The Taconic State Parkway is a 104.12-mile (167.56 km) limited-access parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally north–south route midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut and Massachusetts state lines, much of its upper section along the westernmost flank of the Taconic Mountains. It is open only to passenger vehicles, as with other parkways in New York, and maintained by the state Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the fourth agency to have that responsibility.
The Taconic at the Cleveland Street intersection in Valhalla
The northbound AMVETS Memorial Bridge, which crosses over the Croton Reservoir, a collecting basin for the New York City Water System
Looking north along the Taconic at the Bear Mountain Parkway exit in Crompond
Looking north along the Taconic just north of the Peekskill Hollow Road exit in Putnam Valley
The majority of parkways in the US state of New York are part of a statewide parkway system owned by several public and private agencies but mostly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A handful of other roads in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island are also known as parkways but are not part of the state system. The roads of the state parkway system were among the first expressways to be constructed. These highways were not divided and allowed no driveway cuts, but did have intersections for some of the streets they crossed. A small section of the privately financed Long Island Motor Parkway was the first expressway to begin operation as a toll road and the first highway to use bridges and overpasses to eliminate intersections.
Sign informing truckers it is illegal to use a parkway in New York City.