Newburgh-Beacon / Walkway + Mid-Hudson loop

• where:  Loop on both sides of the Hudson to cross both the Walkway over the Hudson and Newburgh-Beacon bridges -- from Beacon up to Poughkeepsie, across to Highland in the town of Lloyd, then back down through Marlboro to Newburgh.

• 41 miles, hilly, 2800 vertical feet (feels like 3200 feet, hill index 4.4). 
  40 miles if take Mid-Hudson Bridge instead of Walkway.

• mapping:  digital mapping resources + GPS . . .

A) Beacon to Poughkeepsie (east) [bhvr5a]  on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX

B) Highland to Newburgh (west) [bhvr5b]  on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX

var) city of Beacon [bhvr5va]  on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX

 + overview map

• highlights:   Some fine views over the orchards on the West side, two big bridges and other Hudson River views.

• characteristics:  Lots of quiet roads, and some busy roads.  Some significant hills, with lots of ups and downs on the West side of the river, several short steep hills on both East and West sides.

• 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.

Roads change: Be prepared for the possibility that what you find on the ground could be different from the cue sheets or maps on this website -- info and links on the Reports page can help.

Main route last checked in Dec-2004

Map | Poughkeepsie map | Description | Cue Sheet | Reports | more routes

more . . . 

• directions to Start

by train:  The route goes within a couple of miles of both the Beacon and Poughkeepsie stations, which are both on the Metro North Hudson line -- see Train stations with bicycle routes.  For directions from the Beacon station see the route Bear Mountain to Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.  

For the Poughkeepsie train station, see the Detail Map of Poughkeepsie and the route directions for Connecting between Poughkeepsie trains and New Paltz -- West-bound. 

by car:  To get to the east end of the Newburgh-Beacon bridge -- from the New York State Thruway, take exit 17, then follow signs for Interstate-84 East, and cross the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and take the first exit onto Route 9D.  Or from the Taconic State Parkway, exit Interstate-84 West and go toward the bridge, then take the last exit before the bridge, onto Route 9D.  We're not sure where it is best to park, but we can say that there are more parking possibilities to the south toward Beacon.  

• Alternate starting points:  Poughkeepsie, Highland, Newburgh.

• maps:  You should have detailed road maps of Dutchess, Ulster, and Orange counties to do this route (see Road Maps).  

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