Fjord Trail Cold Spring → Beacon, NY

Closed Breakneck Ridge station is closed

What to do instead Get off at Cold Spring for the southern trail, Beacon for the northern.

What to do instead Full notice

No trains stop here. Closed April 2025, being rebuilt as part of the Fjord Trail.

active From Mon, Apr 21, 12:00 AM, until further notice Source: Metro-North

About

Progress

One page for the roadmap and the construction tracker, from one set of records. What is being built now, what opens when, and what is still an open decision.

The current website tells this story twice — a roadmap page and a construction tracker, maintained separately, at different tempos, drifting apart. This is one page, generated from the same records that drive the map, the alert bar and the planner. When a section's status changes, it changes here, on the map, on its own page and in the planner from a single edit.

  1. Under way

    Breakneck Connector and Bridge

    About 0.55 miles of new trail and a bridge over the railway, with a rebuilt Metro-North station. Construction began in 2023. It is a separate project with its own environmental determination, which is why it could start ahead of the rest.

  2. Under way

    Breakneck Ridge station reconstruction

    Closed to trains since 21 April 2025. The current road-and-transit record schedules works into 2027 — that is an event-management date, not a Metro-North commitment.

  3. Under way

    Visitor Center at Dutchess Manor

    Conversion of the building on Route 9D into the Fjord Trail Visitor Center.

  4. Planned

    Phase 1 opens

    The Breakneck Connector and Bridge, and the Visitor Center at Dutchess Manor. This is the first point at which the Fjord Trail is a place rather than a plan. An accessible shuttle service is planned to begin here.

  5. Planned

    Further sections, in phases

    Additional portions of the main trail, the meanders and the connectors open as they are completed. Each opening adds records to this site rather than adding a section to the navigation — which is why the trail sections live under Explore and not in the main menu.

  6. Planned

    Full completion, as currently slated

    7.5 miles of main trail, 2.8 miles of meanders and 2.2 miles of connectors, six entry points, restrooms, parking and shuttle.

Decisions that are still open

  • The alignment between Fishkill Creek and the state park. Two options were studied and neither has been chosen: one on the river and rail side, flatter but crossing wetland; one inland and upslope. Our map draws the river-side option.
  • Restroom, bench and amenity locations. The published figures state in their own legend that specific locations are to be determined.
  • Parking fees, and whether the Empire Pass will be accepted. Not set.
  • The shuttle operator. Not procured.

Note

Two published dates for Phase 1

HHFT's current published date for the Breakneck Connector and Bridge is summer 2027. The Final GEIS, prepared earlier, says 2028. We show the more recent date and we date the statement. If it moves, this page will show that it moved rather than quietly replacing one number with another.

Litigation

As of May 2026, suits have been filed over the environmental review by the Town of Philipstown, the Village of Cold Spring and an opposition group. HHFT's responses, the review documents and the public record of the process are kept in the archive at permanent URLs. This is not content to quietly remove while it is being argued about.

Primary documents

Full document set in the Library and the archive.

Last reviewed