Welcome to the Maybrook Trailway website. The Maybrook Trailway will be a shared-use bicycling and pedestrian path running along a 25-mile portion of the Metro-North Railroad (MNR) Beacon Line Corridor from Brewster, NY to Hopewell Junction, NY. This portion of the Maybrook Trailway, formerly referred to as the Beacon Line, does not currently have active train traffic, the project proposes building a “rail with trail” on the Brewster to Hopewell Junction segment. The trail is set to be completed in 2020.

The Maybrook Trailway is an important part of the Empire State Trail, providing a key link between the Putnam Trailway and the Dutchess Rail Trail and Walkway Over the Hudson State Park. The Empire State Trail, when completed in 2020, will create a 750-mile trail bike and walking pathway stretching from New York City to Canada and from Albany to Buffalo.

Project Name Change

In October, 2017, Metro-North Railroad (MNR) and the Hudson River Valley Greenway issued the Draft Concept Plan for the Maybrook Trailway Section project. The original “Beacon Line” title reflected the name MNR has used for several decades to identify the rail line running from the City of Beacon to Hopewell Junction to Brewster to the Connecticut state line. Over the past three months, a number of public comments were submitted suggesting that “Maybrook Trailway” is a preferable name for the trail. As reflected on the cover of this Final Concept Plan, MNR and the Hudson Greenway have proposed a new name for the project: the Maybrook Trailway section of the Empire State Trail, for the following reasons:

• Prior to MNR’s acquisition, the railroad was known as the Maybrook Line for nearly a century. The name “Maybrook Trailway” better aligns with the important historical role the line played in transportation and community development in the region.
• Putnam County has identified the southern portion of the line as the Maybrook Trailway for many years, and in fact has already planned and developed several sections of the trail using this name.
• Use of the term “Beacon Line” has created confusion, implying the trail connects to the City of Beacon, NY. In fact, the Empire State Trail segment being developed through this project ends in Hopewell Junction, which is approximately 10 miles northeast of the City of Beacon (from Hopewell Junction, the Empire State Trail route will continue northwest on the existing Dutchess Rail Trail to Poughkeepsie and the Walkway Over the Hudson).

In summary, MNR and the Hudson Greenway have concluded that for consistency and continuity, this 25-mile section of the Empire State Trail is best named the Maybrook Trailway Section. This name will be used in future documents describing the project.

The Route

The trail crosses through two counties (Putnam and Dutchess), five towns, and one village. Along the route, the trail goes through rural landscapes and wooded areas featuring seasonal waterfalls as well as crosses the Appalachian Trail along the way.

At the southern end, the new Maybrook Trailway will connect to the Putnam Trailway and an existing portion of the Maybrook Trailway, and to the north, the Dutchess Rail Trail. There is MNR station access nearby at Poughkeepsie and in Brewster, providing multi-modal access to transit along the trail.

View the entire route below or click on the following sections to see more detailed maps:

• Section 1: Brewster to Patterson
• Section 2: Patterson and Pawling
• Section 3: Pawling and Beekman
• Section 4: Beekman and East Fishkill
• Section 5: East Fishkill and Hopewell Junction