Combining a ‘running tour’ of the Vassar campus with the adjacent Vassar College Farm and Ecological Preserve makes for a gorgeous run. Vassar is one of the more bucolic college campuses in the United States, with historic buildings and beautiful grounds. Meander around its pedestrian paths for 2-3 miles (it’s ~1 mile long and 0.5 miles wide). Make sure you get over to Sunset Lake and the Observatory. Then, hop over to the athletic fields and enjoy a jaunt around the gorgeous outdoor track.
Vassar Farm & Ecological Preserve
We also recommend a loop around the gentle trails of the Vassar College Farm and Ecological Preserve. Use Vassar Farm Lane, and then use the Wright Trai/Helen Johnson Memorial Trail/Drumlin Trail, for a 3.7 mile loop.
Add-On: The Dutchess Rail Trail is ~1 mile east of the Vassar campus, across Rt. 55.
Combining a ‘running tour’ of the Vassar campus with the adjacent Vassar College Farm and Ecological Preserve makes for a gorgeous run. Vassar is one of the more bucolic college campuses in the United States, with historic buildings and beautiful grounds. Meander around its pedestrian paths for 2-3 miles (it’s ~1 mile long and 0.5 miles wide). Make sure you get over to Sunset Lake and the Observatory. Then, hop over to the athletic fields and enjoy a jaunt around the gorgeous outdoor track.
Vassar Farm & Ecological Preserve
We also recommend a loop around the gentle trails of the Vassar College Farm and Ecological Preserve. Use Vassar Farm Lane, and then use the Wright Trai/Helen Johnson Memorial Trail/Drumlin Trail, for a 3.7 mile loop.
Add-On: The Dutchess Rail Trail is ~1 mile east of the Vassar campus, across Rt. 55.
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Essentials
Create your own route around campus and fields. The Farm loop is 3.7 miles
Fairly flat
Vassar campus. The farm trails are off Vassar Farm Lane, just south of Rt. 44
Terrific waterfront running in this village just over the Cuomo Bridge. Highlight is trail at Nyack Beach State Park, which has great river views. There are also lake loops at nearby Rockland Lake and Congers Lake. You can also now run over the bridge to Tarrytown!
Great running options in this historic area: The 21-mile Walkill Valley Rail Trail; A loop in New Paltz on historic Huguenot St.; and the carriage roads and trails at the Mohonk Preserve and adjacent Minnewaska Preserve.
Run the world's highest and longest pedestrian bridge! The 1.5 mile Walkway Over the Hudson is a Hudson Valley running highlight. Add on with the Hudson Valley Rail Trail on the western side and the Dutchess Rail Trail on the eastern side.
A wonderful run along the Hudson River in Kingston. Combine waterfront paths with the new BrickYard Trail for 3 miles along the water. For a ~10 mile run, add the Kingston Rail Trail, heads for 1.3 miles from downtown to the water.
Samuel Morse-owned Tuscan villa sits on 150 acres of gorgeous grounds bordering the Hudson. There are 5 miles of carriage road trails winding through woods and meadows that make for gorgeous running.
Fantastic running in Hyde Park. The 16-mile Hyde Park Trail System includes the FDR NHS, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, Vanderbilt Mansion, and Mills-Norrie State Park. Great combination of woodland trails, grounds, historic sites!
Poet's Walk is one of the more bucolic spots for a run in this area of the Hudson Valley, with trails meandering through meadows and woods. Just south of there are the more forested trails of Ferncliff Forest. RT. 103 is quiet and scenic for running.
A great way to explore the bucolic campus of Bard College and its outskirts, using roads and pathways to enjoy the varied scenery. For a longer run, enjoy a jaunt to the Montgomery Place National Historic Landmark.
A couple of pleasant routes in the Tivoli and Annandale-on-Hudson area, featuring the trails of Tivoli Bays and the bucolic Bard campus. Great views of the river, marshland, and the Catskills.
A great opportunity for a long off-road run in the eastern part of the Hudson Valley. The mainly paved trail follows an old rail line for 24.6 miles between Copake Falls and Wassaic. The landscape is a mix of woods and open farmland. Plans to extend the trail north.
The 13-mile Heritage Trail is a paved/crush limestone multi-use path that follows the former Erie Railroad rail line through New York’s Orange County, between Middletown and Harriman. Especially nice in fall!
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Essentials
Create your own route around campus and fields. The Farm loop is 3.7 miles
Fairly flat
Vassar campus. The farm trails are off Vassar Farm Lane, just south of Rt. 44
Review or Comment on This Route/Share a Photo!
Share your feedback on this route and see that of other Great Runs users. Click on the image icon to upload a photo. And please let us know if there are notes or changes we should incorporate!