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 Map Source:
Friends of Old Croton Aqueduct Web Sitehttp://www.aqueduct.org/  
 
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On and Off the Trail: An Appreciation of the Old Croton Aqueduct TrailBy Tim W. BrownI was an old hand at walking and hiking when I arrived in Irvington, New York, inFebruary 2003 and first encountered the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. The main physical activityin which I engaged was walking (this continues to be true). Dating at least from my collegeyears, I had walked long distances to, as I put it, “clear my head.” I enjoyed day walks in andaround my rural college town as well as night hikes along blacktop roads and in forest preserves.During the three or four years prior to moving to New York, I was working at a majorChicago bank’s technical center near O’Hare International Airport. Across the road from myplace of employment was Catherine Chevalier Woods, part of the Cook County Forest PreserveSystem, where I took daily walks at lunchtime. I didn’t know it then, but this experience primedme for the Aqueduct Trail’s attractions. Chevalier Woods was an oasis of nature improbablylocated in the suburbs of a major city. Its trails were well-marked and heavily trod by nearbyresidents. It boasted an interesting historyUpon moving into a house in Irvington that my family rented temporarily until we founda permanent home in Dobbs Ferry, our landlady, a village booster listing the village’s manyamenities, mentioned the Aqueduct Trail. Given my recent history and personal interests, myears perked up and, despite the winter weather, I climbed up Main Street on the very next dayafter moving in to search for the trail. I quickly found it after negotiating the Middle School’sparking lot and headed north toward Tarrytown. Even though I had just moved a thousand milesfrom where I was born and raised, a few minutes on the trail immediately made me feel at home,and to this day I credit its existence with acclimating me to my brand-new life in an unfamiliarplace.During the first year and a half of living in New York, I worked at home, telecommuting.This favorable situation freed me up to continue pursuing my passion in life, walking. With thehelp of a book describing a number of hiking opportunities in the metropolitan area, I spent mylunch “hour” (sometimes extending to two or more hours) exploring Rockefeller State Park, thePalisades Trail, Van Cortlandt Park and even Staten Island’s Green Belt. I always returned to theAqueduct, however, as my hometown trail, and I came to know it intimately.
 
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An hour’s time, give or take, forces one to divide his or her treks into digestible sections.As time went on, I isolated my least favorite and most favorite stretches in the Rivertowns andbeyond.My least favorite section is that between Cedar Street in Dobbs Ferry and where the trailcrosses Broadway in Hastings-on-Hudson. The trail essentially disappears along the spine aboveDobbs Ferry’s Main Street. To the west is a parking lot and to the east are the Post Office, CityHall and several blocks of commercial buildings. Beyond Walnut Street is a stretch broken up byresidential cross streets and two intersections with Broadway. There is very little to distinguishthis portion of the trail with the exception of [where we’re gathered today] the maintenancebarns, built in the 1880s, and the Keeper’s House, rebuilt using stone in 1857 to replace a wood-framed 1845 structure. An air of history permeates this spot; it’s one of the few along the trailwhere a human presence is felt. The stone ventilators situated along the trail obviously are man-made, but one gets the impression that they were built and forgotten, mechanically fulfilling theirfunction minus any further human touch.A close second on my short list of dislikes is the section between Shonnard Terrace andLamartine Avenue. Unlike the southern Dobbs Ferry portion, the trail itself remains intact. Treesarch overhead, tall grasses grow on either side, wildflowers peek out here and there. However, adecidedly urban character takes over. Litter, broken glass, even used condoms dot the trail. Afew weeks ago, my wife found a broken violin in the weeds. She took it home despite myprotestations that it wasn’t worth salvaging. In the back yards of the run-down houses adjacent tothe trail pit bulls bark menacingly, straining against their chains. Shady-looking young peopleeither murmur plots or shout obscenities into their cell phones. I don’t travel down this way veryoften; it makes me depressed knowing that people living nearby don’t treasure this resource;instead, they treat it like a dumping ground akin to a back alley.North of Shonnard Terrace marks the beginning point of my favorite trail sections. Thetrail undergoes a complete transformation. The litter vanishes, and the urban feel disappears.Even better, the vistas overlooking the mighty Hudson River open up. Indeed, the gaps in thetrees along this stretch provide the best views of the river and palisades anywhere in or near theRivertowns. Two notable landmarks here include the Lenoir Preserve and a limestone lion faceembedded in a hillside beside a set of overgrown stairs. My experiences off the trail began here.
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