Long Path Outfitters owner Laura Kreeger Neil has spent a lifetime in love with outdoor adventures. Inspired by her father’s business, Kreeger & Sons, a chain of camping and outdoor stores operated throughout the tri-state area in the 1970s and 80s, Laura spent a childhood climbing in and out of tents in the woods and on the store floor.
“Hiking and travel have always been a huge part of my life,” Neil said. “While I grew up in New York, I spent time living in St. Louis, Chicago, Denver, New Zealand, and Tanzania.”
Despite the perfect pedigree to be the proprietor of Rockland’s only true hiking shop, Neil’s past life included working in communications and fundraising at a fair housing organization, and then at a farm and education center. She has a background in social work and community development and even had a stint as an aspiring paleontologist. Yet, none of it felt like what she really wanted to be doing.
“I thought about opening a shop like this for years,” Neil recounts. “In the fall of 2020, after years of hikes throughout the Hudson Valley (and countless more during the pandemic with my family), I decided it was time to finally realize my dream and in September 2021, we opened our doors.”
Long Path focuses on carrying the best gear, apparel, and accessories to help people “find their own long path,” which also happens to be the slogan for the store. Neil has personally used and loved most of the brands she sells, many of which are from small companies that you can’t find anywhere nearby. And yes, while many people prefer to order online, having a hiking-focused brick-and-mortar shop like this allows people to really get the right fit for their gear, something Neil believes is essential to the practice of hiking.
When asked why she chose Nyack for her business location, Neil, who moved to town in 2007, said that one of the main reasons her family moved here was because the town was basically surrounded by state parks. The Long Path, a 350-mile trail created and maintained by the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference, runs right through Nyack to Hook Mountain and Rockland Lake (and beyond).
“A short walk or drive gets you to hundreds of miles of trails,” Neil stated. “Nyack has always felt like a little mountain town so it was time to help more people get outside. We moved here with a toddler son and now we have three sons and they have been running up the Hook since they could walk.”
Neil’s target customer is anyone who enjoys the outdoors in any weather. The store sells shoes and apparel for all ages, along with maps, guidebooks, and trail snacks. Staff can help get anyone ready for a day hike on The Hook or an adventure overseas with hats, socks, backpacks, layers, binoculars, sunglasses. Beginning in May, the store will sponsor guided local hikes the last Saturday of every month with West Mountain Guide Co. along with more sunset hike opportunities throughout the spring and summer months.
Future goals? Neil plans to expand the business’s inventory of creative and small hiking brands, and ultimately hopes to “grow Rockland County’s reputation as the incredible hiking destination it is.”
Long Path Outfitters
75 South Broadway, Nyack, NY 10960
https://longpathoutfitters.com
Opened in September 2021
