Hiking Sissy Danforth Rivergate Trail

Hiking The Sissy Danforth Rivergate Trail

#1000islands #ThousandIslands

Photo and info Update: 7/9/2022

It has been four years since we did our first Sissy Danforth Rivergate Trail hiking blog and three years since our last update.  So much has happened since then but we are thrilled to report that as of the summer of 2022, the 60-foot tall, 160-foot long historic railroad trestle located in the S. Gerald Ingerson Preserve in Clayton, has now been fully restored. It is open to the public and now connects the trail so one can walk/bike all the way from the Clayton waterfront to LaFargeville (and beyond).  There are also some amazing sights on the other side of the trestle including a lovely wetland and an observation deck! We've waited a long time for this day to come and look forward to many beautiful hikes over the Sissy Danforth Rivergate trestle! 

Be sure to see below the following line for our previous info and pictures for this wonderful hike. Plenty of great material!

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Last summer was the first we heard about the Thousand Island Land Trust's Sissy Danforth Rivergate Trail.  Since the entire trail is over 25 miles long, for us it ended up being several trails and several entirely different hikes for us.  But to adequately explain the trail system, let's start with a bit of history which goes all the way back to 1873.  That was the year the Black River-Utica Railroad extended its tracks to the North Country towns of Philadelphia, Theresa, Lafargeville and Clayton.  The last train traveled this route in 1972.  In 1993, TILT began acquiring pieces of the old New York Central/Penn Central Railroad bed in Clayton, Orleans, Theresa, Redwood and Philadelphia.  The rails-to-trails project is named for former director, Louise "Sissy" Danforth, who was the inspired energy behind its development. It is a multi-use trail in several sections that can be accessed from several points.

Last summer, Bob and I made it our goal to access and walk a couple miles of the trail from as many points as possible.  We started with the trailhead on Black Creek Road in Clayton (see TILT's website for directions).  

On other day we found an access point in Redwood (an especially lovely section of the trail).  

We later drove to Philadelphia where we hiked over a tall trestle, and then to Rivergate where we saw where the trail spits east and west.   

Each section of the trail has its own beauty and unique terrain.  While we've really only walked a few miles of each area, the trail is very popular for bikers, ATVs and snowmobilers. 

And as fun as all of that is, there are plans for even more!  TILT's long term goal is to link the Sissy Danforth Rivergate Trail with the River Walk on the Clayton waterfront. And we will blog about it when they do. 

Hiking the Sissy Danforth  Rivergate Trail, Update 9/14/2019

Last summer we mentioned at the end of our Sissy Danforth blog that TILT’s long range plan was to have the historic railroad trestle located in the S. Gerald Ingerson Preserve restored and the trail ultimately connected to the Clayton Riverwalk.  We are excited to announce that some of the work has begun. While work has not yet begun on the trestle itself, the trail up to the trestle has been opened up and there is a new parking lot on Route 3 for those curious for a glimpse of this important piece of Clayton’s history.  On 9/14/19 TILT hosted a Fall Stewardship work day at the new trailhead.  An extra special shout out to Cub Scout Troop 26 from Fort Drum who came to help with the work (and work they did)!

TILT, led by Education and Outreach Coordinator Alaina Young, then took us all on a short hike to view the trestle and discussed the future renovations and extension of this beautiful trail. Plans are for work to start on the trestle renovations next summer. 

We’ll keep you posted.

Thank you Thousand Islands Land Trust for your very generous statement on your Facebook page:

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