Grand Tour of Columbia County
Abbrevs		How to Use		Info about this route			Map
Miles	Mark	Turn	This Leg	Description			Description
		Note	--->	CC Rt 8 = Columbia County Route 8			Reports
Start				Lake Taghkanic State Park -- East Beach parking lot.			How to Use this Cue Sheet
0.0		R	0.5	go West on the park road toward the entrance
		Variation A		To shorten the route: see Major Variation A on separate sheet. Variation subtracts around 21 miles from total route.			Abbreviations + Symbols
				Major Variation A
0.5		L	0.4	to West Beach on park road (South)			Route not checked by us since 2009: see more . . .
0.9		Straight	0.5	unsigned- continue past the cottages along the lake			on Description page
1.4		L - dirt	0.5	unsigned- starts downhill toward lake, immediated turns Right along shore of lake
1.9		R	0.5	unsigned- W Pond Lily Rd
2.4	T	R	4.7	unsigned- CC Rt 8 West
7.1		Variation		for food: continue Straight on CC Rt 8 for 1.5Mi to Blue Store, R on Rt 9 North [HH] 0.7Mi, L on Sparrow Bush Rd to rejoin route
7.1		R	1.4	CC Rt 19 North
8.5		L	1.1	Maple Lane
9.6	HH	cross	1.1	Sparrow Bush Rd (cross Rt 9)
10.7	T	R	0.5	unsigned- Blue Hill Rd - CC Rt 31 North
11.2		L	3.2	Wire Rd
14.4		R	0.2	Half Circle Drive (or continue to CC Rt 10 and turn R)
14.6	T	R	1.7	unsigned- CC Rt 10 (East)
16.3		L	3.1	Blue Hill Rd - CC Rt 31 (North)
				(cross Cold Spring Rd / Woodchuck Rd)
19.4		L	1.6	CC Rt 14 -- West
21.0	T	R	1.2	Rt 9G North [HH]
21.5		Variation C		to visit Olana -- home of Frederick Church, famous painter of the Hudson River school. Walk around house for a great view from the top of hill.  After 0.5Mi on Rt 9G, turn R and climb hill.  (Adds 0.8Mi and 250 feet of steep climbing) [last checked around 1995]
22.2		BR	0.3	Rt 23 East / Route 9G North [HH - wide shoulder as of August 2008]
22.2		Variation D		to cross the river with a fine view:  Go L onto Rt 23 West [HH] and cross the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.  Pick up a snack, turn around and come back, turn L to follow Rt 23 East [HH] to rejoin main route.  Adds 2.6 Mi to total route distance.
22.5		food		for food, continue on Rt 23 / 9G past Mt Merino Rd for a short ways to next intersection
22.5		L	2.6	Mt Merino Rd (view of the pretty Athens-Hudson lighthouse)
25.1	T	L	0.8	Rt 9G North [HH], becomes South 3rd St
25.7				Amtrak train station is several blocks to Left (West).
25.9		site		Hudson, NY
25.9		food		for food and to see lots more shops, go R up Warren St about half a mile, turn around and come back down to rejoin main route.
25.9		L	0.3	Warren St
26.2		view		view over the Hudson River from the park at end of Columbia St. (Town on the other side is Athens.)
26.2	T	R	0.1	Front St (North)
26.3		R	0.6	State St (East)
26.9		L	0.1	Carroll St
27.0		L	1.0	Short St (North), becomes Harry Howard Ave
28.0	T	L	1.8	Joslen Blvd (North)
29.8	T	L	1.6	Rt 9 North [HH - reasonable shoulder as of Aug 2008] (nice views to both sides)
31.4		R	0.2	CC Rt 25B - East
31.6	T	L	4.6	CC Rt 25 (North) -- Stockport, NY
				waterfall on R
		site		village of Stuyvesant Falls -- becomes CC Rt 25A (CC Rt 25 turns right)
		bridge		cross Kinderhook Creek
		view		on the right:  view of the falls of Stuyvesant Falls, NY
36.2		BR	3.3	Rt 9 North [HH - reasonable shoulder as of Aug 2008]
		site		Vanderpoel House on left
		food		Kinderhook, NY
39.5		R	0.8	CC Rt 21 - East (Hudson St) -- cross under Rt 9H
39.5		Variation K		to visit Valatie + Chatham:  straight on Rt 9 North [HH - reasonable lane width + shoulder as of May 2009] (cross Rt 9H) for 1.6Mi, EE-R on Main St into Valatie (food) 0.4Mi,
				R on Chatham St / Rt 203 East for a couple miles or so [HH - mostly reasonable shoulder as of May 2009], L Merwin Rd (up steep hill), R White Mills Rd, T - L Pond Hill Rd (becomes Kinderhook St) ??Mi,
				R on Park Row 0.1Mi into Chatham -- several food options in both directions. Then R on Rt 66 South 2.4Mi, L on Maple St 0.4Mi, T - L on Water St / CC rt 21 to rejoin main route. Adds 9 miles. [last checked May 2009]
40.3		R	4.1	CC Rt 21 - East (starts with hill climb, over 200 vertical feet at 6% steepness grade)
40.3		Variation J		to avoid a hill:  L on Novack Rd 0.6Mi, R on Novack Rd 0.8Mi, T-R on Rt 203 East 0.5Mi [HH - reasonable shoulders as of Sept 2006], R on Pinto Ranch Rd 0.7Mi,
				T-L on McCagg Rd 0.1Mi, R on Hennett Rd 1.9Mi, L on CC Rt 21 to rejoin main route. [last checked around 2002]
44.4	T	R	2.0	CC Rt 21 - East
46.4		BL	0.5	Garage Place Rd
		food		Ghent, NY
46.9	T	R	0.1	Rt 66 South [HH - mostly reasonable shoulder South-bound as of August 2008]
47.0		L	2.4	Water St (CC Rt 21) - long hill climb
				(pass by Angel Hill Rd)
49.4		BR	1.9	unsigned- (CC Rt 21)  Do not continue straight up the hill.
49.9		BL		(pass by Tice Hill Rd) - more climb
51.2				(pass by Louden Rd)
51.3	HH	cross	0.8	cross Taconic State Parkway, continue on CC Rt 21 / Harlemville Rd
52.1	T	L	4.4	CC Rt 21 East -- climb hill
52.5				(Harlemville Rd turns off right -- climb long hill, then some downhill)
56.5		R	4.4	Hunt Rd -- climb up, then long descent
60.9	T	R	0.3	Rt 22 South [HH - reasonable width as of Aug 2008]
		Variation		To avoid a tough hill with a nice view and descent, see the directions for Variation C of Farms + Hills of SW Columbia
61.2		L	0.6	Tribrook Rd
61.6		XX		open grate bridge over creek
61.8		R	0.3	Collins St (South)
62.1	HH	cross	2.1	Yonderview Rd (cross Rt 23) -- food to R at intersection of Rt 22 and Rt 23
64.2	T	L	0.1	Rt 22 South [HH]
64.3		L	0.8	North Mountain Rd -- up hill
65.1		BR	0.5	North Mountain Rd -- up more hill
65.6		BR	1.6	North Mountain Rd -- views, then descent
67.2	T	L	0.5	unsigned- Main St / Rt 344
67.4		food		Copake Falls, NY -- food + rail trail + bike shop are L a short ways on Rt 344 East
67.4		Variation		To visit Bash Bish Falls: Left on Rt 344 East to a parking lot on the right, then hike a ways up alongside the creek to the falls. Or ride steep curvy uphill past that parking lot to a service road on right (over a mile from Copake Falls), and hike down to the falls. [last checked around 2006]
67.7	T	L	0.9	Rt 22 - South [HH - reasonable width + shoulder as of May 2009]
68.6		R	0.7	CC Rt 7A
		food		Copake, NY
69.3		R	0.3	CC Rt 7A East (careful, there are several Rt 7As)
69.6		BL	1.7	CC Rt 7A (careful, there are several Rt 7As)
		XX		open grate bridge over creek
71.3		R	1.0	CC Rt 7 - North
72.3		L	3.0	CC Rt 27 -- up hill
75.3		L	1.4	New Forge Rd			Map
76.7		BR	0.2	New Forge Rd			Description
76.9		BL	0.9	New Forge Rd			Reports
77.8		R	0.7	Rt 82 West -- up hill [HH - reasonable lane width + shoulder as of May 2009]			How to Use this Cue Sheet
78.5		L	0.9	Taghkanic State Park Rd
79.4		Finish		Lake Taghkanic State Park -- East Beach parking lot.			Abbreviations + Symbols
	Route not checked by us since 2009: Learn more on Description page.
back to Top		How to Use		Info about this route
Description			=	http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/east/gt_columbia
		Map		Reports
How to Use			=	How to Use this Cue Sheet
Abbreviations			=	Abbreviations + Symbols
			=	www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/m/symbols
Home page			=	www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/
Copyright				© Copyright 1999-2008 Kenneth S. Roberts.
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