A day on the Empire State Trail ... with beer!

By Bruce Robertson

Bruce Robertson

The Empire State Trail (EST) was created between 2017 and 2020 under then New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, linking up various paths and trailways (or rail trails) across the state over 1200 kilometres (750 miles). It joins New York City (NYC) through the Hudson River Valley, west to Buffalo along the Erie Canal, and north to the Champlain Valley and Adirondacks. You can order a map from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

Our day tour on the EST took us from Brewster - the historic terminus of the Putnam Railway - through Carmel, the seat of Putnam County, and finished at Elmsford, near White Plains, the seat of Westchester county.

The Old Putnam Railway, or 'Old Put', was closed in 1958 to passengers, and to freight in various stages by 1975. It was mostly used for passenger traffic but also for freight - coal, iron ore and lumber. One interesting fact was that the first diesel locomotive passenger train in the U.S. ran on the Putnam Railway on March 18, 1929.

This route has now been converted into the Putnam County, North County, and South County Trailways, all of which we used, as well as the Putnam Greenway in The Bronx, which we didn't.

We were 11 riders including Laura from Gotham, who rode at the back. Lukas from Gotham drove the support van and met up with us at pre-determined points - for morning break, lunchtime and afternoon break. We all arrived by train, as Brewster is now on the Metro-North Railroad, having joined the same train at various points including Grand Central Station in NYC.

I was using the excellent GPS navigation that Lukas had put together - but most of the trail was straightforward and well signposted. Lukas also gave great instructions at the start and at each meeting point, as well as having paper maps available. The only slightly tricky parts were getting from the train station to the trailhead in Brewster, and at the end, from the trailway to Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford (an excellent incentive to pay attention to directions!).

The previous week had brought some stiflingly hot weather and storms but today had dramatically changed to more normal temperatures of mid 20's ºC (high 70's ºF). And even if it had been very hot, the route was very well shaded most of the way. The last storm had brought some trees down on the trail that hadn't yet been cleared, but nothing too hard to get past.

There was plenty of great scenery and interesting places along the way. Lukas' navigation helpfully included a brief rundown on the main points, with notes to refer back to later.

Some of the notable sights along the way included:

Lake Mahopac, a fashionable summer resort from the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries, with pretty recreational areas and hiking trails. The area was strategically important during the American Revolution, and also featured in the 1982 movie 'Tootsie'!
Picturesque Croton Reservoir, once the main water storage for NYC.
Graham Station which was created when John D. Rockefeller Jr. had the tracks removed from his Pocantico Hills property, to protect his privacy, eliminating four other stations..
Millwood, known for an historic stagecoach route used by George Washington and also where Miss America 1984, actress and singer Vanessa Williams, was raised.

Perhaps the high point for many was the promised finish at the craft brewery, the excellent Captain Lawrence Brewing Company just outside Elmsford. Our table in the busy beer garden was pre-booked and on arrival we were given our 'poker chips' to exchange for beer samples! Relaxing over beer gave everyone a better opportunity to get to know each other, as during the day people cycled at their own pace and breaks were shorter. Of course, after the samples we ordered our favourites in full size - my choice was the Freshchester Pale Ale.

When people were ready to leave, Lukas shuttled them to their cars or train at White Plains. All in all it was a great day of cycling, with an excellent way to finish on a high (in moderation of course!). Highly recommended!

The author was a guest of Gotham Bicycle Tours but the views and impressions are all his own.