Engaging Getaways and Venues for:
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Time: About 2 hours if one way from Hastings-on-Hudson to Dobbs Ferry or vice versa.
Distance: About 4 miles, unless shortened as indicated.
Parking: You can park in the commuter lots of the Hastings on Hudson or Dobbs Ferry train stations on weekends and holidays only. Click here for a map of the Hastings-on-Hudson Metro North station. Click here for a map of the Dobbs Ferry Metro North station.
Highlights: A taste of residential life before the time of cars; impressive Hudson River views, quiet villages leaving behind their industrial past.
Viewpoint: Just up the street from Waypoint 1 in Hastings-on-Hudson, on your left, is the library. If you walk up the stairs toward its entrance, you'll see a bench with a lovely view of the Hudson River, the Palisades cliffs, the George Washington Bridge and, on clear days, Manhattan.
Precautions: You're about as safe as can be in this suburban setting. The trail is generally packed dirt. Watch out for cars when crossing side streets.
Maps: The Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct have created a hand-drawn map available at: http://www.aqueduct.org/
Exit the Hastings-on-Hudson train station on Southside Ave., cross the street, and walk a short distance up a hill toward a parking lot. You can stop for a drink or a meal at Maud's Tavern, which is to the left. Just beyond is the restaurant Buffet de la Gare, which is reopening soon following a renovation. This is one of the county’s finest restaurants.
The riverfronts of Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry and Irvington bustled with industry and commerce from the early 1800s until after World War II. Working-class people lived in the areas that are now downtown. Hastings-on-Hudson still has not developed its waterfront, which is cut off from the village and awaits a major clean-up before it can be developed. The other villages have more picturesque waterfronts.
Make a right at the edge of a building on a small paved path that heads toward stairs. Go up the stairs. At the top, there’s a parking lot on your left. Proceed to the intersection of Warburton Ave. and Main St.
The statue in front of the town hall was the century-old work of local sculptor Jacques Lipschitz.
At this point, you can go left to enter the village of Hastings-on-Hudson for food or shopping and follow the directions for Waypoints 2A and 2B. Or, if you prefer, proceed up Main St. to Waypoint 3. You pass more shops and an A&P supermarket on your left. There is an ATM in the Citibank on your left.
If you choose to walk through the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, go left (north) on Main St. to get to the aqueduct. There is a take-out Chinese restaurant on your left; a coffee shop across the street; several delis down the street and many interesting shops for clothing, crafts, art and gifts.
In the Movie House Mews, further down Main St., is Thomas’ Café, a Pan-Asian sandwich shop with marvelous wraps, soups, noodle dishes, chai, and more. Comfort, a gourmet take-out place that lives up to its reputation, is also on Main St.
After exiting the commercial area of Hastings-on-Hudson, go left on Broadway (Rte. 9), at a light.
Make a right on Edgar Lane to go up to the aqueduct. The Battle of Edgar's Lane was fought here during the Revolutionary War, mainly a skirmish between Hessian soldiers and an American patrol.
You reach the corner of Farragut Ave. and Broadway (Rte. 9, a continuation of the Great White Way on its way upstate). Cross Broadway at the crosswalk, cross Farragut Parkway and a small side street to access the aqueduct. Be alert: This is a very busy intersection. The path is marked by a green stake marked OCA for Old County Aqueduct. The path follows the embankment formed by the aqueduct.
Continue north along the broad footpath, a favorite of joggers, walkers and cyclists. Please respect the fact that you are in a suburban area with many residential homes around you. The aqueduct crosses a series of side streets, so pay attention to traffic. It's hard to imagine the manual, heavy labor that went into building this monumental structure as you walk along the peaceful path. People who do not know the area surrounding New York City will be surprised by the quiet, wooded suburbs.
Periodically, there are views of the Hudson River to your left. Henry Hudson was the first white man known to have sailed up the river. Native Americans used it for fishing and transportation long before. The Palisades loom above the western shore of the Hudson, formed by hot lava that shot up in vents and has withstood the mighty Hudson for eons. Dobbs Ferry marked the point of an important ferry crossing during the Revolutionary War. Westchester County was a no-man's land between British and U.S. troops during the American Revolution. The River Towns, as they are known today, consisted mostly of farms until the railroad brought more industry and residents in the late 1840s.
You cross Broadway, which was probably once a Native American trail. There was a large Native American village next to a creek just north of the Dobbs Ferry train station, where there is a Native American “midden” piled high with oyster and clam shells for thousands of years.
Make a left if you wish to proceed directly to the Dobbs Ferry train station. Otherwise, follow the aqueduct as it enters the village and proceed through parking lots behind Main St.
Make a left on to Cedar St. Just to your left is a Sushi Mike’s, a popular local sushi restaurant. Intrepid walkers can cross Cedar St. and continue on the aqueduct to Irvington. (See Escape 3, Washington Irving’s Sunnyside Home, Irvington, N.Y.)
For more food options, go right on to Cedar St. There are casual Greek, Mexican, and Cajun options, as well as take-out Chinese food. To pick up wine for a picnic, there’s Rochambeau Wine and Liquors at the corner of Cedar St. and Broadway.
Make a left at the corner of Main St. and Cedar St. and proceed down Main St. There are pizza and ice cream shops, an Italian restaurant and various shops.
Cross High St., and walk straight on Palisade St. down hill a short distance until you see a road to the left that you follow to the train station, from where you can return to New York City. You can stop for a drink or a light meal at Half Moon, a restaurant with an impressive location on the Hudson River with beautiful views up and down the river.
Or, if you prefer to walk back to Hastings-on-Hudson, go left on Walnut St., and walk up the hill to rejoin the aqueduct at Waypoint 4A. Go right and retrace your steps to Hastings-on-Hudson. When you return to Edgar Lane in Hastings-on-Hudson, just beyond a baseball field and a community garden, go right down to Broadway. Turn left and then right on to Warburton Avenue. The walkway to the train station is at the Main Street intersection between Rockwood & Perry wine shop and M&C Cleaners.
The train station marks the end of the walk. Go right on a road that crosses the tracks and then right again on a road that parallels the tracks to go to the restaurants Blu and Harvest. Or visit the village’s riverfront park, which includes a launching spot for kayaks and places to sit along the river.
