From the southern Trail Head at the Wassaic Metro North Station, through the eastern side of Dutchess County the Trail heads north into Columbia County then west and north on a journey that we hope you will find invigorating and enjoyable.
There are currently 10.7 miles of completed, paved Rail Trail stretching from the Trail Head in Wassaic to Millerton. There is an additional 5 miles from Under Mountain Road in Ancram to Orphan Farm Road in Copake. Millerton Station to Under Mountain Road is closed to the public. There is an alternate route on country roads with rolling hills.
Harlem Valley Rail Trail, two sections totaling 15 paved miles through stunning rural Dutchess and Columbia County landscapes. Since the mid-1980’s, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association has dreamed of a 46-mile rail trail in the Harlem Valley and Taconic Hills of eastern New York. The first segment of the trail opened in 1996.
Since then, the trail has grown in 1997, 2000, 2005 and 2014. Another 13 miles of abandoned rail bed are in different development stages, and most of another 18 miles have been acquired to take the Trail north into the Village of Chatham.
I decided to put a little bit of information here about HVRT for those who are interested. This will be the second cache I am placing within this 2.5 mile stretch of trail between Amenia and Wassaic. I am the CO of Water Hole which is the second cache I ever placed when I first started caching about a year and a half ago. For a while now I have been planning to create a little mini series of caches starting from Water Hole and ending with this one. I do truly believe that this small 2 mile stretch has some of the most beautiful sites and peaceful areas within this 10 mile stretch of the HVRT. So more soon to come! Anyways enough about that let’s get into the description of this cache! To get to this Cache you can park either at the Wassiac train station and walk or ride up about half a mile to GZ or you could park at the Amenia parking lot and it will be about a 2 mile walk or ride to reach GZ. Once you arrive you will be looking for a regular sized ammo can. It is pretty well camouflaged but should be obvious enough. I always wanted to create a travel bug hotel because one of my favorite parts about caching is of course finding travel bugs! I thought it may be a cool area to have one with the train station right there. Also I do believe that this is the only travel bug hotel within all of Dover, Wassiac, Amenia and Millerton! Thats as far as I know anyways. You may have already figured this out from the name of this cache but you will also have a beautiful view of the end of the Wassiac train station from a distance I picked this location because I love how it looks so hopefully you will to! I am starting out this travel bug hotel with five travel bugs that FTF will have the pleasure of picking from! Three of these TBs belong to me and are brand new. FTF also gets bragging rights! Anyways I’ve gone on for long enough enjoy and please remember to return cache just as you found it!