Walkway Offers Perfect Day Trip By Rail From NYC or Albany
By Andrew Frey / New York By Rail
As a former resident of the Hudson Valley and a current resident of New York City, the longing for days of bucolic serenity is encountered more often than not. With the autumn season in full swing, I began to research a day-trip getaway to experience the beautiful fall foliage before coming across an obvious choice. After living in the neighboring village of New Paltz for nearly six years, Walkway Over the Hudson was not unfamiliar to me, but it had been a while since my last visit. Friends, coworkers, and family continue to speak of how incredible an experience it is to walk across the roaring Hudson, looking out at the landscape that surrounds it. It was now time for me to get reacquainted with this wonder. It seems the Walkway Over the Hudson is just as breathtaking as I remembered it.
The trip began at 10:20 a.m. Amtrak train from Manhattan’s Moynihan Train Hall to Poughkeepsie, a trip taking less than 1.5 hours. After boarding, I nestled into my window seat with a camera, and notepad in hand. Unfortunately, the seats on the western side of the car I entered were all taken. Don’t get me wrong, the view from the eastern side is great, but cruising north in the window seat that borders the Hudson River and Palisades feels otherworldly—not to mention it offers an excess of photo opportunities. So, make sure to have your tickets ready and try to get to the boarding line early to grab this sacred seat.
My Amtrak train arrived at the historic Poughkeepsie Train Station, a four-story building modeled after Grand Central Terminus. Lit by the three original chandeliers hung in the waiting room before its opening in 1918, the station services both Amtrak and Metro-North trains and is conveniently located near the Walkway.
From the Poughkeepsie Train Station, it’s about a quarter-mile stroll to the Walkway’s 21-story elevator along the waterfront or slightly more than a half-mile walk to the East Gate near the Washington Street stairs via the Walkway Loop Trail…