Road Trip Close To Home: Guided tour takes visitors underground inside Old Croton Aqueduct
Built more than 180 years ago, the aqueduct stretches more than 40 miles from Croton‑on‑Hudson to Manhattan and is now the focus of guided tours in Westchester County.
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A walk through the Old Croton Aqueduct offers visitors a close‑up look at the system that once supplied drinking water to New York City.
Built more than 180 years ago, the aqueduct stretches more than 40 miles from Croton‑on‑Hudson to Manhattan and is now the focus of guided tours in Westchester County.
“We are at the top of the dam and we are about to see the spillway,” said Sara Kelsey, a tour guide with Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct.
The tour begins at the New Croton Dam, where guides explain how the aqueduct starts its journey just below the surface.
“It’s only four to five feet below the surface,” Kelsey said.
Guides share stories of the laborers who built the aqueduct entirely by hand, creating what was once the city’s only source of drinkable water.
The tour continues in downtown Ossining at the Double Arches, where the aqueduct flows beneath the structure.
“If you were to tear this up, which they do from time to time, you would see the aqueduct below the surface of this bridge,” Kelsey said.
Visitors are then taken underground to see the original stone tunnel.
“We go underground and look at the original tunnel,” Kelsey said. “This was the only source of drinkable water for New York City.”
Today, sections of the aqueduct sit beneath a linear park, with walking paths above the historic tunnel.
“What we are trying to do is let people fall in love with history,” Kelsey said.
The tour is designed for all ages, blending education with scenic outdoor exploration.
“You learn a lot,” Kelsey said. “You really get a feeling for what was required to build this.”
