Our Favorite Routes
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        Ken Roberts and Sharon Marsh Roberts
  

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see also:   Main Map | River routes map | Overview of Routes | by Difficulty  

Other Riders' Favorites

We receive lots of good reports on these routes:

  • Quaker Ridge -- 45 miles, hilly.  Lots of beautiful scenes on quiet back roads -- in southeast Dutchess County and Connecticut.  3300 vertical feet, hill index 4.2.  Start points Pawling, Dover Plains, Brewster, Kent CT.  [ Description | Map ]
     
  • New Paltz to Kingston Waterfront -- 44 miles.  Moderate hilliness.  Also a 31 mile variation.  Variety of interesting settings -- beautiful farm country, three towns with shops and food, into the woods, and the Rondout waterfront.  2400 vertical feet, hill index 3.7.  Start points New Paltz, Kingston, Port Ewen, Rosendale. [ Description | Map | GPS | Cue sheet ] 
     
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Our Own Favorites

Of all the routes on this website, these are the classics for us -- the ones with a special character, that we keep coming back to ride year after year.    

  • New Paltz to Ashokan Reservoir -- 58 miles, big hills.  Several great descents and climbs with sweeping views over three major watersheds (Wallkill, Rondout, Esopus), lots of quiet back roads and fun little downhills -- and the biggest cliffs, the largest lake, and the highest summits in the Hudson Valley.  5200 vertical feet, hill index 6.9.  Start points New Paltz, Kerhonkson, Ashokan Reservoir, Stone Ridge. [ Description | GPS | Map | Photos ]
     
  • In the Shadow of the Catskills -- 74 or 79 miles, hilly.  Quiet farms and houses in Greene County, the four pavilions on the Hudson, changing views of the great wall of the Catskills.  4400 vertical feet, hill index 3.8.  Start points Catskill, Saugerties, Leeds, Alcove Reservoir, Coeymans Landing. [ Description | Map | GPS | Photos ]
     
  • Wandering Northwest Columbia -- 38 miles, moderate hilliness.  Miles of quiet farm country in the west, beautiful hilltop views and long downhill cruising in the east, and several historic sites.  Start points:  Ghent, Chatham, Kinderhook, Schodack, Philmont.  2300 vertical feet, hill index 3.6  [ Description | Map | GPS | Cue sheet ]
      
  • Harlem Valley Rail to Trail to Falls -- 59 miles, moderate hilliness (shorter and longer variations).  Endless rolling quiet roads with beautiful farms in Dutchess and Columbia counties.  Climb to the biggest views from a Dutchess county road.  Lunch in quiet little Ancramdale.  Ride sections on the nicest paved "rail trail" around.  Start points:  Wassaic train station, Amenia, Millerton, Copake Falls, Sharon CT.  3900 vertical feet, hill index 3.8  [ Description | Map | GPS | Cue sheet ]
     
  • Bear Mountain Bridge to Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, loop on both sides of the Hudson river -- 42 miles, hilly.  Spectacular views of the Hudson River, from every angle.  Rocks, trees, castles, two great bridge crossings, and West Point.  2700 vertical feet, hill index 4.0.  Start points Beacon or Cold Spring Metro North train stations, Bear Mountain State Park, Newburgh. [ Description | Map | GPS ] 
     

A classic ride if we know we can ride through the U.S. Military Academy campus at West Point, but this has become questionable in recent years.  Also check in advance for closures of the Storm King Mountain Highway / Rt 218 due to rock slides.

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Shorter, Gentler Favorites

  • Copake Falls to Ancramdale -- 23 miles, gentle-to-moderate hilliness.  Lots of pretty farms on quiet roads with a delightful food stop in a little village in the middle -- one of our favorite riding areas.  Shorter easier variations and bicycle rentals for family and friends, including a wide paved trail mostly-off-road.  Start points Copake Falls, Copake, Ancramdale.  1050 vertical feet, hill index 2.6.  [ Description | Map ]
     
  • Livingston Orchards and Farms -- 13 miles (also 21 or 24 mile variations),  gentle-to-moderate hilliness.  An immersion in quiet farm country, with sweeping views of fields and orchards and the Catskill mountains in the distance.  700 vertical feet, hill index 2.4.  Start point:  Livingston. [ Description | Map ]
     
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Adventures

These are different from most routes on this website -- a wider range of local cultures, traffic conditions, kinds of risks and hazards -- calling for broader planning and riding capabilities:

  • New York Harbor Circle -- 43 miles or 50 miles, mostly flat or gentle.  A tourism adventure circling around New York harbor -- not a "route" like the others on this website.  Excellent views of the Manhattan skyline from many angles, and lots of pretty views of big expanses of water.  Visits to a variety of New York and New Jersey neighborhoods.  Elegant modern spaces, great bridges, and striking historic architecture.  Start points:  Manhattan, Fort Lee NJ, Hoboken NJ, Liberty State Park NJ. [ Description | Maps + GPS | Photos ] 
     
  • GWB to Bear Mountain Bridge Loop, on both sides of the Hudson river -- 92 miles (or 83 miles), hilly.  A great accomplishment, several pretty views of the River, and a great variety of riding.  Lots of motor vehicle traffic, requiring advanced traffic-handling skills.  At least two sections on dirt.  7200 vertical feet, hill index over 5.0. [ Description | Map | Photos ] 
     

Gentler Places, mostly off-road

  • Ashokan Reservoir -- 2.3 miles (as of May 2004) -- 1 mile, flat, on a wide paved path, plus an additional 1.3 miles on a wide paved road closed to motor vehicles (as of May 2004) -- but access to the second section from the usual "Frying Pan" parking area requires traveling up to 0.1 mile on a road open to motor vehicle traffic.  Beautiful views across the largest lake in the Hudson Valley, and of the highest summits in the Catskill mountains.  Also suitable for inline skates, roller skates, wheelchair -- or walking with a stroller.  Start point Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster county.  See [ Details | Administration | Map | Photos ] 
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Routes

Map of Rts

by Difficulty

by Area

GPS

Pop places

Favorites

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see also

back to Top | Main Map | River routes map | Overview of Routes | by Difficulty 

 

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