Kensico Dam Plaza, Valhalla

It's really fascinating to visit these reservoirs that supply NYC with its tap water. This is reservoir #4 for us (I believe there are more than ten and some are off-limits to the public). We had an enjoyable time, like we did in previous reservoir trips. Parking was free and easy, and there are clean restrooms close to the parking lot. From there, we hiked to the top of the reservoir wall. There's two trails, one on each side of the wall. We took the left-side trail going up. The trees provided some much needed shade during the hike, which was nice, although the terrain is steeper than we expected. I'd say about 150 steps total. We visited at the start of summer so we were sticky and sweaty when we finally reached the top. From there, the reservoir finally came into view and it was scenic and tranquil as expected. We walked to the other side and descended via the right side trail. Our visit lasted about an hour.

Park is always clean. It's good for walking or jogging, walking up to the dam, sitting on the grass or just relaxing. There's a small park for younger kids. Many people bring their dogs. There's a few benches if you want to bring food, there's usually a food truck there.