OCA: Central Portion

[Public Transport Information is below. You can get information about many of the towns through which the OCA passes here. Someone asked about connecting this segment to the OCA:North; I think it is doable, but involves running on Route 9 past Route 119 and picking up the OCA at some spot there, but I don’t know where.]

I’ve added maps from runs I’ve done heading south and north of Washingston Street, in both cases to the very end of the trail.

GoogleMap Washington Avenue in Hastings-on-Hudson is a convenient mid-point for this stretch. It’s 4.75 miles heading north to Lyndhurst and 3.5 heading south into Yonkers.

You don’t need a map for this trail. It parallels the Hudson. It has a fairly smooth surface, but, especially when heading north towards Tarrytown, some small and large street crossings, which require care (you cross Route 9 twice (in Hastings-on-Hudson and in Dobbs Ferry).

Distance (bottom-to-top-and-back): 16 miles.
Distance (from Hastings-on-Hudson north to Lyndhurst (and back): 9.5 miles
Distance (from Hastings-on-Hudson south to Yonkers (and back): 7 miles
Type: Out-and-back.
Surface: Smooth.
Hilliness: None.
Other: Recovers from rain very nicely.
Other: There are stone water towers spaced just about one-mile apart.
Other: In the shade; much cooler than nearby roads on really hot days.

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At Yonkers Avenue, there is the first major diversion of the OCA. The OCA runs almost due north-south for its entire length except here, where it heads almost due east for a bit over a mile, a stretch that is not conducive to running. From the perspective of the OCA South, then, it runs west along Yonkers Avenue and ends up to the west of Broadway, at which point it runs to the east of Warburton Avenue. At this point, while there are numerous palces to pick it up between Warburton and Rte 9, given ease of driving, from the southern part of the County the best place may be Hastings-on-Hudson, which is how I describe it. But for non-drivers, picking this stretch up further south is easy, as I describe here.

A good place to pick up the Central Portion is in Hastings-on-Hudson, which is at about the half-way point of the Central Portion. It is easy to get to by car. (You can also get there via Metro-North’s Hudson Line.) On the Saw Mill River Parkway, get off at Farragut Parkway. From the South, this is a left exit at which you must wait for a traffic light. From the North, turn right. (There may be a more direct way from the North, including via Broadway.) Go up the hill and to the first stop sign, in front of a school (on your right). Take the left (Olinda Ave.), which connects to Broadway (Rte 9). Take a left on Broadway, and then the first right. This is Washington Avenue, and try to park there. I’ve never had a problem. The OCA cuts right across this street.

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Hastings South

Distance (out-and-back): 7.3 miles (per Garmin).
Type: Out-and-back.
Surface: Smooth. Narrow at southern end.
Hilliness: None.
Water: None that I know of.
Other: Only a few street crossing, but lightly-traveled roads.
Other: From the top, the first water tower is at about 0.5 miles and there are 3 more, each about one-mile apart. There is a wier (a big stone wall) just at the 2 mile mark.
Other: This trail ends just past the 4th tower, at 3.5; after that you hit a small parking lot and then there’s a mile-long break until the OCA South. You have to turn around.
Other: There’s a brief spot where you think you’re on someone’s front lawn. Keep going on it, and it hooks up again with the trail.
Other: The southern end of this is not as picturesque as the northern.
Other: This trail gets unattractive as it nears its southern end and it can be narrow.
Other: In the shade; much cooler than nearby roads on really hot days.

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To the South of Washington Avenue is Aqueduct Lane. Head that way and bear left into the small parking lot. It opens out onto the trail. There’s not much to be said about it. It is in good shape, the views to the west (to the Pallisades) are great, and there are relatively few bad spots even after heavy rains. There don’t appear to be that many people on this stretch; mostly people with dogs. According to my Garmin, it’s about 3.5 miles to the bottom (which is where the trail enters a small parking lot and there is no sign of its continuation.) You cross maybe 5 streets, but they seem lightly-traveled. At about 3 miles, you continue straight across what appear to be front lawns, but by keeping straight you will pick up the clear trail again. You are paralleling Warburton Avenue, although you are above it. There are some interesting things to your left periodically. But for the most part it’s a nice stretch.

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Hastings North

Distance (out-and-back): 9.6 miles.
Type: Out-and-back.
Surface: Smooth.
Hilliness: None.
Water: None that I know of.
Other: Many road-crossings, including a number of pretty busy ones.
Other: Some shade. In the shade; much cooler than nearby roads on really hot days.
Other: Can get a bit congested on nice days.

Click to View.

To the North of Washington Avenue you will find the aqueduct trail itself, by Aqueduct Lane. It’s at the top of the hill that takes you into Hastings itself. This is more problematic than heading south largely because of the more frequent and busier road crossings. As you head towards Tarrytown, you cross and re-cross Broadway. You cross a number of other roads so care is required. In Irvington, where the picture to the left was taken, you get to Main Street through a parking lot and then continue on the trail via another parking lot; just head north. (As you cross Main Street, sneak a peak down the hill for a great view of the Hudson but remember, it is heavily traveled.) Also, this stretch seems more popular with strollers than the southern one so be aware of the clueless.

With those caveats, this too is straight-forward. It goes up to Broadway just at Lyndhurst. You actually run across the front-lawn of the estate and then down a path that leads to Broadway and the end of this segment.

[Google Satellite: Lyndhurst is the greenish area right in the center of the map. Route 9 runs to the right of it, and the approach to the Tappan Zee is at the very top.]

Picking up the trail to the north requires some manuevering up Broadway, past I-287, and up to Sleepy Hollow. I count this as a break in the trail, and pick it up at Sleepy Hollow High School, the southern tip of the Northern section.

Public Transportation

This trail is accessible by train, using Metro-North’s Hudson Line. Here are Metro-North Map (Hudson line in Green) and Metro-North Schedule The Central Portion extends from about Glenwood (which is in Yonkers) to just above Irvington. For most of the communities, there’s a climb from the station away from the River. From Glenwood, which is 23 minutes from 125th Street and 33 from Grand Central Terminal (leaving GCT on weekends every hour at 20 minutes after the hour, e.g., 9:20), go up (it is a fairly steep climb) Glenwood Avenue, and you hit the trail mid-block after you cross Warburton, at the Star on this Map. Turn left; heading south doesn’t get you very far. For the other stops you just head east and you get to the trail before you get to Route 9/Broadway. (Do not go to Greystone. Yonkers is doing a lot of work there, and there is no easy way to the OCA.) Going to Tarrytown is too far north for the Central Portion, although you can use if for the Northern stretch.

The Glenwood Station, at the bottom of a hill leading to the OCA.

If you do take the train and want to explore towns, think of Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, and Irvington. There is very little around Glenwood or Greystone.

Also, you can ride bikes on the OCA. This is a straight, somewhat boring ride (and flat), but on off-peak hours (and all week-end, you can bring bikes on Metro-North trains, although you should have a pass. The OCA North, however, is not nearly so flat; you cannot ride in the Rockefeller Park. But you should avoid riding if it is muddy.

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Last edited on ... August 15, 2009