- 61.9 miles
- 6 hours 6 minutes
- 10.2 mph average speed
We are really enjoying our cruise up the Hudson River! Again, we practically had the river to ourselves most of the way. We passed some smaller boats and a few big barges but no other Loopers. We enjoyed watching trains move along the bottom of the mountains at the waters edge and admiring homes perched on mountains above the river. Freight trains would move along the western side of the river and passenger trains would move along the eastern side. Having been on the beautiful Hudson River and out of New York City for several days, we are still amazed that it is only a short train ride from here to New York City! We did have to keep watch for large tree limbs and logs in the water as we traveled.
Walkway Over The Hudson is the world’s longest elevated pedestrian bridge. The bridge is 212 feet high and 1.28 miles long. It was completed in 1889 and served as a railroad bridge until 1974 when it was damaged by a fire before being reopened in 2009 as a pedestrian bridge. We did not have time to walk across it because we had to return the rental car but we enjoyed the views of it from the river.
We also passed by the Culinary Institute of America which we had visited a few days earlier. The picture below is the main building but it is really quite a large campus.
Again, we passed several barges:
A highlight of the day was passing by several beautiful lighthouses on our way to New Baltimore.
Esopus Meadows Lighthouse was completed in 1871. It is the only surviving wooden lighthouse on the Hudson River and is only accessible by boat. There was once a meadow in the middle of the Hudson where cows could even graze at low tide. The lighthouse was installed to warn mariners of the mudflat during high tide and direct them around the shallow area. The lighthouse thus got the nickname “Maid of the Meadow”. The Coast Guard took over operation of the lighthouse from civilians in 1939 and the lighthouse was closed in 1965 when it was replaced with an automatic solar powered system.
Saugerties Lighthouse was constructed in 1869 replacing an earlier 1838 lighthouse on the same site. It ceased being staffed in 1954 when the Coast Guard automated the light. It fell into disrepair, was restored and recommissioned in 1990. It is now a two-bedroom Bed & Breakfast which can be booked for $525 a night for the two bedrooms and breakfast.
Hudson Athens Lighthouse was constructed in 1874 to guide mariners around the Middle Ground Flats which would be submerged and not visible at high tide causing boats to run aground. The lighthouse was automated in 1949 and housed light keepers and their families until 1966.
Another really big barge we passed. The second photo is the tug pushing it.
There were about a dozen other Looper boats at the marina when we arrived. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the onsite restaurant overlooking the river, Boathouse Grille.
