what's here
see also
- GWB and the river road -- If you're just starting out, riding all
the way across the bridge, finding the start of the "river
road" in the Palisades park, and making it through the hills is
plenty of adventure. See "Variation D" in the Manhattan
to Nyack route.
- George Washington Bridge to Piermont -- 30 miles
round trip,
moderate. Start with the GWB, go up the West side of the river through New Jersey into New
York to a food stop down by the Hudson River. See lots of fellow cyclists,
enjoy cruising the long rolling
grades of Route 9W. 1400 vertical feet, hill
index 3.2. Start points Manhattan, Fort
Lee NJ, Piermont NY. [ Description
|
Maps + GPS
]
- Nyack -- Making
it all the way to the original Runcible Spoon and riding right next
to water in Nyack Beach State Park. We've done it lots of
times now,
but our first was an adventure.
- beyond Nyack to Haverstraw -- continuing beyond Nyack Beach on the
dirt path to Haverstraw takes you beyond "normal" New York
City riding. See Variation
F of the GWB to Nyack
route.
- GWB to Bear Mountain and back on Route 9W: Making it to Bear
Mountain is a worthy achievement, and Route 9W is the obvious way to
get there -- but far from the most interesting. We'd recommend
instead trying some of the more
interesting roads and paths in the first half of the GWB
to Bear Mountain Bridge Loop -- and saving Route 9W as a fallback.
- Bear Mountain Adventure -- Instead of just going out and back
the same way along the river, this route goes first west a ways into
New Jersey, then north up through the interior in New York to make a real loop -- and finds
some pretty lakes and fun downhills.
- 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 ]
back to Top
You can also use the Metro
North trains to get ride further out from New York City, but without
the work of riding all the way back.
The Garrison train station is closer to the Bear Mt
Bridge, but Cold Spring has more food shops while you're waiting for the
next train.
- Manhattan to West Point and Storm King Mt to Beacon -- From Bear
Mountain, continue north on the West side following the Bear
Mt to Newburgh-Beacon route, through the U.S. Army academy at West Point
(but check
Condition Reports) with pretty views and the great Storm King Mountain road. Then
on to Newburgh with more river views along the way. Cross over
to the East side on the south sidewalk of the Newburgh-Beacon
bridge, and then turn south a little to reach the Metro North train
station at Beacon, and
ride the train back to Manhattan.
Some can ride this in one day, but others might do it as an
overnight, perhaps sleeping in Fort Montgomery or Highland Falls, or
the Bear Mountain Inn.
- If you have the energy and daylight . . .
- - it could be worthwhile to continue
on south from Beacon on the Bear
Mt to Newburgh-Beacon Loop to the train station at Cold
Spring.
- - or after enjoying the view south from the sidewalk of bridge,
go back to Newburgh and ride up the West side to Highland (see
route ideas), and cross the Mid-Hudson
Bridge and ride
to the train station at Poughkeepsie.
- - but keep in mind that both of those bridges have normally been
closed to bicyclists and walkers outside daylight hours -- check
Condition Reports.
You need a permit to take a bicycle on Metro North. See more
about combining bike routes with trains on Train
Stations with Routes.
back to Top
For those living in the suburbs or upstate or some other place
outside, the most interesting adventure could be bicycling into the big
city and its urban variety. Riding across the George Washington
Bridge can be a beautiful part of that.
back to Top | routes from
GWB | Bergen County
NJ |
