I know people have talked about Rockefeller preserve in Westchester, but I never paid too much attention to them. Now I finally have my car in Manhattan, and would like to start getting out of the city for weekend long runs. For anyone on the board who uses the preserve with any frequency, where is the easiest place to get on these trails? Is it at the park entrance or should I look somewhere else?
thanks
It has been some time since I have run there, but I remember we used to park at the Sleepy Hollow High School parking lot. You find a single track trail heading North from there that will link you to the park about 2 and a half miles down.
Sleepy Hollow HS parking lot is the right place to meet. You want to hook up with some people that know where they are going, otherwise you can get very, very lost. Many people meet on Sunday mornings for group runs. Westchester TC also meets there every Sat and Tues for workouts. 10am ish on Sats and 6:30ish on Tuesday
brian
thanks for the suggestions. will use sleepy hollow hs as my starting point. hoping to get up there friday morning for a long run
But not dangerous lost. This is the only way to learn the trails. Without a doubt the best training location in the tri-state area. Even solid runners can go 2 to 3 hours and not hit the same trail.
Good advice - go on a weekend morning. If you feel lost you'll soon cross paths with someone and they'll help. They helped me. Depends on your adventure tolerance, I guess.
one more question...are there water fountains along the way? hoping to get 20 miles or so in...
Here's a description:
http://westchestertrails.com/rockefeller.php
You can get there from the City on the train.
And there's the nearby Old Croton Aqueduct:
The only water fountain you'll find is at the visitor's center. Your best bet (once you know the trails) is to drive around and stash water along trails that come close to some of the roads.
If you want you can park at the visitors center as well, but a lot of people park at the high school, which is a little closer if you're driving from the city. The high school's got a 400m track too.
The lack of water fountains is the only drawback - the visitor center has two I think and probably a soda machine. I think there's also a spout on one of the loops but check before drinking from it, I think it's safe though.
It's probably the best place around NYC for long runs, most regulars have at least one Khannouchi sighting, great carriage trails.
The main entrance to the Preserve is on 117 (there is a sign a mile beforehand). The fee per car is $6.00. You can get an Empire State Pass (I think it costs $55.00) which entitles you to as many visits to Rockefeller as you wish, plus other state parks like Bear Mountain. By parking at the main entrance, you can also get a map of the trails within the preserve itself, but not the trails outside it. Many people, to avoid any expenditure, park on Sleephy Hollow Road where access to the carriage roads is just as easy as from the main entrance. There is also a new hikers' parking lot on Route 117, just over a mile before the main entrance and is well signed. These are three three parking areas I would recommend. People also park along certain points of access along Route 448 which once you become familiar with the preserve you can choose to do. If you need any other information about the Preserve feel free to ask as I know it very well. Happy running. Darielle.