- where: West of New Paltz in Ulster County, NY.
- 32 miles, with some big steep hills (3200 vertical feet, hill
index 8.4).
27.5 miles for the loop only (2900 vertical feet, hill
index 9.2)
53 miles for the Great Shawangunk Double
route, with twice
as many steep hills -- because it does the Hill Loop twice, once in
each direction.
 
 
- highlights: Combines two fun descents with two memorable climbs -- with rocks,
brooks, curves, and sweeping views.
The loop from the intersection of Butterville and
Mountain Rest back around to the same intersection makes a great training lap.
If you have the skills and the strength, and can manage the traffic
interaction risk, on a good weather day this is one of the great
riding experiences you can have.
- characteristics: Very hilly, with some of the
steepest climbs and steepest descents in the Hudson
valley.
Traffic: Some of the roads get a lot of motor vehicle traffic.
And especially since some of this traffic must be handled while
climbing up steep hills, we think some of these road segments have
greater traffic interaction risk than most of the road segments on
this Bike Hudson Valley website -- see Traffic
Discussion for details. (The Great
Shawangunk Double route has a section in one of its directions
which we think has still greater
traffic interaction risk.)
We recommend that these routes be done only by riders with
excellent and well-practiced bike control skills on steep climbs and
steep descents, and with good skill and experience in traffic handling
and strategy in those circumstances -- and with an understanding
and acceptance of the special traffic interaction risks in these
situations.
For more on traffic, see the Traffic
Discussion page.
Check Trip Reports and
Road
Condition reports.
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more . . .
by car: Take the New York State Thruway to exit 18, New Paltz. Come out of
the exit toll booth to a T with a traffic light. Turn Left onto Rt 299 West.
Just before going down the hill to the center of the village of New Paltz, bear Right onto
Front Street, where there is a sign "to Route 32 North".
GPS latitude-longitude = N41.7490,W74.0856 =
41.7490,-74.0856 [on
Google Maps]
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.
Alternate start points: Mohonk Preserve, Minnewaska State Park,
Kerhonkson, Accord.
The idea of this route is to do all the "Great
Shawangunk" hills both up and down, by riding in
both directions -- but to avoid most of Rt 299.
Start the loop in the reverse direction
(counter-clockwise): from New Paltz and the Wallkill valley,
climb up Mountain Rest Rd (Ulster Co Rt 6) -- up the steep
"Mohonk East" hill. Then continue over and down the
"Mohonk West" hill, and continue reversing the loop through
Alliger and Accord in the Rondout valley. Keep reversing by
climbing south to meet Rt 44, then turn Left onto Rt 44 East and go up
the "Minnewaska West" hill, and continue reversing, over and
down the "Minnewaska East" hills, until you reach the
junction with Rt 299.
At this point the reversing stops -- instead continue straight on
Rt 44 East, descending until the road levels off in the valley.
Turn around near the horse farm and reverse your route climbing Rt 44
West up to the junction with Rt 299. At this point just continue
straight up Rt 44 West and follow the regular Great Shawangunk Hill
Loop route in the normal clockwise direction to its finish.
The "Great Shawangunk Double" route has some special
traffic risks -- see the Traffic Discussion
page.
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Road
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