Putnam County: Trails, Water and Cultural History

In Putnam County, nature, water and cultural history can all be part of your vacation plans. Hiking trails, paddling waters and cultural sites offer different highlights. When choosing a vacation rental, one simple question can help: Which experiences do you want to shape your stay? By deciding on your priorities first, you can plan your outings and choose where to stay accordingly.

Trails, Water and Landscape

Fahnestock State Park spans more than 14,000 acres in Putnam and Dutchess Counties. Its trail network includes more than 62 miles of hiking trails, including 10 miles of the Appalachian Trail. These offer two different scales for planning your outings: you can focus on the park’s extensive network or specifically include the Appalachian Trail section.

Water activities also offer different options. The Great Swamp has more than 14 miles of navigable waterways for kayaking and canoeing. Boating, fishing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, jet skiing and swimming are all possible on Lake Mahopac. By comparison, kayaking and canoeing are the main activities at the Great Swamp, while the lake offers a wider range of activities. If water is important to your trip, you can take these differences into account when choosing places to visit.

Cultural Sites and History

Chuang Yen Monastery is home to the largest indoor Buddha statue in the Western Hemisphere. Stonecrop Gardens offers a different cultural perspective: the garden opened to the public in Cold Spring in 1992. In Putnam Valley, the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center is located in the historic Tompkins Corners Methodist Church. The monastery, garden and cultural center represent different themes you can include in your travel plans.

At West Point Foundry Preserve, trails pass the remains of foundry buildings and interpretive features. These explain the site’s contribution to the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War, as well as the ecological renewal of the grounds. The Putnam History Museum presents an exhibit about the contested Hudson Valley region during the American Revolution. When planning, you can choose different areas of focus, including industrial history, landscape change and the history of the Revolution.

Routes for Different Itineraries

Boscobel House and Gardens includes the 1.25-mile Frances Stevens Reese Woodland Trail. A short, gently uphill path along the estate’s former entrance drive leads to the Cornish Estate Ruins. There, striking stone and brick remains, with views of the Hudson River, are part of the site’s character.

The North and South Redoubts can be reached on a moderately challenging, 3-mile hike; their remains are clearly visible. In terms of length, this hike compares with the 1.25-mile trail at Boscobel. The Redoubts hike is also described as moderately challenging. These details can help you consider different outing options in your plans without treating the destinations as equivalent.

Getting There and Choosing Where to Stay

Putnam County has five Metro-North stops and is about an hour from Manhattan for day trips. Check the appropriate schedule for your travel date and consider which destinations you want to prioritize. This lets you plan your travel and the location of your vacation rental alongside your outings.

All hiking and biking trails in Putnam County have the same rule: pack out all your trash. This is part of planning your trips around the county, whether you mainly want to hike or bike.

Discover more destinations: Mahopac, Cold Spring, Brewster, Schoharie County, Greene, Clinton County, Rockland, Delaware County.

Go to the main travel overview: New York.