ROSENDALE – Since the Wallkill Valley Land Trust opened the Rosendale trestle bridge to the public in partnership with the Open Space Institute in June 2013, thousands have walked or bicycled across its 940 feet span that towers 150 feet above the Rondout Creek and Route 213.

At the trestle opening, Rosendale town supervisor Jeanne Walsh said, "It's a great day for Rosendale. The trestle has always stood as a symbol for Rosendale and I think the walkway is going to be a very, very, good thing for Rosendale all the way around."

The trestle originally opened in 1872 and at the time was the tallest railroad trestle in the United States. Conrail closed it to rail traffic in 1977 and offered to sell it to the town, but Rosendale, unwilling to accept any liability, declined the offer. Eventually, the trestle was sold in 1986, along with 11.5 miles of rail track, to John Rahl for $1 via a quitclaim deed. The State immediately quadrupled the property taxes on Rahl's property by arbitrarily declaring it wasn't a railroad anymore — something Rahl vehemently protested saying he intended to install a tourist train running between the trestle and Kingston. Rahl decked the trestle half-way and announced a bungy-jumping operation. However, the town, citing danger and nuisance to neighbors and those using nearby Rte. 213, declined to issue permits for further decking and bungy-jumping.

In 2009, after Rahl failed to pay $13,716 in property taxes over three years, Ulster County foreclosed on the entire property. In 2009, the trestle and trail were purchased with the Wallkill Valley Land Trust and the Open Space Institute agreeing to pay all outstanding taxes. The property was then added to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. In 2013, after a $1.5 million four-year effort by volunteers, the trestle was reopened with reinforced ties/steel railings and clad with pearly-grey recycled composite decking.

The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail now runs 24 miles, with a few breaks still to be remedied, from Gardiner to and over the trestle through the Williams Lake/Hudson Valley Resort property on to Kingston.

Land trust board member Brian Cafferty said the opening of the bridge created a destination point — from Rosendale, and from the trail travelling north and south. It had finally became possible for cyclists, walkers, cross-country skiers and equestrians to traverse the Rondout Gorge at Rosendale without an unwieldy detour via local streets.

He added that the bridge has brought an enormous amount of traffic to the area and town. The land trust, he said, is working on designing and installing new signs for the trail, both directional and interpretive.

Cafferty said the Williams Lake Project — a 779-acre mixture of resort and housing space currently under development — partnered with the land trust to install detailed interpretive signs along the Williams Lake section of the trail. The signs explain Williams Lake history along with information about the cement mining and industry.

Those Williams Lake signs, packed with information and context, lie before warehouse ruins, giant brick chimneys, cement kilns, and mine portals spewing cold-damp air onto trail users.

"We need something to explain the rest of trail," Cafferty said. "The trestle and alongside it Mt. Joppenbergh and the collapsed Black Smoke Mine just demand description."

The land trust, he added, is working on such signs and seeking finance for them. Wildlife cameras are also to be installed at various points of the trail. "Not so much to observe wildlife, but so that an accurate count of users can be maintained," Cafferty said.

Road signs to the Binnewater Kiln parking lot, the Keaton Avenue bridge connector trail, and the lockable bike rack on Mountain Road will be installed this autumn, said Rosendale councilwoman Jen Metzger.

"I live near the trail and I'm on it most days to run or walk," she added. "The number of lost people I meet on the trail is truly amazing. I feel like I'm a director of traffic!"

Many people don't know how easily they can get down to, or up from, the town via the Keaton Avenue connector trail alongside St. Peter's, Metzger said. Likewise, many visitors to the town don't know how easy it is to get to the trestle, or that there is a trail leading north and south from it, or that the trail continues on into Williams Lake from Women's Studio Workshop where the trail seemingly ends at Breezy Hill Road.

The trestle and trail are open dawn to dusk every day. Furthermore, the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail will be a part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed 750-mile Empire State biking and walking trail that will run from Manhattan to Canada, and west to Lake Erie and the Ohio border.