Walkable Westchester (old edition, update available)

In "Walkable Weschester," Jane and Walt Daniels have given us four hundred pages of history, description, maps, and photographs of the places in Westhester County where you can walk, hike, roller skate, cycle, or ride on horseback.The locations are arranged by size and thus are also arranged according to the effort that you can put into an outing. The presentation is readable and thorough. The Daniels know Westchester in all of its details. They are responsible for many of the trails described in the book.I was pleasantly surprised to see that for the French Hill park, they have included the location of the monument, which sits next to the Taconic Parkway. It is shielded from the view of drivers by rocks and foliage. From the parkway, you can get a quick glimpse of it in the winter, but only if you know where to look.My favorite destination is the Giant Boulder inside Yorktown's Granite Knolls. I first (re)discovered this house-sized monolith while exploring the area with the Yorktown Open Space Committee. We saw a structure marked on our map and thought that we would find the foundations of an old barn. We were surprised. The Giant Boulder is shaped like a loaf of rye bread, with large crumbs cut from the heel and a six-foot wide slice more or less still in place. There are also the mysterious remains of what appear to be steps that go only part way up the side of the Boulder. You can go to see it for yourself. The book will tell you where it is.

The quintessential guide for walking around my home county

Very comprehensive.

Westchester is filled with parks and in the northern part north of I287 many longer trails. G P S coordinates. This updated edition has 200 parks with more than 600 miles of trails.The Trail Conference provides clickable descriptions of many hikes:Hikes in Westchester in TC database•Hudson Highlands Gateway Park (Cortlandt, New York)•Saxon Woods Park Southern Loop•Teatown Lake Reservation•Pocantico Hills Loop Walk•Westmoreland Sanctuary Loop Hike•Westchester Wilderness Walk (Pound Ridge, New York)•Cranberry Lake Preserve in Westchester County•Ward Pound Ridge Southwest Loop to Leatherman's Cave•Southeast Loop at Ward Pound Ridge to Highest Point in the Park•Blue Mountain Reservation Loop•Old Croton Aqueduct from Ossining to Quaker Bridge•Old Croton Aqueduct from Tarrytown to Yonkers•Old Croton Aqueduct from Tarrytown to Ossining•Butler Memorial Sanctuary (Mt. Kisco, NY)•Sylvan Glen Nature Preserve•Rockwood Hall at Sleepy Hollow•Along the Cross River in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation•Westchester County Sanctuary Ramble•Along Long Island Sound in Marshlands Conservancy•Koegel Park via the North County Trailway•Hunter Brook Linear Park•Loop Hike to Fire Tower Site and Indian Rock Shelter from Michigan Road Parking Area•Rocks Trail at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation•Vernay Lake/Hidden Valley Loop•Mohegan Quarry Ramble at Sylvan Glen Park Preserve•Granite Knolls Easy Loop•Bronx River Pathway•Loop hike to CCC Camp Ruins, Indian Rock Shelter, Raven Rocks, Dancing Rock and Bear Rock at Ward Pound RidgeOne of my favorites is Loop Hike to Fire Tower Site and Indian Rock Shelter from Michigan Road Parking AreaThis loop hike climbs to the highest point of this Westchester County park and passes an interesting rock shelter.Time: 3 hours; Difficulty: Moderate; Length: 4 miles; Route Type: Circuit Dogs: Allowed on leash; Features: Views, Historic featureDriving DirectionsFrom the George Washington Bridge, proceed north on the Henry Hudson Parkway, which becomes the Saw Mill River Parkway. Take Exit 4 and continue on the Cross County Parkway, then bear left to follow the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway. In eight miles, bear left and continue on I-684. Take Exit 6 (Katonah/Cross River), which briefly joins the Saw Mill River Parkway, then exits to Route 35. Turn right and follow Route 35 east for 3.7 miles, then turn right onto Route 121 south. After crossing a bridge, immediately turn left into Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. Continue for 0.7 mile to the tollbooth (there is a parking fee on weekends, daily in summer). Make the next right onto Michigan Road and continue for 0.7 mile to a parking area on the right, just before a circle at the end of the road.DescriptionWalk back to a junction where a "parking" sign points to the right. Turn right into a dirt parking area, follow it to its end, then continue along a wide path, passing a cedar tree on the right. At the end of the path, steeply descend the hillside. At the base of the descent, bear right and follow the FH blazes of the Fox Hill Trail (in the direction indicated by the sign "To Junction Marker 9"). The trail climbs, passing through gaps in several stone walls. Just below the high point, it bears left and begins to descend. As it parallels a stone wall at the edge of a field, there are north-facing views through the trees.At the base of the descent, the trail passes an interesting shelter, built of branches and covered with bark, and reaches junction #9. Here, the Fox Hill Trail ends. Turn right onto the Orange Trail, which follows a woods road gently uphill. In half a mile, you'll cross a footbridge and reach junction #10. A white-blazed trail begins here, but you should turn left to continue on the Orange Trail.Just ahead, at junction #51, bear left at the fork to continue on the Orange Trail, which crosses a stream on a footbridge and climbs to the stone ruins of a former shelter. After passing Shelter #29 (to the right), you'll reach junction #13. Here, you should bear right onto the white-blazed Fire Tower Trail, then immediately bear left to continue on this trail (do not follow the trail to "Junction Marker 12").The Fire Tower Trail climbs along a woods road. At junction #52, bear right, following the sign "To Junction Marker 15." The trail continues to ascend, passing interesting rock formations and mountain laurel thickets.At junction #15, the white-blazed trail ends. Continue ahead, now following the blue-blazed Laurel Trail (do not turn left at this junction). Soon, you'll reach the highest point in the park (860 feet), the site of a former fire tower, now marked by a bench and a water pump.Just beyond, look carefully on the right for junction #16. Turn right here and descend on a white-blazed footpath, which goes down steeply over rocks and passes through a tunnel of mountain laurel. At the base of the descent, you'll cross a stream on rocks and climb slightly to reach junction #49.Turn right at the junction and head west and then north. At junction #18, continue ahead, and you'll pass, to the right, a natural rock shelter, used by Native Americans. After crossing two footbridges and passing cliffs to the left, you'll reach junction #19. Here, the white-blazed trail ends, and you turn left onto the Yellow/Red Trail - a wide woods road.After passing junction #20 and Shelter #6 to the right, you'll reach junction #33, where the Red Trail departs to the left. Continue ahead, now following only yellow blazes. When you reach junction #24 in about a mile, continue straight ahead, then bear right at junction #70 and reach the parking area where the hike began.Check the Trail Conference website for any changes in the trail: nynjtc.org/hike/westchester-high-point-rock-shelter-stone-walls-and-more

This is really a compendium of all walkable places in Westchester. The maps are great, and this book often has a better map than the official map for the area. The real downside to this book is that there are no ratings and the the descriptions of the trails are quite dry. From reading the book, one can not distinguish between a top 10 trail for Westchester vs. a standard run-of-the-mill trail.I do love this book, but for recommendations of which trails to hike, I would recommend purchasing a different book. This book is for those that want a complete description and map of every westchester trail without any real distinctions of quality.