Solitary Nature Breaks in the age of COVID-19

Solitary Nature Breaks in the age of COVID-19: With COVID-19 cabin fever giving way to spring fever we could all use a little change of scenery. State, county and local parks, courts and fields are closed but state and county bike and hiking trails that are safe for social distancing remain open. Many of them have reduced parking by 50% to maintain social distancing protocols. But they are open. Here’s some places where you can get away for a solitary nature break as the weather warms.

The Links & The Parkway

After shuttering all six public courses on April, 11, Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced that he will re-open Mohansic in Yorktown and Hudson Hills in Ossining on April 25. Latimer expressed confidence that these courses allowed for appropriate social distancing and could be easily monitored by parks officials and county police. He also announced that Bicycle Sundays will return to the Bronx River Parkway on Sunday, May 3. Between 10am and 2pm on most Sundays in May and June, the parkway is closed down for bicyclists, in-line skaters, scooters, walkers and joggers from Exit 22 at the Westchester County Center to Exit 4 at Scarsdale Road in Yonkers. Park at the County Center’s East Parking Lot for this 13 mile roundtrip.

County Bike Trail

All other New York State and Westchester County biking and hiking trails are open. Starting with the North County Trailway, a bike trail that runs for 22 miles from Mount Pleasant to Baldwin Place in the town of Somers. There are 11 locations along the trail where you can park your car and and access the trail. Including the south side of Rt. 117 in Pleasantville, two locations on Rt. 100 in Millwood and the Briarcliff Public Library.  The trail passes some landmark sites of interest along the way including Muscoot Farm, Graham Hills and Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture. You can find a map here.

Muscoot Farm

If you are up for a little e-i-ei-o, you can walk and talk with the animals at Muscoot Farm on Rt. 100 in Katonah daily from 10am to 4pm – and then peel off for a hike on it’s 6+ miles of hiking trails. Muscoot was a dairy farm from 1880 till 1967 when Westchester County acquired the land. There’s still pigs and chickens, cows and horses, donkeys, goats, ducks, turkeys and these black and white lambs at Muscoot. Plus, eleven historic buildings such as the milk house, the ice house, (our fave) the brooder house, and the carriage house.

Stroll Lyndhurst

If you don’t like leaving civilization too far behind when you get with nature, you can head over to Lyndhurst Mansion at 635 S. Broadway in Tarrytown. Best known as the former home of railroad tycoon and financial speculator Jay Gould, this masterwork of Gothic Revival architecture is situated on a 67 acre estate that is open for you to enjoy daily from 9am to 5pm. You can enter Lyndhurst through the Old Croton Aqueduct State Park trail or the Westchester RiverWalk, both of which traverse the Lyndhurst property.

Rockefeller State Park: Our Bucket Lister

New York State park trails are also open during the COVID-19 shelter period. The closest state park is Rockefeller State Park Preserve at 125 Phelps Way (off Rt. 117) in Pleasantville. A What To Do Bucket Lister “Rock Park” is our favorite hiking in the area. It features over 25 miles of carriage paths that were originally designed as a horse and buggy trail for the Rockefellers. Which means they are easy on the feet and they are wide – perfect for social distancing.

The trails wind through forested hills and valleys, hayfields and meadows. Our three favorite trails are the 1.9-mile hike along the Pocantico River. The 1.2 mile hike around the man-made Swan Lake. And the 2 mile 13 Bridges Loop that zip zags across foot bridges over river and streams. Get there early as parking capacity has been reduced to support the state’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts. John Jay Homestead, (First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court and second NY State Governor) on Rt. 22 in Katonah, is another local state park that is open for nature walks.

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation’s Wide Trails are Ideal for Social Distancing

Next to Rockefeller Park, Westchester’s best hiking is in the county’s largest park, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation at Rt. 35 and Rt. 121 in Cross River. This 4,315-acre park is a Biodiversity Reserve area with over 34 miles of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing. Many of them, such as the Reservation Loop offer wide trail lanes -perfect for social distancing. There are flat trails, along the Cross River on the Deer Hollow Trail Loop and on the Marsh Loop, that offer scenic overlooks of the lake and reservoir. And steep rocky areas with lovely vistas on the Fox Run Trail. And if you like having a destination in mind when you hike, head out to Leatherman’s Cave for the great rock formations. Finally, Deer Hollow Trail is considered one of the best trails in the metro area. It will take you across scattered foot bridges and open water vistas.

Cranberry Lake, Merestead, Lasdon & Mountain Lakes

Westchester County maintains over a dozen hiking trails. Most are open daily from dawn to dusk. And several them are right in our backyards.  Cranberry Lake Preserve in North White Plains  features a one-mile loop around the 4-acre lake and a 2.4 mile hike around the 190 acre park. At Mt. Kisco’s Merestead, the 130 acre estate of Margaret Sloane Patterson and her husband Dr. Robert Patterson, a prominent NYC orthopedic surgeon features a 28-room Georgian mansion. Located at 455 Byram Lake Rd., Merestead offers a 2.3 mile system of trails for light hiking. Merestead was acquired by the county in 2000 and is now the home of a concert series by the Music From Copland House ensemble.

Two of our favorite places to hike in Northern Westchester are Lasdon Park on Rt. 35 in Katonah, home to Westchester’s only glass house conservatory, a 22-acre bird and nature preserve, a Chinese Friendship Pavilion and a Main House modeled after George Washington’s Virginia residence, Mount Vernon. And Mountain Lakes Park at 201 Hawley Rd. in North Salem – famous for its trail to the top of Bailey Mountain. Bailey Mountain, at 982 feet is Westchester’s point of highest elevation, delivers our area’s best panoramic views.

Bedford Audubon

The Bedford Audubon’s Trails are open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week. The Bedford Audubon is a network of three sanctuaries, a farm, native garden and library. Only the trails in the sanctuaries are open during the New York Pause. The James Ramsay Hunt and Mary Welsh Parker Sanctuary is the crown jewel of Bedford Audubon’s network. Hunt-Parker comprises 338 acres with 5 miles of well established trails. The sanctuaries scrublands, wetlands and fields host a rich variety of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, Red-tailed Hawks and migrating birds. The Story Trail at the Hunt-Parker is a perfect destination for families with children ages four to seven. Access the North Trails from either 35 Todd Road or the South Trail from 36 Todd Road, or from a gravel pull-off on North Salem Road in the Town of Bedford. See detailed directions here.

Worth the trip

As social mitigation efforts start to ease you may also want to venture further afield. Two of our favorite places are the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, the world’s longest elevated walking bridge. At 212 feet above the Hudson, this 1.28 mile linear park provides scenic views of the Catskills and the Hudson Highlands. The walkway was converted to a pedestrian park in 2009. It was built in 1889 as the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge. And was used for transporting raw materials from the west to industrial centers in the east. It is wide and long and good for social distancing. Bear Mountain State Park is also open for hiking but our fave rave is Minnewaska State Park Preserve in Kerhonkson. Located on the Shawangunk ridge in Ulster County, the 22,275 acre preserve features 50 miles of footpaths, 35 miles of carriage roads, three lakes, hardwood forests, rocky terrain and sheer cliffs rising 2,000 feet above sea levels and cliff-edge overlooks of the Catskill Mountains. Don’t miss the scenic Lake Minnewaska, perfect for a leisurely stroll and the 65-foot Awosting Falls – less than a mile away. It is a WTD Fave Rave.