• where:  Loop on both sides of the Hudson river, crossing the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and the Dunn Memorial Bridge, from Catskill and Hudson to Rensselaer and Albany.

• 74 miles, moderate hills.

• mapping:  digital mapping resources + GPS . . .

A) Rip Van Winkle to Albany (east side) [bhvr8a]  on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX

B) Albany to Rip Van Winkle (west side) [bhvr8b]  on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX

 + non-digital  overview map 

• highlights:   Lots of sweeping views across beautiful farm country, a variety of angles on the Catskill mountains and the Hudson River, and the new and old buildings of Albany. 

• characteristics:  Lots of quiet roads, but a few miles of traffic while going through the city of Albany.  Some hills, but nothing really big.

• 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.

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more . . . 

• directions to Start

by train:  Join the route at one of the Amtrak stations at Hudson or Rensselaer (by Albany).

by car:  Take the New York State Thruway to Catskill (exit 21).  Follow signs to Route 23 East, then take that to its  intersection with Route 385 in Catskill.

• Alternate starting points:  Hudson, Kinderhook, Rensselaer, Albany, Coeymans Landing, Coxsackie.

• maps:  You should have detailed (paper) road maps of Columbia, Rensselaer, Albany, and Greene counties to do this route (see Maps). See also digital mapping resources + GPS above.

• further North:  see also North of Albany -- Reports on River routes north.

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