Grand Tour of Columbia County							Map
Abbrevs		How to Use		Info about this route			GPS
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		West	0.5	go West on the park road toward the Taconic State Parkway entrance
0.0		Variation AB		To shorten the route: see Major Variation A on separate sheet. Variation subtracts around 21 miles from total route.			Abbreviations + Symbols
				Major Variation AB
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
39.5		food		Kinderhook, NY
39.5	EE	Straight	1.6	rt 9 North [HH - mostly reasonable shoulder as of May 2009]
39.5		Variation H		shorter + simpler: R on cc rt 21 East (Hudson St) for 0.8Mi (under rt 9H), R on cc rt 21 East for 2.0 Mi (starts with hill climb, over 200 vertical feet at 6% steepness grade).
				BL Garage Place Rd 0.5Mi, T - L rt 66 North (food in Ghent NY), R on Maple St to rejoin main route [last checked by us around 2000]
40.5				under rt 9H
41.1	EE	R	0.4	Main St
41.1		food		Valatie NY
41.5		R	2.3	Chatham St / rt 203
43.8		L	1.3	Merwin Rd (up steep hill)
45.1		R	2.2	White Mills Rd
47.3	T	L	1.1	Pond Hill Rd (later becomes Kinderhook St)
48.4		R	0.1	Park Row
48.5		L	0.2	rt 66 North
48.7		food		Chatham, NY
48.7		Turn around	2.5	Rt 66 South [HH - mostly reasonable shoulder South-bound as of August 2008]
51.2		food		Ghent, NY
51.2		L	0.4	Maple St
51.6	T	L	2.0	unsigned- Water St / CC rt 21 - long hill climb
53.6		BR	1.9	unsigned- CC rt 21 - (Do not continue straight up hill on Rigor Hill Rd.)
54.1		BL		(pass by Tice Hill Rd) - more climb
55.4				(pass by Louden Rd)
55.5	HH	cross	0.8	cross Taconic State Parkway, continue on CC Rt 21 / Harlemville Rd
56.3	T	L	4.4	CC Rt 21 East -- climb hill, then a longer hill
56.7				(Harlemville Rd turns off right)
60.7		R	4.4	Hunt Rd -- climb up, then descent and another descent
65.1	T	R	0.3	Rt 22 South [HH - reasonable width as of 2010]
		Variation		To avoid a tough hill with a nice view and descent, see the directions for Variation C of Farms + Hills of SW Columbia
65.4		L	0.6	Tribrook Rd
65.8		XX		open grate bridge over creek
66.0		R	0.3	Collins St (South)
66.3	HH	cross	2.1	Yonderview Rd (cross Rt 23) -- food to R at intersection of Rt 22 and Rt 23
68.4	HH	cross	0.1	cross rt 22 onto Old Route 22 (SouthWest)
68.5	HH	cross	0.8	cross rt 22 onto North Mountain Rd -- up hill
69.3		BR	0.5	North Mountain Rd -- up more hill
69.8		BR	1.6	North Mountain Rd -- views, then descent
71.4	T	L	0.5	unsigned- Main St / Rt 344
71.6		food		Copake Falls, NY -- food + rail trail + bike shop are L a short ways on Rt 344 East
71.6		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]
71.9	T	L	0.9	Rt 22 - South [HH - reasonable width + shoulder as of May 2009]
72.8		R	0.7	CC Rt 7A
		food		Copake, NY
73.5		R	0.3	CC Rt 7A East (careful, there are several Rt 7As)
73.8		BL	1.7	CC Rt 7A (careful, there are several Rt 7As)
		XX		open grate bridge over creek
75.5		R	1.0	CC Rt 7 - North
76.5		L	3.0	CC Rt 27 -- up hill			Map
79.5		L	1.4	New Forge Rd			GPS
80.9		BR	0.2	New Forge Rd			Description
81.1		BL	0.9	New Forge Rd			Reports
82.0		R	0.7	Rt 82 West -- up hill [HH - reasonable lane width + shoulder as of May 2009]			How to Use this Cue Sheet
82.7		L	0.9	Taghkanic State Park Rd
83.6		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
GPS		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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