The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

North County Trailway

Millwood and West End: Nature, Fitness and Great Shopping, too

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By Marianne Campolongo

The hamlet of Millwood, which just celebrated its 200th Anniversary in 2018, boasts extensive shopping, many choices for both casual and fine dining, and New Castle’s largest and most popular year-round recreation area, the 126-acre Gedney Park, which offers fun and memory making opportunities for the entire family.

Every April, Gedney Pond is stocked with over 500 rainbow, brook and golden trout for fishing throughout the spring, summer and fall. There’s even an annual fishing derby, where anglers age six to 60+ can catch their own dinner and compete for prizes. Come winter, you will find the best sledding hill in town there, and if you don’t have a sled, you can buy one at the large sporting goods store just down the road. There is also a large playground and ballfields. A gazebo and picnic tables interspersed throughout the park are great for snack time or a picnic lunch.

Geese at Gedney. Photo by Grace Bennett
North County Trailway  Photo by Grace Bennett

Four miles of well-marked hiking trails meander through wetlands and woods, providing shade for spring and summer hikes, breathtaking colors when the leaves change in autumn, and a fun trek in snowy winter weather. A handicapped accessible paved path runs from the parking lot to a fishing pier on the pond. The path to the monument remembering those lost on 9/11 is also handicapped accessible. A ceremony to remember the three town residents as well as all the others lost that day is held there each year.

The park is also dog-friendly, allowing your furry friends to be off-leash along the trails and to even swim in the pond and streams during designated morning hours; they are permitted on-leash at all times.

Photo by Grace Bennett

The 22-mile North County Trailway runs through Millwood providing a safe and scenic paved path where you will often find friends biking, roller blading or strolling, and see New Castle’s bicycle cops making sure no stragglers need help. A portion of the path runs parallel to Millwood Plaza, a shopping center anchored by the new family-owned DeCicco & Sons grocery store. You can also do your banking, pick up prescriptions or sunscreen, toys and gifts, wine, stop for lunch, or get your nails done there. Millwood also has its own post office in that convenient location. A short walk around the corner brings you to Millwood Town Plaza with an eco-friendly cleaners, jeweler, specialty foods store, a spa and hair salon, and fine dining options.

Across the street, Millwood Park has tennis courts and more ballfields, conveniently located near a family-owned deli, which has been serving customers throughout the area since 1961; other stores and businesses in the hamlet have been run by the same families for 40 years or more.

A lumberyard, hardware store and garden center are a boon for all you DIYers. Whether or not you are an experienced gardener, you can join a team at the InterGenerate Community Garden to grow vegetables for yourself and for those who cannot afford fresh produce.

Want someone to do the work for you? It’s easy to find a plumber, veterinarian, tech center, movers, a limo service, and other business in Millwood as well as the nearby West End neighborhood. For those lucky enough to live in the Hidden Hollow neighborhood, there is a sandy beach and swimming pond for its residents. In the West End of town, beautiful Stillwater Lake offers swimming and boating for neighborhood residents. Additional recreation choices in the West End include ballfields at Amsterdam Park, hiking and cross-country skiing at Sunny Ridge Preserve, and the Hudson Hills Golf Course, a public course high in the hills with lovely scenic views.

Across the street, Millwood Park has tennis courts and more ballfields, conveniently located near a family-owned deli, which has been serving customers throughout the area since 1961; other stores and businesses in the hamlet have been run by the same families for 40 years or more.

A lumberyard, hardware store and garden center are a boon for all you DIYers. Whether or not you are an experienced gardener, you can join a team at the InterGenerate Community Garden to grow vegetables for yourself and for those who cannot afford fresh produce.

Want someone to do the work for you? It’s easy to find a plumber, veterinarian, tech center, movers, a limo service, and other business in Millwood as well as the nearby West End neighborhood. For those lucky enough to live in the Hidden Hollow neighborhood, there is a sandy beach and swimming pond for its residents. In the West End of town, beautiful Stillwater Lake offers swimming and boating for neighborhood residents. Additional recreation choices in the West End include ballfields at Amsterdam Park, hiking and cross-country skiing at Sunny Ridge Preserve, and the Hudson Hills Golf Course, a public course high in the hills with lovely scenic views.

Celebrating Spring in the Castles

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Call me a curmudgeon but I was deeply disappointed when the groundhog said we wouldn’t have an early spring this year. I know I’m supposed to relish these last few weeks of winter but frankly I don’t. We aren’t a skiing or snowboarding family so the thought of more snow, icy roads and school closures is enough to drive me batty and have me counting the days until the official start of spring.

But there are subtle signs of spring all around us. I start to notice more joggers out on Quaker Road without hats and gloves, the streams bubbling with running water instead of frozen ice. As I pass the duck pond, I see that it is slowly starting to melt and is that a crocus growing in my front yard?

One of my favorite parts of being an editor of this magazine is meeting residents and hearing their stories. The idea of doing an article on some of the expats that live in this community had been germinating in my mind for quite some time. As a former expat living in London, I was highly attuned to accents that I would hear in the library or at a local coffee shop. I wanted to highlight what an enriching experience it can be living in the Castles and from what I learned these expats are fully acclimated to the community and you just might bump into them on the soccer field or in your local park this spring. Be sure to give them a warm welcome!

With spring’s arrival, maybe it’s time to step out of your comfort zone and try your hand at surviving in the wilderness. A great course offered by New Castle Recreation and Parks can teach you how to build a fire, create a temporary dwelling or compass reading. If that doesn’t suit you, catch up with a friend on a walk around town or on the North County Trailway and soak in some early spring sun. Be sure to stop for a delicious (perhaps iced?) coffee afterwards. Check out Amy Kelly’s story for some local suggestions.

As soon as April showers begin, I’ve got one thing on my mind: CAMP! Preparing for my older two to attend sleep-away for the first time and trying to figure out what to do with my youngest. Luckily Shauna Levy’s article offers some tips as you plan for summer.

So how do you plan on celebrating spring in New Castle? Write to me at stacey@insidepress.com and your idea just might turn into an article for a future edition. I love hearing from readers who have story suggestions.

Enjoy,

The Magic of Millwood & The West End

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In addition to hiking trails, ballfields and a playground, Gedney Park has a pond that is stocked with trout each spring for fishing. / Photo by Marianne Campolongo
In addition to hiking trails, ballfields and a playground, Gedney Park has a pond stocked with trout each spring for fishing.
Photo by Marianne Campolongo

The rustic hamlet of Millwood boasts New Castle’s largest and most popular recreation area, the 126-acre Gedney Park, a year-round attraction. The park’s lovely pond is stocked with over 500 rainbow trout, brook trout and a few golden rainbow trout each April for fishing throughout the spring, summer and autumn. There’s even an annual fishing derby, where kids from six to 60+ gather around Gedney Pond to catch their own dinner and win prizes. Gedney is also home to a large playground and the best sledding hill in town (and if you don’t have a sled, you can buy what you need right in Millwood). Four miles of well-marked hiking trails circle Gedney Pond and meander through beautiful woods and wetlands, well shaded for hiking in the spring and summer, breathtaking when the leaves change color in the fall, and a fun trek in snowy winter weather. A gazebo and picnic tables interspersed throughout the park are great when it’s snack time or if you want to bring along a picnic lunch after having fun on the swings or after a game on the ballfields. A lovely trail also heads out to a monument to those lost on 9-11.

The 22-mile North County Trailway also runs through Millwood, a family-friendly paved path that snaking through the woods and over streams and wetlands, where you will often find friends biking, roller skating or strolling, and see New Castle’s bicycle cops making sure no stragglers need help. A portion of the path runs parallel to a shopping plaza where you can go grocery shopping, do your banking, pick up prescriptions or suntan lotion, toys and gifts, wine, sandwiches or baked goods, or get your nails done. Millwood’s post office is conveniently located there.

 

 

The hamlet also has its own little beach, though it’s only open to those in the neighborhood and their friends. Millwood Park is home to tennis courts and additional ballfields, conveniently located near a deli, pizza place, and other restaurants, making it easy to grab a snack. The Stillwater Lake neighborhood in the West End of town also has its own beach for neighborhood residents, large enough for both swimming and boating.

Millwood and the West End also boast some of the area’s finest restaurants. Between the two you can find plumbing, home building, garden suppliers, musicians, movers, veterinarians, convenience stores, non-profits, and several other businesses, large and small.

Stunning Stillwater Lake in New Castle’s West End
Stunning Stillwater Lake in New Castle’s West End

The West End of town is characterized by rolling hills and rambling country roads with lovely old colonials sitting on two acres or more. It is home to Amsterdam Park and its soccer fields, the 82-acre Sunny Ridge Preserve with trails for hiking and cross-country skiing, and the Hudson Hills Golf Course, a public golf course high in the hills with lovely scenic views, run by Westchester County.