The O&W Rail Trail is a quiet, peaceful bike ride you can easily do out of Kingston. It is a rail trail that is mostly unpaved, that connects various town centers and hamlets along the Roundout Valley. It can also be combined with the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail to make a loop.
The Roundout Valley has long been a transportation corridor. First it was used for the Delaware and Hudson Canal that once transported coal between northeast Pennsylvania and the Hudson River. Later the canal was replaced by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (the O&W). And now that railroad has now been replaced the O&W Rail Trail.
The O&W is a quiet, peaceful ride. But it is still a work in progress in many ways. There are a number of gaps in the trail, and some parts of the ride are kind of rough. So the trail works best with a hybrid bike or a mountain bike There is a good map showing the different segments (and gaps) on the trail’s official website. The map also shows a number of parking areas as well. You can also take public transit to parts of the O&W trail by using Route E of the Ulster County Area Transit bus system. These buses are equipped with bike racks and can help you ride this route one-way, and take the bus back to your start point.
The newest section of the trail is in Kingston where the O&W met the other lines that made Kingson a regional rail hub. The trail begins in the parking lot of the Super 8 hotel where the O&W once joined the tracks that are still in use by the Catskill Mountain Railroad. This section is one of the only segments of the O&W tail that is paved with asphalt and it continues to the parking lot just off of Route 209 in Hurley. From here south, the trail becomes a stonedust surface and it is a nice quiet ride through beautiful woods with great scenery. Once you reach High Falls, you will begin to ride along the Roundout Creek where you can see remnants of both the D&H Canal as well as the O&W Railroad.
Hurley has a sizable historic district that is immediately adjacent to the trail.
There aren’t a lot of services or stores immediately next to the trail. So you’ll want to pack some food to bring with you. If you need to stop for supplies, there are options in Hurley (as well as a nice historic district). There is also Big E’s deli where the trail crosses Cottekill Road. There are also some shops in High Falls if you get off the trail and cross the Roundout Creek.
This first section of trail is more or less continuous until you reach the hamlet of Accord, where the trail ends in a lumberyard. From here you will need to continue along Lucas Turnpike and Route 209 if you want to keep going. These roads can be kind of busy and aren’t the greatest for riding, but more advanced riders should be OK.
A view of the Shawangunk Ridge from the O&W Trail
When you reach the center of Accord, you will need to go through town and cross the Roundout Creek. There aren’t that many stores or services here, despite it being the center of town. You will need find your way over to Rochester Town Park by taking County Road 27 to get to the next segment of trail. But you may have to ride through the park for a while until you can figure out where the trail is. Just look for the dump trucks and the trail should be behind them. The trail is kind of rough here again, and it only goes for 4.3 miles until the next gap in the trail in Kerhonkson. But you will ride along the Roundout Creek the entire time with great views of the Shawangunk Ridge.
In Kerhonkson, if you want to keep riding, you’ll need to use Berme Road for 3.4 miles and it will take you to one last piece of trail – 1.2 miles in Ellenville. But it’s still a nice ride! Kerhonskon also has a couple of restaurants, a brewery and a resort hotel making it a nice place to end your ride as well.