Luna walks Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
It’s Halloween and what do people do on such a day? They hike, or walk. Kids and parents go from house to house, walking, and are getting some time away from their screens. Trick or treating is a great way to get everyone outside and your reward after hours of walking is candy! It’s a win-win for everyone. On this day we decided to get dressed up and take
Luna with us on the Wallkill Valley Rail trail.
I was a kitty cat, of course, with Luna as my lunch. She definitely got some stares and smiles. Nihad wore a scary mask that we all got to play around with. Even Luna the dolphin got to wear it but she still looked cute. Back to the trail, we parked our car at the free parking spot by the Wallkill River and started walking towards the trail. Even though it was raining it was a warmish morning. About a mile in, the rain stopped and a rainbow came out. It was a promising morning for our 31 mile challenge. Yes, we set a goal of 31 miles on October the 31st, but would we complete it?
Halloween Hike
We’ve biked Wallkill Valley rail trail from New Paltz to Kingston a few times. We usually do at least 24 miles but never walked the trail. If you want to do an easy trail with family and kids, this is a great one. They’ve made improvements to the trail and cleared up the path even more. The trail is perfect for biking, especially now. Usually, I’m not as excited to do the last section by Kingston but this time I loved it! Why? Because this part of the trail has benches! You can sit and relax and after walking for over ten miles it was needed. The trail was also smoother since they put new gravel everywhere.
Nihad’s boots were wet and he didn’t say anything until we were three miles in but he didn’t complain. Don’t worry, I did the complaining for us both. After 14 miles we finished the trail from New Paltz to Kingston and headed back towards the car. When we were close to the Rail Trail Cafe we were hoping it would be open but it was still closed. If they were open we would go crazy again and order everything from the menu like last time.
At the end of the trail we continued into town and made a right around the Original La Stazione restaurant back to our car. This was just to add a little extra mileage to our total which was not 31 miles. With wet boots, a lot of blisters and dusk, we didn’t have the light or energy to continue the trail which continues across the street. But if you want to visit New Paltz, bring your hiking shoes and walk the trail to Rosendale Tresele and the caves. You will get to enjoy some views, fall foliage, and learn a little history along the way.