• Where:  circling around New Paltz, NY -- in the Wallkill River valley in Ulster County.
   

• 49 miles.  Gentle-to-moderate hilliness (2100 vertical feet, hill index 2.6). 

42 miles -- the "East of the Wallkill" start variation shortens the route and eliminates one of the bigger hills.

35 miles, gentle-to-moderate -- Farms around New Paltz -- South.

See a comparison with other routes in the area.

• Highlights:  Beautiful farms and orchards (as you might guess) -- and one of the few covered bridges remaining in the Hudson Valley.  Sweeping views across the Wallkill Valley, and of the Shawangunk ridge beyond.
   
• Characteristics:  

Uphill climbs:  2100 vertical feet total climbing.  Biggest hill is 240 vertical feet, including 70 feet at a steep grade over 8%.   Two other climbs over 100 vertical feet, but with grade less than 6%. 

Traffic:  Some  high-speed traffic sections, but many quiet roads -- see Traffic Discussion for more detail. 

check [ Road Condition reports | Trip Reports | Traffic ] 

• warning:  Riding a bicycle on roads has dangers and risks that need to be taken seriously.  For more on those, see our page on risks.

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• Directions to Start: 

  By car from South or North:  NY Thruway to exit 18 (Poughkeepsie / New Paltz).  From the exit, turn Left onto Rt 299 West, which is Main St of the village of New Paltz.

  By car from the East:  Rt 44 West across the Mid-Hudson Bridge, then Rt 9W North a couple of miles, and take Rt 299 West to New Paltz.

  The start of the route is just after Main St (Rt 299) crosses Rt 32 (Chestnut St) at a traffic light -- between the Wallkill River bridge and Rt 32.

GPS latitude-longitude = N41.7466,W74.0900 = 41.7466,-74.0900  [on Google Maps]

Parking:  There are lots of options in New Paltz.  What usually works for us is to park about three or four blocks from the Wallkill River bridge, somewhere north of Main St.  Then ride west on Front St / Lenape Lane and/or south on Huguenot St to reach the starting point.

by train:  New Paltz is 11 to 12 miles from the Poughkeepsie train station, with service by Metro North from New York City, and by Amtrak.  For ideas about riding a bicycle from there, see Connecting between Poughkeepsie trains and New Paltz.

Other starting points:  Wallkill or Tillson / Rosendale.

• Map:  You should have a detailed road map of Ulster County to do this route (see Maps). 
   

Cue Sheet | Map of route | Trip Reports | Traffic | more routes

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