Pugsley Creek Park & Castle Hill Park Hiking Trails

Pugsley Creek and its neighboring park, Castle Hill to the south are largely undeveloped parks with rich history. Today, a wide multi-use path allows visitors to trace maritime forest and to walk a boardwalk over the end of Pugsley Creek. You can also look out over the mouth of the creek across the East River to LaGuardia Airport or east to the Whitestone Bridge. Castle Hill, on the east side of the creek’s mouth, was inhabited by a Siwanoy band of the Native American Wappinger People until 1650, when the land was settled by John Cromwell. By the mid-1800s, the Pugsley family had established a farm nearby and used the creek for shipping.

Wappinger Trail: At 1.2 miles long, this trail is named after the Native American Wappinger People who lived in what is now southern New York and western Connecticut including this area of the Bronx. Beginning your walk at the park entrance at the intersection of Stephens Ave & O’Brien Ave, you can follow the path north as it passes through mixed hardwood forest. After one third of a mile, you will emerge onto a boardwalk offering views of Pugsley Creek. The path continues to trace the edge of hardwood forest until one mile into your walk, when Pugsley Creek Park meets Castle Hill Park at a large seating area. As the path continues, the forest gives way to views of the salt marsh and of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges spanning the East River. There are seven entrances to the park along this trail including the entrances at Lacombe & Pugsley Avenues, Barrett & Howe Avenues and Patterson & Compton Avenues. Therefore, your trip length can be adjusted in a number of ways.

Interactive Map

Points of Interest

Shaded Seating Area

At the southern terminus of Olmsted Avenue, where Pugsley Creek Park and Castle Hill Park meet, there are a half dozen benches arranged in a semicircle and shaded by maples, making this a wonderful place to enjoy the first leaves of spring, find respite from the heat of summer, or enjoy vibrant yellow fall color.

View Shaded Seating Area on the map

Castle Hill Scenic Lookout

At the southernmost part of Castle Hill Park before the path turns to the east, visitors are treated to views of the marsh to the west, the Whitestone Bridge to the east, and air traffic coming to land at LaGuardia Airport to the south.

View Castle Hill Scenic Lookout on the map

Hiking in NYC Parks

Visit our Hiking in NYC Parks page to find more nature trails in parks across New York City.