Hike of the Week 7/29/2004

Cornish Estate

Location:  Hudson Highlands State Park, north of Cold Spring

Length:  3-4 miles roundtrip.

Rating:  Easy to moderate

Dogs:  A very good walk for dogs.

Map:  East Hudson Trails, published by the New York New Jersey Trail Conference.

Features: Wide old cement road leading to the ruins of a once-magnificent estate, good views of Breakneck Ridge to the north.

Watch out for: The ubiquitous deer ticks and abundant poison ivy in and around the ruins of the mansion.

Future file: This hike is a great cross-country ski trip in the winter.

Background:

The Cornish Estate was owned by Edward G. Cornish, chairman of the board of the National Lead Company. The mansion and other major buildings were built in the 1920s using stones from Breakneck Ridge. The mansion was destroyed by fire in 1956.

Hike Description:

Ascend gradually up the old cement road, with the Hudson River on the left and the steep, sometimes rocky face of Bull Hill on the right. The road is still in very good shape, and imagine yourself a millionaire coming up it in a carriage or a Dusenberg in the 1920s. Reach the stone ruins of the mansion in about a half mile and again try to imagine what this place looked like in its heyday with its many fireplaces, stone patios and arches. If I could go back in time, this is one of the first places I would check out. There are ruins of several other buildings on the grounds. The cement road ends at nine-tenths of a mile and becomes an old woods road. After passing a large cement cistern and crossing the Catskill Aqueduct, the Cornish Trail ends at the red-blazed Brook Trail along Breakneck Brook. Follow this up to the blue-blazed Notch Trail. Go left on this trail and shortly after crossing the brook on a wooden bridge, reach the ruins of a dairy farm once operated by the Cornish family. Beyond the ruins is a good-sized pond. This ends your tour of the former Cornish Estate -- turn around and enjoy the stroll back down to 9D. And if you ever invent time travel, let me know so I can see what this place was really like.

How to get there: 

From Poughkeepsie, take Route 9 south to Route 9D south through Wappingers Falls, Beacon and through the Breakneck Ridge tunnel. Continue about 1.5 miles south on Route 9D. The blue-blazed trail begins on the old estate road on the left.

About the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference : The NY-NJ Trail Conference is a federation of hiking clubs, environmental organizations and individual members who volunteer their time and resources to build and maintain hiking trails and protect related open space in the bi-state region.

Information : For a more detailed description of this hike including a map, visit www.nynjtc.org and click on Hike of the Week. For information on NYNJTC activities, call 201-512-9348 or email info@nynjtc.org.

Hike of the Week is a regular feature in the Poughkeepsie Journal Players section, call 845-437-4848. This hike is contributed by Ralph Ferrusi of Stormville.

V3 Last updated: July 31, 2004   Copyright © 1996-2004  New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Privacy Statement.