This tour will guide you through the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park, the world's longest elevated pedestrian bridge at 1.28 miles from gate to gate. he Walkway spans the majestic Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland, New York, in the heart of the beautiful, historic Hudson Valley.
On this tour you will hear about this region's environment, Native Americans, European settlers, unusual endangered fish, impressive early engineering feats, and much more.
The Walkway is open seven days a week, 365 days per year from sunrise to sunset -- and occasionally after dark for special events. Walkway Over the Hudson is one of the most accessible parks in the world for visitors with mobility challenges because it is flat, paved, and stair-less. For more information about the Walkway, visit walkway.org.
Sample Stories
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Rail Trails
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Here, you're not only enjoying a great New York State Park, but you're also traveling on one of the most unique rail trails in the nation. In the 1880s, this route was first built as a rail line used primarily to carry coal from northeastern Pennsylvania to New England. It earned the nickname "The Great Connector" for uniting the goods of the industrial Northeast with the developing Midwest. Train traffic continued on the rail line until 1974, when a fire burned up one of the bridge's approach spans. It remained out of service until 1993, when a group of local visionaries began fundraising to convert the old railway track into a multi-use path for walkers, joggers, runners, and cyclists. The rehabilitated pathway, named Walkway Over the Hudson, opened in 2009. The route has again proven to be a great connector, this time between two rail-trail systems on either side of the Hudson River, which are part of the Hudson Valley Trail Network.
On the east side of the Hudson, the Walkway serves as the end of the William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail. The Steinhaus Rail Trail is a 13.4-mile trail named for a former Dutchess County executive. It stretches south from Poughkeepsie to Hopewell Junction. The Hudson Valley Rail Trail, on the west side of the river, is an additional 7-mile stretch of trail, taking visitors from the town of Highland to the village of New Paltz. If you're looking for a nice 4.6-mile trek, the Walkway Loop Trail connects the Walkway Over the Hudson Bridge to the neighboring Mid-Hudson Bridge, which has a dedicated pedestrian pathway of its own.
The Hudson Valley Trail Network is so unique and spectacular is that, in 2016, the stretch was inducted into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Washington, D.C. The president of Rails-to-Trails at the time, Keith Laughlin, said Quote The way that the Hudson Valley Trail Network seamlessly connects three unique trails is a prime example of how integrated trail systems can produce important benefits for communities -- for transportation, tourism and economic development. End quote.
Railroad Bridge Fire
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For 85 years, this route was a railway carrying train traffic along the Poughkeepsie-Highland Bridge. Then on May 8th, 1974, a fire broke out near this very spot and significantly damaged the rail line. Harold Tartell, a firefighter from Milton, New York, remembers that day:
"It was a beautiful day in May, balmy day, breezy and, from what I understand, there was a train coming across. I think it was headed westbound. And what caused or started the fire we seem to believe, or people seem to believe, is there was a brake shoe or a brake dragging and the hot slag, or what have you from the brake, got the ties in the creosote started. And, of course, with a breeze that spread things, it really got going up there. What the problem [was] out there, there was a standpipe that was, I guess, around three or four inches in diameter, iron pipe, that was supposed to be for firefighting purposes and there were hose stations based, I think, every 50 or 100 feet up there in the need of a fire that there would be water to supply those lines. Well evidently when the winter before the fire they didn't drain the standpipe, and the standpipe was probably filled with water and froze and burst. And when they attempted to get water out to the fire via the standpipe, the standpipe was full of holes and the efforts were very unsuccessful."
To quench the flames, firefighters from the city of Poughkeepsie and many other local agencies were dispatched. They laid out over 2,600 feet of hose, eventually finding a useable water source on the Highland side of the bridge. After battling the blaze for hours, with thick, black smoke billowing into the sky above Poughkeepsie and debris falling onto the city streets below, the fire was extinguished.
Thankfully, due to the quick action of heroic firefighters, there was no loss of life. But nearly 700 feet of railroad track was damaged. The bridge closed to traffic, and no trains ever crossed the span again. The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge stood dormant for decades.
