Since April, the Congers Lake Trailway has had a gap in it. The closed stretch runs between trailway markers 47 and 54, where several support pilings separated from the boardwalk decking. That raised concerns about whether the structure was stable, and the Town of Clarkstown closed the section. For seven months, anyone walking the lake has had to turn around instead of finishing the loop.
That gap is now on a deadline. Mid-Hudson News reported on Oct. 11 that construction started that week under a 30-day contract, and the town expects the project to be finished by mid-November. Down Route 304, Dr. Davies Farm and its Red Barn Cidery are moving from apple season to a run of holiday weekends that starts Nov. 15. If the boardwalk crew stays on schedule, these two calendars meet around Nov. 21–22. That would be the first weekend since spring with both a full lake loop and a full farm schedule in the hamlet.
What the repair crew is actually fixing
The work goes under the boardwalk. The contractor is adding support structures beneath the decking to strengthen the trailway and reopen the closed section.
Most of the closure was taken up by work nobody could see from the trail. Town engineers spent the summer drawing up a construction plan and getting the required determinations from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Then came the bidding process, and only after that could the contractor start. In other words, the construction itself is the shortest part of the timeline. From April through early October, the project was in planning and permits. The physical repair has 30 days.
Supervisor George Hoehmann called the trailway "one of the crown jewels of our park system" and said the town was "incredibly happy that residents will be able to fully enjoy all it has to offer again in the fall season." Mid-November is still a target, not an announced reopening. Weather and construction don't always keep to a contract calendar, so the safest plan is to treat the full loop as likely by the weekend before Thanksgiving, not certain.
The park gets plenty of use. According to the Rockland County Times, Congers Lake Memorial Park hosts more than half a million visitors a year. With that many people on the trail, a closed section adds up to a lot of shortened walks.
The cafe that opened while the loop was broken
On June 5, 2026, the Congers Community Cafe opened at Congers Lake Memorial Park, about two months into the closure. The Rockland County Times reported that it sells snacks and coffee and is staffed by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It came out of work by Rockland Community Services, a nonprofit led by Executive Director Donna Ehrenberg.
The same report said the building had been a storage shed. Supervisor Hoehmann suggested turning it into a cafe, and the town paid for signs and donated a TV. Donations helped get it started, including coffee from Nestle and cases of soda from Coke. YAI is paying the staff. The cafe doesn't take tips, but donations go back into building it up. Its shelves also carry goods made by people with disabilities, such as artwork, a coloring book and molded crayons.
The Rockland Post listed opening-week hours of 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. The operators said at the time that they hoped to add hours. Those are June hours, so check the current schedule before you plan on a cold-weather coffee. If the loop reopens in time, a weekend morning walk can now end at a park cafe, which wasn't possible on Congers Lake a year ago.
How the farm's November is laid out
Dr. Davies Farm has been family owned since 1891. According to the farm's history page, that year Arthur B. Davies and Dr. Lucy Meriwether married and bought the 38-acre home farm, and a later generation planted thousands of apple trees and started the pick-your-own operation. The address is 306 Route 304 in Congers.
In November, most of the activity moves to Red Barn Cidery, which is at the same address. The cidery's posted hours are Saturday and Sunday from noon to "Sunset (ish)," and the site says the hours are "funny because we're outdoors and weather dependent." As the days get shorter in late fall, sunset comes earlier, so the cidery's weekend hours do too. An afternoon visit works better than a late one.
The holiday events fall on three weekends:
Sunday, Nov. 15
The season starts with a Paint, Craft and Snack session at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $70 per person and cover a wooden nutcracker to decorate, craft supplies, one tap drink and an individual charcuterie cup. Seats are limited, and you need to reserve ahead. This is also the weekend the trail repair is due to wrap up, so a lake walk that morning may or may not get you all the way around.
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21–22
This weekend has the most going on. The Sangria Festival runs both days, and $35 gets you a flight of the farm's homemade sangria plus a full cup of your favorite. On Saturday, Nov. 21, there's a Christmas-tree painting session with rolling arrival from noon to 2:30 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, and reservations are suggested. The $60 ticket covers instruction and supplies, one tap drink or sangria, and a personal charcuterie board. Santa photos run from noon to 2 p.m. both days. Professional photos are $25 for one digital image, and taking your own is $15. Each family gets one reservation.
If the 30-day contract holds, the full lake loop should be open by this weekend too, which makes it the best candidate for a day that covers both.
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28–29
Thanksgiving weekend brings a second round of Santa photos, again noon to 2 p.m. at the same prices. On Sunday, Nov. 29, Red Barn Cidery holds a wreath-making workshop. The $70 ticket covers a handmade 30-inch evergreen wreath, decorating supplies and one drink. Book ahead for the reserved events, and use the farm's booking calendar for the latest details on all of them.
Thanksgiving week runs through the farm stand
The Thanksgiving turkey preorder deadline was Nov. 4, and the farm's 2026 turkey-and-pie form put it on the homepage as "Order by November 4th!" If you ordered, pickup is Monday, Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 24 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday is open latest, so it's the easiest pickup day for anyone getting off the commute.
The farm describes its turkeys as locally raised and freshly processed, and as free roaming and free of steroids, preservatives and hormones. The farm stand is open every day from May through December, though the site doesn't post specific November and December hours. Its seasonal calendar lists Christmas trees, handmade wreaths and grave blankets for December. The tree page online still shows a past year's schedule, so wait for the farm to post its 2026 tree dates instead of going by last year's.
The other lake, for the weeks in between
If the Congers Lake work runs past mid-November, Rockland Lake State Park is the other option nearby. New York State Parks lists it at 299 Rockland Lake Road in Valley Cottage, open all year from daylight to dusk. The 2026 vehicle use fee period ended Oct. 18, according to the park's page. The page also lists wood permits as available from October through April 30. The park's golf course says its hours change through the season and asks visitors to call for current times.
That makes a simple fallback for the next few weekends. Rockland Lake works for a walk while the Congers Lake boardwalk is still under repair, and Congers Lake takes over once the town confirms the loop is back. Either way, the afternoon can end at Red Barn Cidery before sunset.
A repaired boardwalk and a farm calendar are the kind of local detail we follow closely across Clarkstown. If you have questions about life in Congers or anywhere in Clarkstown, The Ramundo Team is always glad to talk it through with a neighbor. Schedule a Consultation whenever it suits you, even if it's just to compare notes after a walk around the lake.
