- Where: around New Paltz and Wallkill -- in the Wallkill
River valley in Ulster County, NY.
- 35 miles. Gentle-to-moderate hills (1400 vertical feet, hill
index 2.2).
30 miles for the New Paltz South - Rail
Trail (Wallkill - Horse Farm
variation), which goes to some of the
same places, but on quieter roads, including 9 miles on an unpaved
off-road trail. But it misses out on some nice farms and views,
and some fun road sections.
42 miles for Farms
and Orchards around New Paltz, taking the East
of the Wallkill start variation.
See a comparison with
other routes in the area.
- Highlights: Beautiful farms and orchards, with a
big horse farm. Sweeping views across the Wallkill Valley, and of
the Shawangunk ridge beyond.
- Characteristics: Lots of gentle miles, and some
moderate hills
Hilliness: Total vertical climbing is about 1400
vertical feet. Several hills over 4% grade,
but none over 6%. Biggest climb is 190 vertical feet at a 3%
average grade.
Traffic: Some high-speed traffic sections, but many quiet
roads. Some of the other roads which are not really quiet are not that wide and
or do not have shoulders (like some sections of Ulster County Route 7) --
see Traffic Discussion for more detail. If
you are not experienced and comfortable with
handling that sort of traffic situation, you should consider choosing a different route.
A route that visits some of the same places, but mostly has much
less traffic interaction, is New Paltz South -
Rail Trail and Roads (Wallkill - Horse Farm variation).
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More . . .
- Directions to Start:
By car from
South or North: NY Thruway to exit 18 (Poughkeepsie / New
Paltz). From the exit, turn Left onto Rt 299 West, which is
Main St of the village of New Paltz.
By car from the East: Rt 44 West
across the Mid-Hudson Bridge, then Rt 9W North a couple of miles,
and take Rt 299 West to New Paltz.
The start of the route is just after Main St (Rt
299) crosses Rt 32 (Chestnut St) at a traffic light -- between the Wallkill
River bridge and Rt 32.
Parking: There are lots of options in New
Paltz. What usually works for us is to park about three or four blocks
from the Wallkill River bridge, somewhere north of Main St. Then ride
west on Front St / Lenape Lane and/or south on Huguenot St to reach the
starting point.
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.
Other starting points: Wallkill.
- Map: You should have a detailed road map of Ulster County to do this route (see Maps).
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