Passenger service ended in 1937 due to declining customers, and the opening of the New York State Thruway and decreased freight traffic caused the line to close in 1957.

The portion of the trail in Shawangunk was formally opened in 1993 and named after former town supervisor Jesse McHugh.

The trail includes an unofficial, unimproved section to the north of Wallkill, and is bounded by New York State Route 52 and NY 208.

[7] By 1870, newspaper editors had attributed the rapid development and increasing land prices in Walden and its surrounding area to the railroad.

After the opening of the New York State Thruway and the closure of other rail lines, the Wallkill's stations were closed in 1957.

[17] South of Walden, the corridor remains an active rail line operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway.

[14][19] The southern part of the route, running from Wallkill to the Montgomery–Shawangunk town line, was officially opened[19] as the Jesse McHugh Rail Trail on June 5, 1993.

[14] The northern portion of the Shawangunk section, which stretches to the border of the prison grounds, is maintained by the town but not officially part of the trail.

[29] In October 2003, Walden, Shawangunk and Montgomery acquired the $600,000 grant needed to begin paving the trail.

[30] Two months later, Bob and Doris Kimball, a couple in Montgomery, donated 20 acres (8.1 ha) of their land to create a park by the trail near Lake Osiris Road.

[14] Nearly $200,000 in funding to complete pavement of the trail was lost when the outgoing 109th Congress did not approve a 2006 budget bill.

[43] About 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) from the town line, the trail reaches its Wallkill trailhead bordering NY 208, directly across the street from the Shawangunk police station.

[19] An unimproved northern section in Wallkill extends 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) from the intersection of Railroad Avenue and C. E. Penny Drive to Birch Road.