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  1. #1
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    Question New York City - "Side-Trail"

    Hello hikers!
    I'm a hiker from Germany and I'm looking foward to a NoBo Thru-hike of the AT this season. Arriving date in Atlanta will be March 24th. I decided to have a stop in NYC (never been there before, friends from home will join me, will be in July if I'm still alive).

    Does anybody know an affordable lodging, appropriate for hikers? Second question: Which is the best way to get to NYC from the trail?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
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    Welcome to Whiteblaze

    From Delaware Water Gap / Stroudsburg (PA) there is bus service to/from NYC www.martztrailways.com
    From Bear Mountain State Park (NY) there is bus service to/from NYC at Bear Mountain Inn www.shortlinebus.com
    From Pawling, NY there is a train stop right on the AT (stop is named Appalachian Trail) but it only runs on weekends and holidays www.mta.info/mnr

    Lodging in NYC can be expensive. And without a definite arrival date it would be difficult to book in advance and get any cheaper non-refundable rates. I usually use credit card points when staying in NYC. You could try bidding for a room on Priceline a couple of days out. I've gotten good rooms (Marriott, Hilton, etc) in Times Square area as low as $120 using Priceline www.priceline.com. But if others will be meeting you there, why not let them handle hotel arrangements so you don't have to from the trail?
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

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    If you arrive in Pawling on a weekday you can walk a couple of miles south to the center of Pawling and get the train from there.
    "It goes to show you never can tell." - Charles Edward Anderson Berry

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    There are many options for train/bus public transit from DWG to the AT Metro North station in NY as this entire area is a NYC commuting zone.

    You can use Google maps for direction to NYC and switch from driving directions to public transit, this will give you the train/bus routes. You may need a short road walk, hitch or cab ride to the train or bus stop, but getting to NYC from this area of the AT has many options.

    As for a cheap stay, wish you well on that.

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    There is an AYH hostel on the upper west side. Contact them for information.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

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    Quote Originally Posted by Feral Bill View Post
    There is an AYH hostel on the upper west side. Contact them for information.
    http://hinewyork.org/reservations/

    I think that's the place you are referring to?

    At $49/Night probably the cheapest place to stay in NYC (or at least close). Was there in 2001 with a group - it's quite a large place so while it could fill up there is probably a better chance of getting in on short notice than most hostels would have.

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    I agree with what 4eyedbuzzard said but wanted to highlight what he said about: From Bear Mountain State Park (NY) there is bus service to/from NYC at Bear Mountain Inn www.shortlinebus.com

    As someone who lives in NY and has hike all of NY on the A.T., I absolutely think, hands down, this is the easiest way to get to NYC from the A.T. in NY. The A.T. crosses through the Bear Mountain Recreation Area and this bus stops very close by to the trail. It stops in front of the Bear Mountain Inn, which you can see from the trail. There are several buses every day of the week. They're comfortable and relatively inexpensive and they drop you in the middle of Manhattan. As for affordable accommodations in NY, good luck!

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    Grinning at this last post; I started two big section hikes from the Bear Mountain Bridge. But I had the advantage of my sister-in-law's house in Yorktown Heights. I also remember walking across Manhattan, in hiker regalia, on my way home from one of those hikes.

  9. #9
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    Suppose you're going north. You cross the Hudson River, and go up the hill a ways. You then take the side trail on your right. Eventually you will see signs that say "Caution. Unexploded ordinance." on your left.

    This brings you in the NYC direction. It might not be the best way, but it was on my mind.
    David Smolinski

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    Quote Originally Posted by cabbagehead View Post
    Suppose you're going north. You cross the Hudson River, and go up the hill a ways. You then take the side trail on your right. Eventually you will see signs that say "Caution. Unexploded ordinance." on your left.

    This brings you in the NYC direction. It might not be the best way, but it was on my mind.
    That would take you towards Peakskill and Metro North, there is also Manatu Station <SP> which has limited service but is closer. Again there are many options, perhaps Bear Mtn is the easiet but other options are not hard at all either.

    Interesting aside, you could actually hike to NYC via a side trail (in no other context could the Long Path be considered a side trail, but only for the AT). In Harriman park you will get to a area called Times Square, there you will find the Long Path, you can take that SoBo and it will take you to the George Washington Bridge (which you would have to walk across to enter the city proper), not really practical but possible.
    Last edited by Starchild; 03-14-2014 at 07:46.

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    You could also consider taking the train from Harper's Ferry to Washington DC. The train station is right on the trail and there is a Daily Amtrak and commuter train service. DC is another great city to visit, if you haven't been there (for that matter, it's also a great city to visit if you have been there before). Plus there is easy bus/train/plane connections between DC and NYC so you could do both, if you are up to it. HF is at the West Virginia/Maryland border so it would come up a little earlier in the hike.

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    Default Thanks a lot!

    Thanks for all your help and so many ideas! For me taking the bus Service from Bear Mountain Park may work best (thanks to 4eyedbuzzard and bpowell1014). If I will be good in time, I also thought about hiking right into the City. In my home country you can reach even large cities by feet, there are maps available and trails are often blazed up to the towns Center. But I don't think this will work with NYC! I remember once walking through downtown Atlanta. Except from Shopping malls you couldn't go anywhere but by car.

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    ... last time we were in harriman park a hiker we were with went to the bear mountain inn and ended up yogi-ing a ride to new york instead of taking the bus as planned. is yogi-ing a translate-able term?
    Lazarus

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1azarus View Post
    ... last time we were in harriman park a hiker we were with went to the bear mountain inn and ended up yogi-ing a ride to new york instead of taking the bus as planned. is yogi-ing a translate-able term?
    Good thing he yogi-ed it, since from what I understand hitch hiking is illegal in New York.
    The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Astro View Post
    Good thing he yogi-ed it, since from what I understand hitch hiking is illegal in New York.
    Not so. Hitching is quite legal in NY. Some cops believe they can make up their own laws, I suppose. On the other hand, many years ago a park police officer in Harriman gave a friend and me a lift to the bus stop at Bear Mountain.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feral Bill View Post
    Not so. Hitching is quite legal in NY. Some cops believe they can make up their own laws, I suppose. On the other hand, many years ago a park police officer in Harriman gave a friend and me a lift to the bus stop at Bear Mountain.
    Uhm. You're quite right that there is no state law against hitchhiking. Relevant state law is quoted on http://hitchwiki.org/en/New_York_State .

    That said, Orange, Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess counties all are claimed to have anti-hitchhiking ordinances. (Counties in NY are free to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law to accommodate local conditions.) Moreover, it's required by the syllabus in New York that driver ed courses teach that hitchhiking is illegal, so it's a tough place to get a hitch. When the drivers and cops all know there's a law against it, it makes things difficult - even when what they know ain't so.

    Yogi'ing doesn't count as hitching. There's a separate ordinance against soliciting rides on Thruway property, which includes the rest areas. (And several roads that aren't posted as Thruway, notably I-190, the Garden State Parkway connector, I-95 from Pelham Parkway to the Connecticut line, and I-287 in Westchester County are Thruway property, as is the Erie Canalway. I-84 was also, for some years, but transferred back to NYSDOT in 2010. So don't try to yogi a ride at the Fishkill rest area when you cross I-84 on the A-T nearby.
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Another Kevin View Post
    Uhm. You're quite right that there is no state law against hitchhiking. Relevant state law is quoted on http://hitchwiki.org/en/New_York_State .

    That said, Orange, Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess counties all are claimed to have anti-hitchhiking ordinances.

    .
    Yes, but is it so? And to what extent do they have that power? I must research before hitching in NY.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

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