LarryS

The following is from : https://parks.westchestergov.com/act...ing-and-biking :

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South County Trailway A paved, multi-use trail 14.1 miles in length spanning central to southern Westchester.

Note: Construction is scheduled to begin in Mid-March and will continue for several months, possibly to the end of Summer, 2021.
From Route 119 in Elmsford down to Barney Street in Yonkers.
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The last time I rode the SCT, the section from Barney St. to VCP was not that bad. Its starting to need work in spots, but its definitely not a deal breaker (YET).

Hopefully much of the trail will be open during construction.

UniChris

Barney to Elmsford is overdue, but the North County part of the route re-opened less than a year ago, the post-paving Old Put even more recently, and the just completed Maybrook's only been legal for just over a month!

Imagine a world where they repaired whole trails in one go off season, instead of taking them out of service summer after summer after summer...

Guessing I'm not going to get Bronx to New Paltz in before they start; maybe the fall if they finish up while the days are still long enough.

Steve B.

Timing sucks but it needs it. As well I recall that they cannot lay asphalt unless the overnight temp stays above 45 deg., or some such.

Papa Tom

I rode the South County in the Fall of 2020 for the first time in several years. It definitely needs some patchwork.

Bad timing for me, as I was hoping to make this part of a ride up toward the upstate portion of the Empire State Trail this summer. I only needed one excuse to fall back on my "regular" summer trip, and I guess this is it.

dendawg

Going a little off topic, but does anyone know if the old put and south county are cleared of snow. Only because xc skiing is a nice winter pastime and it would seem like a good possibility if they don't touch it.

UniChris

My experience last (mild) winter was that they tended to be cleared by usage. I'd usually only head up when there's been a week of warm temperature to melt things, there as an area alongside route 100 where it got a bit interesting for a moment as the remaining spots of ice which I think were compressed early footprints suddenly became dense enough there wasn't pavement in between for traction.

I think if you want to ski on it you'd need to get out there while the snow is fairly fresh, or hit some of the longer stretches between parking lots (eg, where when riding you rarely see people). Maybe between Millwood and Kitchawan? Or Carmel and Carmel Hamlet? That would also mean fewer road crossings to deal with - though technically those are the NCT and Putnam County Trails.

UniChris

Anyone ever tried riding on 9A?

Last I did the Westchester trails I wasn't comfortable at all on roads, but have since gotten to the point of doing many of my miles on those that are more reasonable.

Took a few quick glances on streetview and can't really decide, it's not generally visible from the trail so have little in-person sense of it and have basically not been in the area other than on the trail.

dendawg

We usually head to Fahnstock or Minnewaska. Hoping for something a little closer to home other than Central Park which becomes useless in a day.

UniChris

If you start in Van Cortlandt Park you at least have a variety of other options if the Put itself is tracked off, though they might require more ground cover. Wonder what the OCA is like, also Tibbets Brook Park?

For that matter i wouldn't be surprised if people ski on the D&R Canal over New Brunswick / Bound Brook way, and there are some options in Johnson Park where you'd probably start. There is at least one flat stone paved spillway under a highway overpass you'd have to take skiis off to walk, the others that are exposed would probably be fine with a few inches of snow on them.

Zebra Tempest

This will be such a godsend. I live < 1 mile from the trail. The trail from Barney to Elmsford has been completely unrideable on my road bike for almost 2 years. The section from Barney to Farragut has stunk for at least 5 years.

UniChris

Having it paved sounds good, though I bet a lot in the area will be annoyed by the closure to do so. Would be great if you could report when it's actually closed - and open again.

Steve B.

They resurface with apshalt typically, which wants temperatures between 50 and 90 to avoid problems. This spring, summer and fall for construction.

Pratt

Are regular old 20th century type paper maps of these trails available?

Zebra Tempest

brochures: https://parks.westchestergov.com/trailways

csport

Has anybody ridden it recently? The page linked in post #1 now has more detailed info:
Is is passable?

SpectrumTi

I rode the SCT two days ago after crossing the Tappan Zee from Nyack. There was construction at the trailhead on 119, but it was only about 1/4 mile and you could follow a parallel surface street and cut back on to it easily enough. The path has some pretty rough spots north of Yonkers. It definitely needs resurfacing. Once you hit Yonkers, it’s really nice all the way to VCP.

csport

It was passable yesterday.

Pulars

The South County Trailway is a big muddy mess from Barney St to Woodlands.Lake. My guess is that they won't lay asphalt until the weather warms up.

LarryS

The SCT is no longer a bloody muddy mess.
I was there on Good Friday and most of the trail is paved except for a portion north of Barney Street. There are signs indicating that the portion of the trail from 1/4 quarter of mile south of Lawrence St. to Barney Street will be closed during the weeks of 4/11 and 4/18 due to paving. A portion of this has already been completed so hopefully it will be totally completed the week of 4/18.
I have no idea if there will be additional work after the paving is complete.

Papa Tom

Thank you, Larry!

Zebra Tempest

The south county trail construction is complete and it is beautiful from Hearst St to Rt 119 Yonkers. Go out and enjoy.