Just heard from Alex about the Hudson River trip from Cold Spring to Bannerman’s Island:

On Saturday October 27th I joined the Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club (www.yprc.org) to paddle up the Hudson from just above West Point to Bannerman’s Castle.

The drive there was about 90 minutes and very enjoyable. There were 6 of us in total and the the Yonkers group was very welcoming. Put in was at the train station and was an easy walk into the water that was flat. There was a mild current that we traveled with. The leaves were changing on both banks and we were treated to a sea plane practicing takeoffs and landings. Boat traffic was minimal as Sandy would start the following day. Our destination was Bannerman’s Castle.

This is a castle that originally served as an arsenal on a small island in the Hudson. Bannerman was a very large ammunitions dealer stationed in NYC in the 19th century. For safety reasons, his business was moved to this island and the castle that Bannerman built.  Unfortunately, the castle is decaying (an explosion). Total trip was 7.4 miles.  I recommend this trip to all next year.