- Where: Ulster County, NY.
- 58 miles. Some big steep hills (5200 vertical feet, hill
index 6.9).
 
- - Variation D is 71 miles, hilly.
- Highlights: Several great descents and climbs with
sweeping views over three major watersheds (Wallkill, Rondout,
Esopus), lots of quiet back roads and fun little downhills -- and the biggest cliffs, the largest lake,
and the highest summits in the Hudson
Valley.
Goes over the Shawangunk ridge, into the Catskill mountains, and
back across the Shawangunk ridge to finish at the shops and
restaurants of New Paltz.
One of our favorite rides.
- Characteristics: Some big steep hills, lots of steep little hills.
Warning: Some of the roads and
paths of this route along the Ashokan Reservoir were closed to
bicycling for
several months in response to the 9/11 events. Since then all of
them have been re-opened for bicycling (as of November 2006). See details on Road
Condition Reports, under "Ulster County".
If those roads or paths are closed, the obvious
alternate for the main route is to stay on Route 28A East-bound for the section
near the Ashokan Reservoir. But for Variation D there is no
straightforward alternative, if the the Reservoir Rd bridge across
the middle of the Reservoir is closed.
Hills: Total uphill climbing is about 5200 vertical
feet. Includes the big climbs of
the Great Shawangunk Hill Loop,
and more.
Traffic: For discussion of some of the traffic
interaction risks on this route, see Traffic
Into the village of New Paltz and Traffic
on the Great Shawangunk Hill Loop.
Map of route
| Cue Sheet | Reports | Photos
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| West side routes
More . . .
by car: New York State Thruway to Exit 18 (New
Paltz, Poughkeepsie). After pay toll, reach T and turn Left onto Route 299 West.
Go past two or three traffic lights. At the top of a hill where the street
turns left, bear Right onto Front St (may be marked with a "to Route 32 North"
sign). Go about a block and the Bakery is on the Left side.
by train: New Paltz is 11 to 12 miles from the Poughkeepsie
train station, with service by Metro
North from New York City, and by Amtrak.
For ideas about riding a bicycle from there, see Connecting
between Poughkeepsie trains and New Paltz.
- Maps: You should have a detailed road map of Ulster County to do this route (see Maps).
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