The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail is a 23.7-mile (38.1 km) rail trail and linear park that runs along the former Wallkill Valley Railroad rail corridor, from Gardiner through New Paltz to Rosendale. The addition of an 11.5-mile (18.5 km) section in 2009 effectively doubled the length of the trail from 12.2 miles (19.6 km) to 23.7 miles (38.1 km), extending it north from Rosendale through Ulster to Kingston.

There are several former rail bridges along the trail, notably the Rosendale trestle, a 940-foot (290 m) bridge that can be considered the "most awesome part" of the former Wallkill Valley Railroad. The trail passes by several historic sites, such as Huguenot Street in New Paltz, and the Binnewater Historic District and Snyder Estate in Rosendale. It crosses both the Wallkill River and Rondout Creek, as well as U.S. Route 44 (concurrent with State Route 55), and state routes 299 and 213. The Shawangunk Ridge is visible from clearings along the trail.

John A. Degnan (born 1960) is an American politician. He was elected to one term as Mayor of Brewster, New York serving from 2005 to 2007. He has been involved in issues regarding illegal immigration in New York, as well environmental policy, having been called to testify in April of 2008 before the United States House of Representatives Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment discussing Superfund sites before members of Congress at the invitation of Congressman John Hall. Degnan graduated from Fordham University with a degree in economics, and studied Construction Management and Finance at New York University. He was a real estate contractor before beginning his political career serving four terms as a Brewster Village Trustee. Brewster is a community of about 2,000 people, with an undocumented day-laborer population estimated to be as many as 600 to 1,000.