December 28, 2022 | Times Union
A group that has slowly worked to develop a rail trail through eastern Dutchess and Columbia counties received a $375,000 state grant to plan the trail’s next leg.
The Harlem Valley rail trail, first conceived of in the mid-1980s, currently stretches along the foothills of the Taconic Mountains from Wassaic in Dutchess County north to Copake Falls in Columbia County. But the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association has always envisioned it leading all the way to near Columbia County’s northern border.
The state grant must be matched with $125,000 raised by the association to foot the $500,000 bill for the design, engineering plans and permitting process for the new length of trail, according to Lisa DeLeeuw, the association’s executive director. Donations can be made on the association’s website.
