Hiking around Croton Gorge Park in New York
Croton Gorge Park is a little bit different than our normal posts/videos as it doesn’t really involve all that much hiking. It does however involve a really awesome park with a gorgeous stream flowing through and a cool dam!
Since this isn’t a typical park with a ton of hiking trails, there isn’t really a trail map to use because there are only two main trails in the area. Both are very easy to navigate and offer some beautiful scenery. Today however, we will be showing you all the aqueduct trail leading up to the dam itself.
DAM THAT IS EPIC
Deanna did not get any pictures of the hike itself going up to the top the dam, so if you wanted to check that out, be sure to watch the video at the top of this post.
We recently just had a ton of rain in the northeast US as a big storm had passed through. Tons of trees were down taking out power throughout the area. If you watch our video, we actually had to drive around a few downed trees just to make our way to the dam. With all the extra rain we received, the water was definitely flowing when we arrived. The Croton Reservoir itself seemed fairly calm, but the spillway, not so much.
BACK AGAIN AFTER 2015
For more helpful information/historical information regarding this particular park, you can check out Westchester’s own website: Westchester’s Croton Gorge Park
We actually went to this park in 2015 (think I may have said 2014 in the video but its 2015). There was a bit of construction towards the base of the dam at that point (for whatever reason I don’t know) so it was cool being able to see it all unobstructed this go around.
RAGING WATER IN THE SPILLWAY
As you can see from these photos Deanna captured, the water was flowing fairly intensely through the spillway. This is the type of imagery I would imagine in some raging rapids in white water rafting. Although we were expecting it to be a stronger flow than our original visit in 2015 (photo shown below), this was pretty crazy. 🙂
COMPARISON FROM 2015 to 2018
Croton Gorge Park in 2015
The water was still impressive and beautiful in 2015, but 2018 definitely gave us a new perspective. You can check out this same angle but in 2018 after a storm below:
Croton Gorge Park 2018
This park is also a great place to set up for a picnic or just hang out with friends and family. There are plenty of tables around and the sound of waterfall in the background offers a great ambiance to enjoy. 🙂
SUMMARY
We definitely recommend checking this park out if you are ever in the area. The dam alone is a beautiful man made structure that is worth the visit. This place also reminds us that you can’t stop nature if it really wants to make its way through. Especially on days where the rain just keeps on keeping on, nature just does what it wants. 🙂 With the two beautiful main trails and plenty of spots to set up a picnic, this is a wonderful park to explore!
NOTE FROM WRITER
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Also be sure to check out Deanna’s food blog when you get the chance! A lot of awesome and healthy recipes to use there!
Adventure On!
