Opened in the fall of 2019, the Ashokan Rail Trail (“ART”) is a shared-use recreational trail running 11.5 miles along the northern edge of the Ashokan Reservoir between Basin Road in West Hurley and Route 28A in Boiceville. The ART was developed by the County of Ulster through an historic partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”), which owns and operates the Ashokan Reservoir and adjacent lands. Open from sunrise to sunset year-round, the ART has provided public access to the County’s scenic abandoned Ulster & Delaware Railroad corridor without a DEP Access Permit for the first time since the Reservoir was constructed in 1911.
The ART trail surface is highly compacted crushed stone ranging from 10 to 12 feet in width, and this flat trail is ADA compliant and accessible for persons with disabilities. The ART is open for non-motorized uses, including hiking, bicycling, running, nature observation, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing and offers approximately three large public trailheads from which the trail can be accessed.
