Travel: Recycled Rails, New Paltz, New York

New Paltz, New York is an 80s-era hippie town with little shops selling rainbow-colored hackey sacks with the smell of weed in the air. A few years ago, you could get a decent second home up there for under $100K. Now, they’re calling the Catskills the new Hamptons. Boo. But it’s still the type of place where you can spend a few hours hiking, fishing, or biking, and then put all those calories back on at a pub. Outdoor fun plus food and wine is really our favorite type of adventure.

Because we only live an hour and a half away, it’s a frequent day trip for us. This weekend, we did ten miles on the rail trail, a converted rail line turned into a bike path that crosses the state. One of Steve’s friends biked that path from Buffalo to New York over two weeks. The path begins right in the center of town, so it’s easy to jump from pub to trail. It’s a little sad that trains no longer cross the state, but repurposing train lines is really cool.

There’s a lot more to do in the area. Mohonk is a few miles away (old post here). We spotted place to rent kyacks on the Wallkill River, just a few steps from the downtown area.

P and G’s — Our favorite pub that has a nice mix of the hippie regulars, the hunting and fishing guys in plaid shirts, and college professors who all look Bernie Sanders.

Grazery – Great sandwiches on focaccia. Perfect to pack up for the bike ride.

Clemson – Beer is better than the food.

Wallkill Valley Rail Trail – Miles of flat paved path through farm land and forests. It’s really fun to have two glasses of wine at P and G’s and then go biking. Along the way, you can take a quick detour to check out the old homes built by the French Huguenots with little rifle holes to shoot Indians during King Phillip’s War.

Fun old bookstores — Because going to used book stores is our happy place, we visited a few in New Paltz. Barner Books and Inquiring Minds.