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22 Hikes in Philipstown (PDF, 334K)

A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERVISOR

Dear Residents of Philipstown:

On behalf of the Town Council and in conjunction with the Philipstown Greenway Committee, it is a pleasure to be able to present this brochure to Philipstown's residents and visitors. The brochure and map describe more then twenty different hikes that you can take within our borders. These hikes are but a sample of the many miles of trails within our community for hiking, biking and horseback riding. We hope you will be encouraged to find and enjoy them all. I wish to thank the many individuals and organizations that have contributed to making this map a reality and hope that you take the time to discover and enjoy what nature has provided in this beautiful region.

Sincerely, William Mazzucca Town Supervisor --

PRESS RELEASE July 18, 2005

Philipstown Greenway Publishes Hikes Guide & Map

The Philipstown Greenway Committee announces the publication of 22 Hikes in Philipstown, a guide and map that describes a selection of specific hikes to take in order to enjoy the many miles of trails that are found in Philipstown. For each hike, ranging from an easy stroll to Arden Point to a strenuous climb up Breakneck Ridge, the hike guide provides distance, duration, difficulty level, parking information, and pertinent items of natural and historical interest. One copy will be mailed to every residence in Philipstown with in the next two weeks. A pdf of the brochure will also be freely downloadable from the Philipstown Greenway link on www.philipstown.com.

"The public survey conducted by the Philipstown Comprehensive Plan's Recreation Subcommittee showed that the community values its hiking trails very highly," said Michael Gibbons, chair of the Greenway Committee. "There are over 112 miles of trails in Philipstown, and we felt that residents needed some guidance about how to access them."

22 Hikes in Philipstown has been in the works since 2002 when the Greenway Committee started to define the hikes it wanted to include in the guide and to seek volunteers to write up the initial descriptions. As chair of the committee, Jackie Grant acted as coordinator and often as writer. Ryan Hose developed the map and a graphic outline for the guide with the goal of making it clear and easy to read while on the trail. "Things really took off in 2004", says Ms. Grant, "with the addition of three terrific volunteers: Cathy Gonick as copy editor, Marshall Mermell as publication manager, and Marlo Kovacs of the Hudson Highlands Land Trust. The Town of Philipstown was behind us all the way and applied for publication funds, which were granted by the New York State Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley. We relied on valuable expertise from the East Hudson Trail Committee of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference; assistance from the entities that own the public access trails in our community including Open Space Institute, Scenic Hudson, and the state of New York; and the shoe leather of all the Greenway Committee members and many Philipstown volunteers who walked and re-walked the 22 featured routes to verify hike descriptions. It was a true community effort."

Community spirit is also much in evidence in another project of the Philipstown Greenway Committee nearing completion: the installation of public bicycle stations at nine locations throughout the town (Manitoga, the Philipstown Recreation Center, Philipstown Town Park, the Putnam County Historical Society, Cold Spring town center, the Hubbard Lodge, Garrison Landing, and Little Stony Point).~Bicycle racks are donated by Core Craft and the Fishkill Correctional Facility; benches by Mid-Hudson Concrete; and property use and foundation materials by local merchants, non-profit organizations, and local government. The Philipstown Greenway Committee, which meets the first Tuesday evening of each month, welcomes new members. Contact the committee chair, Michael Gibbons, at 845-424-6067.

“The Hudson River Valley Greenway is an innovative state sponsored program created to facilitate the development of a voluntary regional strategy for preserving scenic, natural, historic, cultural and recreational resources while encouraging compatible economic development and maintaining the tradition of home rule for land use decision-making.”

 

Member of the Philipstown Greenway are:

Michael Gibbons (Chairperson)

Jackie Grant

Robert Hutchinson

Howard Kaplowitz

Michael McKee

Ryan Hose

 

Local comments and inquires can be made through the Town Clerks office at ptc@highlands.com

 

For general information regarding the Hudson River Valley Greenway please use the following web site:

Hudson Valley Greenway