hudson, I walked uphill from the station to Parker Avenue, where I soon found the entrance to the world's longest pedestrian bridge, the Walkway Over the Hudson. I had made the journey north from New York before, but that day I was on assignment for Rails to Trails, researching my second piece for the magazine.

In the two years since the 1.3-mile long recreational trail opened to the public, it's won awards from the Society for Industrial Archeology, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the International Bridge Conference. And with a new connection to the Hudson Valley Rail Trail on the west side of the Walkway, the park is an ideal place to get some exercise or take the dog for a walk. Both ends of the bridge are also wheelchair accessible. But the dramatic views up and down the river make it worth visiting even if you're not inclined to take Metro North to Poughkeepsie for a workout. Read more about the Walkway—easily one of my favorite places in the Hudson Valley—in the fall issue of Rails to Trails.