the landscape. The Taconic then passes through undeveloped woods, part of another local park, and under a footbridge carrying a hiking trail. Curving northeast, the exits for NY 132 and US 6 (recently improved), with residences on either side of the parkway, herald Shrub Oak and Jefferson Valley. A short distance past that exit, the parkway crosses into Putnam County. Putnam County The road narrows shortly after the county line in the town of Putnam Valley, with the roadways reverting to two lanes and the shoulders replaced by soft curbs, in preparation for the rugged terrain of the next . From this point north, the original design of the Taconic is still intact for the most part, aside from safety improvements like the removal of all at-grade intersections. Curves become sharper, with the widest having a radius of . It remains generally level for the first , past the Bryant Pond Road exit serving Mahopac. The land around the road is heavily wooded and less developed than in Westchester. to the north, the road begins to descend in alongside a steep ridge, narrowing to less than , with a high stone retaining wall along the east side, to Peekskill Hollow Creek and the exit for the similarly named road, briefly entering the town of Carmel in the process. It starts to climb again just past the exit, and to the north it goes into an S-curved section with both segments having extremely narrow radii. The Taconic moves to the east in the process then resumes its roughly northward heading up the Roaring Creek valley into Clarence Fahnestock State Park. For the next it will cross this protected area of the eastern Hudson Highlands, with no development visible from the highway. The roadways begin to separate as the parkway's ascent continues through heavily wooded terrain past rocky cliffs and outcrops between two lakes. Next to a now-closed overlook on the eastern side, with the two roadways apart in the densely wooded country, signs on both roadways mark the Taconic's highest elevation, almost above sea level. A short distance beyond that, a stone bridge marks the NY 301 exit that serves as the main access to the state park and the bathing area and hiking trails at nearby Canopus Lake. The parkway begins to descend again, entering its last Putnam County town, Kent. It bends east again, and within it crosses into