Cold Spring. RL Fifield 2012.

Dr. V and I took the week off a couple of weeks ago, and finally followed through on a plan to go hiking. Most modern Americans expect to hop in their car in order to achieve reaching a remote wooded location. But as residents of Manhattan, we wanted to reach the trails by public transportation. Cold Spring, New York, fits the bill. The Hudson line of Metro-North deposits you right on Main Street. After walking about two blocks up Main Street, turn left on Fair Street. Just past where it combines with a larger road are a few parking slots and the trail head.

There are scads of trails in the Hudson Valley. We stopped by Hudson Valley Outfitters to buy a pack of trail maps. They are printed on Tyvek, so that’s a lot more durable and all-weather than the free paper photocopies found in the box by the trailhead. You can also sign up for kayak tours of Constitutional Marsh at HVO for $25. We aren’t super experienced hikers, so we first hiked up the white trail towards Breakneck Ridge. Keep your eyes on the trail blazes. When we reached the quarry, we got distracted, and circled it twice looking for the way out. The trail is well marked – it’s your responsibility to pay attention. We turned left on the Undercliff (yellow) trail for a gentle descent through the woods, with excellent views of West Point and the Hudson, and then came by the abandoned Cornish Farm on the red and blue trails.

The perfect first stop post-hike is the Go-Go Pops shop on Main Street. The sour cherry  popsicle really fit the bill. There are a number of others I’d try, including Blueberry-Buttermilk, Lime Mojito, and Cucumber-Chili. We also visited Cold Spring Depot for a late lunch. This restaurant occupies Cold Spring’s New York Central depot from 1893. Trains stop at raised platforms nearby, but there’s still plenty of train traffic to watch (and hear) while at the Cold Spring Depot.

We finished the day by sitting by taking the passage under the tracks to reach the Hudson River – beautiful.