The Breakneck Ridge Trail is one of the most popular day hikes in not just New York state but the entire country — the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference estimated in 2018 that the destination receives around 100,000 visitors each year. That’s partially thanks to its proximity to the Big Apple: It takes under 90 minutes to ride the train north from Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal to the Breakneck Ridge station.
But all that traffic, as well as compounding environmental factors like invasive species and poor stormwater management, have taken a toll on the trail and its surroundings in the Hudson Highlands region. “One of the challenges is that, in many ways, the landscape — particularly the Breakneck landscape — is being ‘loved to death,’” Gena Wirth told Nice News.
Wirth, design principal and partner at SCAPE Landscape Architecture, is leading the design aspect of the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, which will eventually stretch 7.5 miles from the village of Cold Spring to the city of Beacon. The goal of the project, set for completion in 2032-2033, is to create a single trail that will improve and protect the ecosystem while also solving for overcrowding and unsafe pedestrian conditions.
Work is currently underway on the Breakneck Connector and Bridge, which, when completed, will serve as a case study for the rest of the Fjord Trail. The popularity of the Breakneck area has led to the creation of social trails — unofficial, unmarked paths created by foot traffic that can disturb the landscape and wildlife. There also isn’t a clear passageway to the main trail, leading to safety issues along the Route 9D corridor.
Those problems, among others, led Wirth’s team and other project stakeholders to one key question: “How could one more unified, dedicated, very clearly marked and labeled trail be introduced here?”
The answer involves design elements that hit the mark on improving both the ecosystem and the visitor experience. For example, the native plant restoration includes 430 native trees and 2,080 shrubs, which will serve as natural shading over the trail for hikers. Tree trunks will be recycled to boost insects and fungi, wildlife crossings will make the area safer for animals, and new hydrology systems will better manage stormwater. All of these features should enhance the resiliency of the trail, so it can be enjoyed by generations to come.
Even seemingly small details have a lot of thought behind them. Wirth said one of the design aspects she’s most excited to see come to life is a “trail bank” that will provide a space for people to pull off the main path and rest, fuel up, change a child’s diaper, you name it. “At Breakneck, we’re creating a trail bank that we’re calling the Scramble, which is meant to be a place where people can wait for the train or have a snack outside their car, just a small, modest gathering area that’s protected from the noise of the roadway,” she explained.
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is also “a core tenant” of the Fjord Trail, Wirth said. The first phase will be fully accessible from the Breakneck Ridge train station and parking lot up to the beginning of the trail ascent.
“One of the primary goals of the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail is to truly make a trail for all — where all people feel welcome and able to experience the richness of the Hudson Highlands region,” Wirth said. “Today, many of the trails are very nice, but if you use a wheelchair, or if you have small children, or if you’re elderly or otherwise have challenges walking, it’s a very difficult landscape to interact with, and it can be quite inhospitable. And so the goal of the Fjord Trail is to make more of those nature-based experiences open to all.”
Those interested in learning more about the project and the current closures on the Breakneck Ridge can head to breakneck.info.
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