No matter where you live in Westchester, you’re bound to come up to historic, evocative, and imposing stone walls; they’re often right around the corner. Built originally by farmers as they cleared their fields for crops, stone walls today define our roadways, line our pathways, and hold our waterways at bay. They stand as sturdy testaments to those who walked and worked our land long before we built our homes on it. Take a hike this fall and take your time to appreciate, admire, and delight in these poignant pieces of our past.
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Known nationwide for Blue Hill, its fine farm-to-table restaurant, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills also boasts gardens, pastures, and walking paths, many lined with beautiful old stone walls. |
| From Pocantico Hills and Sleepy Hollow to Mamaroneck and Waccabuc, stone walls add their unique shapes and weathered patina to our countryside. |  |
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A red barn on Mamaroneck’s Old White Plains Road is as pretty as any in Vermont—and the perfect compliment to the russet foliage. |
| In his book, Stone by Stone, Robert Thorson says the stone wall is the key that links natural history and human history. With a strategically placed pumpkin, this wall becomes part of Waccabuc’s autumn festivities. |  |
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Once off the highway, scenery like this back road in Sleepy Hollow awaits, along with riding stables and welcoming woods. - Advertisement -
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| If there’s one spot to see an array of spectacular stone walls, it’s the long and winding Mead Street in Waccabuc. |  |
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An autumn walk revealed angular stones topped by vivid pink foliage and long shadows on round, flinty rocks. |
| A fanciful sunset over stones with stories to tell marked the end of the day—and the end of our walk along Mead Street. |  |
Larchmont resident Leslie Long enjoyed exploring Westchester’s beautiful back roads. More of her photographs can be seen at leslielongportfolio.com.
