MISSING LINKS
Muskrat Cove to Fleetwood
Saturday, April 14th 10:00 – 1:00
So where do you go from Muskrat Cove? This ramble will pick up where Muskrat Cove leaves off, exploring the historical and ecological areas between the Bronx and Bronxville. The tour is free and no reservations are required.
The beautifully restored Muskrat Cove still ends at a “bridge to nowhere”, a sad reminder of the unfulfilled promise of the Bronx River Pathway. On this first of three special Bronx River Rambles we’ll seek out and explore some disconnected links of the Bronx River Pathway, and ponder how they may eventually be joined together.
Starting at Muskrat Cove, they’ll head up the original route of the Bronx River Parkway along Bronx River Road into Westchester County . Along the way we’ll get a birds-eye view of the huge Wakefield Junction of the New York Central Railroad, and see how the railroad altered the course of the Bronx River , and where tracks run today atop the original river bed. At Mount Vernon we’ll explore the isolated and little-visited Oak Street Loop, and amidst old-growth trees we’ll examine how the river has changed its own course over time, and where it’s been buried by highway construction. From there we’ll proceed up Bronx River Road to Fleetwood, seeing how Parkway development compromised the pathway. Along the way we’ll hear tales of herbalists, transplanted houses, exploding powder mills, Revolutionary War mayhem, a frustrated patroon, and an apartment building that pays a curious tribute to the Bronx River , plus a wayside cemetery that tells its own tale of the valley’s social history.
The tour is free, needs no reservations, and meets at 10AM Saturday, 14 April in front of the monument at the entrance to Muskrat Cove, 233rd Street and Webster Avenue , next to the Metro North Woodlawn station. This will be a longer walk than usual, about 3 ½ miles, and should take about three hours, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring snacks and water. Ramblers will have the option of returning home by Metro North either from the Mount Vernon West Station or the Fleetwood Station (fare to the Bronx $2.75.) For information or directions call the Bronx River Alliance at 718-430-4665, or Stephen Paul DeVillo at 646-271-8223.