The Walkway AcrWalk Across the Hudson is billed as “The Longest Elevated Pedestrian Bridge in the World” as it spans the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie NY and Highland NY. It provides magnificent panoramic views of the Hudson, and at 212 feet above the river, this 1.28 mile linear park boasts scenic views north to The Catskills and south to the Hudson Highlands. The Walkway structure dates from 1889 when it was built as a railroad bridge eventually carrying as many as 3000 train cars a day. A fire on May 8, 1974 halted train traffic forever but after 35 years the bridge was reopened as the Walkway on October 3, 2009 as a part of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail Network. For more information on the Walkway see:
Walkway Across the Hudson | World’s Longest Elevated Pedestrian Bridge
TRIP PLAN
We will gather at the DCA for an 8:30 AM departure for Poughkeepsie by car pool. The drive takes about 1.5 hours to the parking lot at 61 Parker Avenue at the east end of the Walkway. The plan is to walk across the bridge to the Highland, NY side and then to proceed along the west bank of the river to the Mid-Hudson Bridge where we will cross back to the Poughkeepsie side of the river. Same river views plus a look back at the Walkway from down river. We will walk back through some of the Poughkeepsie waterfront and historic areas to where we started and have lunch at Lola’s, a very good sandwich shop right under the Walkway. This walk is about 4 miles. For those who want a shorter walk, an option is to return from Highland back over the Walkway, a total walk of 2.5 miles. There are restrooms at either end of the Walkway. We should be back at the DCA by 3:00 PM.
As always, spouses and guests are invited. There will be a sign up sheet at the DMA meetings on October 5 and 12.
Dave McCollum
Bob Plunkett
David Mace
Joe Spain