Yesterday, we took a walk. But this walk was long overdue. We visited the Walkway Over the Hudson. The original vision behind the Walkway, was to take an abandoned railroad bridge and make it into a park, sort of an extension of a rail trail. Money was raised and the bridge, which spans the Hudson from Highland to Poughkeepsie, opened a few years back, as the Walkway Over the Hudson.
It’s glorious.
It’s 212 feet tall and 1.28 miles long. It’s the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world.
That’s the Mid-Hudson bridge to the south.
A small marina and train tracks. Trains run on both sides of the river. I think these tracks are for freight trains. On the other side of the river, the Metro-North trains run, as well as Amtrak. We’re facing north here.
Sunlight on the water.
Looking south. If you follow the river in this direction, you’ll end up in New York City. It’s a gorgeous, majestic waterway.
As we get closer to the end of the walkway, we see Poughkeepsie, with Vassar College off in the distance and the train station to the right.
We watched this boat come down the Hudson and emerge on the other side of the Walkway.
And now we’re headed back to our end of the Walkway – right back where we started.
It’s so lovely. There are lots of people using the Walkway at any given time; cyclists, dog walkers, tourists, families, joggers. What a treasure!
We’ll definitely be taking advantage of its beauty again. Don said that being on the walkway was the closest thing he could imagine to the feeling he gets walking on a beach. You know, that feeling of your shoulders dropping as you walk near the water.
That’s high praise from a San Diego boy.
Just had a comment from Debbie saying that she and her sister get bit badly by mosquitoes and that the latest theory she heard was they like the AB blood type, which both she and her sister have.
Oh boy. I am also AB. I’m thinking we’ve found our answer.
Happy Thursday.
I would love this. I walked the High Line when I was in NYC and love this concept for old rail lines. I think there is a fairly new one in Chicago I want to try too.
I have yet to walk the High Line, because I’m usually so rushed when I’m in the city, but it’s on my TO DO list!
What a lovely walk! Can you walk to the Walkway from your house, or do you have to drive there? Hmm, AB blood type? My daughter is not AB…I think Mosquitos aren’t so picky! They just want blood! My mom’s theory is that Mosquitos go for the sweetest person!
We have to drive there. We’re a several miles inland from the Hudson.
I’m going to look into this AB blood type theory….
beautiful tour of the Walkway Over the Hudson.
Sounds like you had a lovely time … your scenic photos are wonderful.
We did. We may go back there tomorrow, weather permitting.
Gorgeous!! I’ve walked over the Walnut Street Bridge that spans the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, TN and loved it.
Linda
I’ve walked over the Brooklyn Bridge – that was on a cold and blustery day!
Claudia, I think your pictures are fab!I got that same feeling Don talked about, from viewing this thru your lovely pictures. Could we say a”Reverence”?
Mosquitoes Eat me Alive,……0- here -Judy A-
Those gosh darned mosquitoes!
Beautiful Claudia…thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome, Nancy!
What a gorgeous walk. I’ll bet it’s amazing in the Fall with the leaves turning.
We were saying the same thing, Vera. You can be sure we’ll take you along on an Autumn walk.
What an interesting place! Gorgeous views! ;)
It’s awfully pretty up here, that’s for sure!
Just lovely. We have a walking bridge over our local small river that looks like it’s from a Monet painting. Very pretty, but you could probably ford our river with very little difficulty. The views from your bridge are just spectacular!
On an unrelated note, I used your recommendation to order a little something (no pun intended) from the Etsy shop French Vellum. You were so right! Fabulous packaging and product. Please keep enabling..
She’s a wonderful vendor. So glad you felt the same way!
I read that, too, about the AB but, alas, I’m O and everything eats me.
Claudia, I SO LOVED THIS BRIDGE WALK. Thank you for sharing the story and, as always, your excellent photography. Your on-location posts are the BEST. I so yearn to see your locale for myself some day, hopefully sooner than later.
I hope you get a chance to visit this area, Vicki. It’s really beautiful.
What a lovely walk that would be! I, too, feel my shoulders relax and I breathe differently when I am around water. It has always made me feel calm.
Never thought about blood type for mosquitoes. Makes perfect sense.
Have a wonderful day!
Deb
Water is very calming, isn’t it? And now I want to take a walk on the beach!
The Hudson is such a beautiful river. All of my mother’s family and some of my father’s lived in Westchester County, and I went to boarding school there, so it played a large role in my early years. I remember the opening of the Tappan Zee bridge very well as my grandfather had a float in the celebratory parade and my family came down from Connecticut for the big day.
I’ve often heard that mosquitoes are more attracted to women than men.
Did you know they’re in the process of building a whole new Tappan Zee Bridge, Margaret?
Oh yes, and it’s making me feel older than the Pyramids. I remember it being built.
I know that feeling!
Oh, I enjoyed the pics today. Simply stunning and what an absolute treasure!
I also have AB blood type (positive, if it matters) and I do NOT get bitten very often. I do eat lots of garlic, though.
Just want you to know…in the past, whenever you posted dollhouse stuff, I never paid any attention and wondered how many people actually cared. Now, I LOVE it!! One of my favorite topics on your blog! You’ve definitely inspired me, Claudia. I found a Craftsman bungalow kit and perhaps it will be a birthday present in the near future. Fun!
So glad you’re enjoying the dollhouse posts.
I have to say, according to my stats, the dollhouse posts have always been the most popular. There are a lot of dollhouse/miniature fans out there!
What a beautiful place to walk, Claudia. How long does it take to walk from one side to the other and then back again?
Donna
Well, we took our time, as it was our first time on the Walkway – maybe 20-30 minutes? I’ll time it next time we go.
Love this post. I have longed for the water all summer, but have not made it even to a pond yet!
How far are you from Rhinebeck? I visited Old Rhinebeck one fall years ago and loved it!
Re: mosquitos
I am O negative, universal donor, for people and obviously for mosquitos also!
Happy Walking!
Susan
Rhinebeck is about 45 minutes away – north of us. I just drove Don up to Rhinebeck last weekend. It’s lovely there.
The walkway – what a tremendous idea. The whole Hudson Valley is so beautiful anyway – now people can see a little more of it and from a wonderful viewpoint. And I can’t imagine how gorgeous the views must be from there in the Fall! If I lived “in the vicinity” I’d be a regular, I’m sure. And so skeeters prefer AB blood? How about that? I’m an “O” – guess I caught a break for once. Actually I think I do best bug-wise if I eliminate perfumes & fragranced products. The only time I seem to notice lil critters is when I forget about keeping scent-free outside in the Summer. Are things cooling off down there at all, Claudia? Or still somewhat [yuck] muggy?
It was lovely yesterday and for part of today – hardly any humidity. But I feel it creeping back in….
It’s Glorious! The view is Spectacular and what a beautiful day to be out and Above all the cares of the world below. :))
I can’t wait to go back again, Elizabeth!
Beautiful sights,,,,and thank you for sharing! I think a walk in the Fall would be wonderful. And I hope you might share that with us, too…. right? :-)
Of course!
Wow, what a beautiful place to get some exercise!
It is, Debbie!
Great walk! I am AB also and get attacked, John is O and he doesn’t!
Love you,
Mere
And there you have it! Proof positive.
Neat. I’ve never heard of this bridge. Great idea. I’m proud of you for braving the heat.