Orange County earmarks $740,000 for Warwick bike & pedestrian trail

On September 18, Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus announced that the Legislature passed a resolution to provide $740,000 to the Department of Parks and Recreation for the creation of a new trail to link the Appalachian Trail to Warwick County Park.

“The Town of Warwick Bike Route and Pedestrian Trail Project will provide residents with another venue to utilize for exercise,” Neuhaus said. “It is an impressive expansion of the county’s rail trail network and will facilitate the conservation of significant open space.”

The proposed trail will consist of a 9.6-mile bike loop starting and ending at the Millers Lane/Covered Bridge Road intersection, which traverses 15 local roads in the town of Warwick. The new route will connect to an existing bike route along Prices Switch Road in Vernon, New Jersey. The project also includes a 4.9-mile hiking pedestrian trail between the Appalachian Trail and the Warwick County Park, including a timber bridge that will span Long House Creek near Cascade Road.

The town of Warwick was named the local project sponsor for this project, which will be administered by the NYS DOT Local Project Unit in Poughkeepsie. The announcement said the town had also secured federal Carbon Reduction Program funding through the Orange County Transportation Council.

“The trail will promote a healthier Orange County and our community will benefit greatly from it,” said Alan Sorensen, Orange County’s commissioner of planning. “This project is part of a larger vision for a county-wide non-motorized transportation system.”

Construction of the trail is expected to begin this fall, with a completion date some time next fall, 2024.