Harlem Valley Rail Trail - A Full Review

 My running activities, as of late, have been unremarkable and certainly not blog-worthy. I have been happy to have a run done at a sub 8:00km pace. I have become a "Local Legend" in a Strava Segment that I frequent, perhaps more out of fear of looking like a slowpoke on a road course. However, I did get out of town for a few days and managed a run on a nearby rail trail. Here is a review of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail extends 23 miles through Dutchess County in upstate New York. Its northernmost trailhead is in the town of Hillsdale and extends to its southernmost point in the village of Wassaic. This is where I started my modest run of 5 kilometers.

The trailhead is located at the convergence of four roads in the center of the hamlet; Main Street, Firehouse Road, Nelson Road, and Furnace Bank Road. There is trail parking for about twenty cars on Main Street next to the railroad tracks across the street from the Post Office. Crossing the railroad tracks will find yourself standing in a tiny clearing with some historical signage. You will see two massive buildings on either side of the road. The building to the north looks like a repurposed mill, and the building to the south is a factory. And just to confuse you, there are running trails beside each building and the tracks. I was curious about the southern route to see if it was an extension, so I chose to take a warmup run on it.  

After about .2km on the mostly stone and gravel trail, I found that it spilled into a park with a well-maintained playground setup for kids. There was also a rather large field that did not seem to be set up for any kind of organized sports. Perhaps kite flying or a soft surface track in case any old runners needed an extra half-mile to warm up. I chose to circle around and follow the path back to where I started.  

After some brief stretching and adjustment of all things electronic, I am ready to hit the actual trail. My goal of 5 kilometers started at the trailhead on Furnace Bank Road and was flanked by railroad tracks on one side and the large repurposed mill on the other. After no more than ¼ mile, you see a field to the west with some eclectic sculptures. 

Amazed by the birdhouses!!

Not sure what these were, but they were nice to look at!

And to add to the bucolic feeling of taking a run in upstate New York, I encountered this almost immediately after passing the sculpture field.

Ignored by the horses.

After passing these sights, the trail takes a couple of forty-five-degree turns and spills out to a pedestrian bridge. After the bridge, you will encounter your first intersection, this being the entrance to the Wassaic Train Station. There was no traffic, but I was not running at a peak commuting time; since there was no signal, I would use caution, especially if riding a bike. I did look into parking options at the station, there is a small fee, but it is waived on weekends.

The station and its parking lot seemed to go on forever; at the end, it looked like there was a maintenance facility. Once you pass this, you are again flanked by long stretches of woods. You are aware that a major road (in this case, NY-22) is just beyond the trees. Still, it was difficult to see any passing traffic.  

There was another intersection at about the 1½ mile mark; it looked like an entrance to a quarry and did not look well traveled. Just beyond this point, I saw my first fellow trail user, a gentleman on a bike. I was ready to turn it around, so I waited until he passed me, which by coincidence was right at the 2½ kilometer mark. I was reasonably happy with a time of about 21:30 and felt good about finishing my run as planned.

I saw an unplanned spring in my step on the way back. I was unsure if I wanted to cut my run at forty minutes or just carry on to the finish at about 42 to 43 minutes. My heart rate was steady, and I was not feeling overly sore, so I just played it minute by minute. I reached the 4-kilometer mark at the intersection of the train station at about 33:30. I was encouraged by both a negative split and another trail goer, a man about my age, taking a slow walk. He looked at me like I was a crazy old wheezing fool, which might have been just the motivation I needed.

I crossed the bridge, navigated the two turns, and saw perhaps the best part of the run. The last ½ kilometer was a clear, flat, straight shot, one that you could easily see the endpoint. I decided to go for the entire run and turned on the speed (relatively speaking) to finish the run. I had another negative split, about 36 seconds faster than my slowest split, and finished the run at 41:49 for a pace of about 8:19km. Two minutes quicker than expected on a new course? I'll take it.  

I did a little research on the mill at the end of the trail, and it turns out that it is called the "Wassaic Project," a building that houses artists' studios. It seems that this is a well-known and established place for all kinds of creative individuals to pursue their craft in the art community. They also support the community with shows, concerts, and galleries.

No ordinary painting!

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail is clean, wide, and paved. You could quickly lose yourself in the quiet, picturesque setting, especially in the autumn season. A further trip up the trail will see you pass through several villages, providing its users with amenities like bathroom facilities and small shops to refuel. If I could make one suggestion, it would be to add mileage posts next to the trail; for a path of this size, I saw neither signs nor markers. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail gets my full recommendation, go out and enjoy it.