Hiking on the Old Croton Aqueduct

We live not too far from the Croton Resevoir, which feeds NYC's water supply, now through more modern pipelines, but originally via a system of brick tunnels called the Old Croton Aqueduct. They are buried under a hiking trail that parallels the Croton River and ends at the Croton Dam. It's a nice flat trail, and you can start as far south as you like, all the way down in the Bronx if the fancy strikes you. Our usual hiking buddy is Mikro's godmother. She's not so available these days, since she works crazy hours driving a commuter train. Between her schedule, and my pain levels, we don't often get the opportunity to go hiking. But luckily, we recently got to take a nice walk on a beautiful day.















The Dam is a great place to bird watch. One day, we watched a bald eagle steal a fish from an osprey in a tree, just 20 feet or so from where we were standing atop the Dam. It's really a beautiful place, and surprisingly blessed with wildlife for a spot only 40 miles or so north of NYC.

We're lucky to live here.

More aqueduct & dam links:

Aqueduct Trail map & info from NYC Parks & Rec
Wikipedia Aqueduct entry
Croton Dam via Croton Historical Society
Wiki entry on the Croton Dam