New section of Dryden Rail Trail to open soon

A new section of the Dryden Rail Trail that will eventually be a connection to the East Ithaca Recreation Way is set to open soon.

The section of the trail, which is between Stevenson Road and Game Farm Road in the town of Dryden and just outside of the hamlet of Varna, stretches 1,800 feet and is attached to the 11-mile Dryden Rail Trail.

The section, which hasn’t been used since 1972, used to be a railway for trains, said Bob Beck, Rail Trail Task Force chairman, while on a tour of the newly spruced area. Beck, who said nature had taken over the area since 1982, added, “It was a forest here. It was impossible to get in here until [this past] summer.”

Between June and August of this year, Rick Young and the Town of Dryden Public Works and Highway departments worked to clear the area. The departments updated two railroad trestle bridges with new wood but managed to leave some of the original wood of the trestles behind.

Young and the town’s departments, along with replacing a few pieces of the original trestle wood, put in a new deck and railings. The spreading grounded-up gravel along the entire path is currently in the process of being completed.

In the coming weeks, the new wooden updates to the bridges will be painted with brown stain, extra fencing along the trail will be installed “for safety reasons,” and benches will be added as well, Beck said.

“They really figured out how to make the trestles do what we wanted them to do because they were really old,” Beck said. “The trains didn’t need railings, but pedestrians and bikers do.”

The original railroad trestle bridges, which Beck said were built in the 1870s, survived 150 years with “no updates to it.”

“We figured it could be reused,” he added. “Enough of the structure was solid. The top of the trestles were ripped off to get to the timbers underneath.”

The town is currently waiting for Tompkins County “to sign off on approvals” for a crosswalk and proper safety signage between the Rail Trail and East Ithaca Recreation Way, said Todd Bittner, a member of the Rail Trail Task Force and director of natural areas for Cornell Botanical Gardens.

“We are one road crossing away from having 3 miles of this trail open,” Bittner said, referencing the trail stretch between Route 13 and East Ithaca Recreation Way.

The opening of a new section of the Rail Trail also settled continuous talks and negotiations between Dryden and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that lasted over 20 years, Town Supervisor Dan Lamb said.

“Just walking through this is special,” Lamb said, adding this section of the Rail Trail was part of Dryden’s 2005 Comprehensive Plan. “This is the best-kept secret in Dryden.”

The DEC was concerned, Lamb said, about the town of Dryden constructing a public trail adjacent to Reynold’s Game Farm, a farm that raises pheasants for the hunting season. Beck noted the state used to have seven DEC-operated game farms. The game farm in Dryden is the last one left in the state, he said.

“[The DEC] was worried that the increase in transportation through and around the railway would diminish the game farm,” Lamb said. “For years, the town didn’t have the contact with the DEC and the right amount of people for this project.”

Once the town was able to convince the “right people,” Lamb said, the town and the DEC agreed to a 20-year easement, which translates to a certificate of use and occupancy.

“We really had to persuade [the DEC] that this wouldn’t happen,” Lamb added, saying the town put out an extensive vision back in 2017. “We really treasure the function of the game farm. Pedestrian use in this would be compatible, not disruptive.”

Lamb mentioned negotiations between 2017 and this year “were intensive to get to that long-term agreement with the DEC.”

“People who use the trail would benefit from also learning about the DEC,” Beck said.

Beck added that the updated section of the trail gives the DEC an opportunity to advertise as well.

“It serves anybody, not just the constituents at the DEC,” Bittner said. “Dan [Lamb] was able to help [the DEC] see how compatible the Rail Trail can be with the game farm.”

The agreement between the DEC and the town quickly turned into a partnership, Bittner said.

“We saw it as being mutually beneficial, and the DEC saw it as well,” he said.

Lamb noted the sportspeople who supported the game farm “didn’t want the project to happen.”

“They were adamant about not allowing this thing,” Lamb said, adding the sportspeople were worried it “might influence other game farms.”

The partnership between the town and the DEC, however, helped to keep the sportspeople “at bay,” Lamb said.

The section, Bittner said, will eventually connect communities from the village and town of Dryden and the hamlet of Varna to Cornell University and the town and city of Ithaca.

“With the curves of the trail, wooded surroundings and a scenic creek, we think it’s going to be the most enjoyable part of the trail,” he said.

For more information on the Dryden Rail Trail, go to drydenrailtrail.org.