Warning:  There are major restrictions on travel in and through the United States Military Academy at West Point (as of July 2009).  This might require a major alteration of this route -- see Variations D + F.  See also Condition Reports under "Orange County" and Trip Reports for more details and for ideas on alternate routes.  Before trying this route, check if bicycle travel is permitted from the Thayer gate entrance through the West Point campus to the Washington gate exit.

• where:  Loop on both sides of the Hudson river, crossing the Bear Mountain Bridge and the Newburgh-Beacon (also known as "Hamilton Fish") Bridge.

• 42 miles, hilly (2700 vertical feet, hill index 4.0). 

• mapping:  digital mapping resources + GPS . . .

A) Newburgh-Beacon to Bear Mt [bhvr4a]:  on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX

B) Bear Mt to Newburgh + Beacon [bhvr4b]:  on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX

 + (non-digital)  overview map

• highlights:   Spectacular views of the Hudson River, from every angle.  Rocks, trees, castles, two great bridge crossings, and West Point.

A good ride at any time of year, but the best views of the river are early spring or late fall -- when there are no leaves in the way.  A favorite time for Sharon and me is early November, on the day of the Army-Air Force football game.  For some photos, see Fred Schaeffer's website. 

• characteristics:  Unfortunately, much of this ride is on high-speed roads that get a lot of car traffic.  You might want to start early in the morning to try to avoid the worst of the traffic.  But if you have solid traffic-handling skills, this ride is very worthwhile.  Lots of ups and downs, but nothing truly big and steep. 

Some years the beautiful Storm King Mountain Highway has been damaged or closed.  See Condition Reports. 

Warning:  There are major restrictions on travel in and through the United States Military Academy at West Point (as of July 2009).  This might require a major alteration of this route -- see Variations D + F.  See also Condition Reports under "Orange County" and Trip Reports for more details and for ideas on alternate routes.  Before trying this route, check if bicycle travel is permitted from the Thayer gate entrance through the West Point campus to the Washington gate exit.

• warning:  roads change -- but we have not checked much of the main route since the date below.

And it might have been a longer time since some of the Variations of the route were last checked by us.  Some roads and intersections might be different since then, or closed -- so be prepared to find alternatives -- a good reason to carry a detailed map. Other people may have more recent experiences with parts of the route which could help prepare: see the Reports page linked below.

Route not checked by us since 2009 -- learn more | see Reports

• 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.

Cue Sheet | Map of route | Trip Reports

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more . . . 

• directions to Start

by Train:  Take the Metro North train to the Beacon station.   Inquire first about transporting bicycles on Metro North.

by Car:  Take Interstate 84 to the Route 9D exit -- first exit East from the Hamilton Fish (Newburgh-Beacon) bridge.  Go South 0.7 mile on Route 9D to the second traffic light, where you see a Railroad station symbol, and turn Right on Beekman St.  Go about 0.5 mile and turn Right to take the bridge over the railroad tracks (unsigned, becomes Red Flynn St), then curve Right and go down to the train station parking.

Alternate starting points:  Cold Spring train station, Bear Mountain State Park, Beacon Memorial Park, Newburgh waterfront.

Shorter 34-mile route:  There is a clever way to use trains to make a loop with only 34 miles of riding:  Take the Metro North train to Cold Spring station, follow the route across Bear Mountain bridge and then the Newburgh-Beacon bridge, and finish riding at the Beacon station, and take the Metro North train home.  Metro North bicycle pass required.  

• maps:  You should have detailed road maps of Dutchess, Putnam, and Orange counties to do this route (see Maps).  See also digital mapping resources + GPS above.

places: Hudson river valley, New York state, NY

bicycling: bicycle bicycling bike bikes bicycles bicyclist cycle cyclist cycling touring riding rider riders

routes: route routes ride rides tour tours turn cue sheet sheets map maps

Cue Sheet | Map of route | Trip Reports

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