Western NY to NYC and the Atlantic route

[Macrand]

Hi. I am tentatively planning a XC ride next spring, starting in CA and following RT 66 to south of Chicago before heading to the east coast. I'm trying to figure out how to end the ride somewhere in the New York City area (and dip our wheels in the Atlantic!) I'm looking for suggestions to get from the Ohio/NY border to NYC and a suitable end point. (A beach would be cool!) Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

[indyfabz]

While I can't tell you a good way to get to these places, maybe Coney Island or somewhere along the south shore of Long Island, like Rockaway Beach. Maybe you could hitch a ride there. Three are also ferries from Hoboken/Jersey City and Manhattan to Atlantic Highlands, NJ, which I hear is nice.

Coming from the west, the G.W. Bridge is the only option to actually ride into Manhattan.

Another option you may not have considered is to ride the Philly area and then continue to the S. Jersey shore area.

Personally, I wouldn't want to drag by bike across an expanse of sand just to dip a wheel.

[litespeed]

Pennsylvania and New Jersey are both good bicycling states, especially southeastern Pennsylvania (good, well-shouldered roads and plenty of fudge and ice cream shops and good, cheap eating places). You can cross NJ in a day easily and you're right on the Atlantic. If you want to go into NYC you can take the ferry from Atlantic Highlands or the train in non-rush-hours from Long Branch.

[indyfabz]

BTW...NY and OH don't border each other.

One option would be to take PA Bike Route Y to the end (Map 29B):

ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/bikes/state_mapY.pdf

That will put you in Matamoras, PA, which is right across the Delaware River from Port Jervis, NY. IIIRC, if you go from there to Middletown, NY (U.S. 6 is most direct, but U.S. 209 and NY 211 should be quieter) you can take NY Bike Route 17 to Bike Route 9. The latter takes you into NYC. I have the hardest time trying to find maps for the NY bike routes on line. Maybe you will have better luck.

[Macrand]

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions. (Yes, I forgot about that little bit of PA between Ohio and NY!) PA sounds like an interesting option. I'm also trying to find out more about NY bike route 9. Looks like we'd have several possibilities.  I'd prefer relatively quiet roads, but also a fairly direct route; by the time we get this far east we'll be wanting to get 'er done. I appreciate the ideas!

[indyfabz]

You can forget about quiet roads the closer you get to NYC.

Something totally slipped my mind about the PA option. Before it gets to Matamoras, PA Bike Route Y passes through Milford, PA. From there, it's a short hop across the Delaware River via the ped path on the U.S. 206 bridge to join ACA's Atlantic Coast route south through the Delaware Water Gap. I just rode from Port Jervis, NY to Philly using that route last month. Mostly quiet roads, pretty roads. There are bike trail options in PA and NJ that probably total close to 40 miles.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/105349603@N05/albums/72157659421384310

There are decently spaced campgrounds up to Upper Black Eddy, PA. You can reach Philly from there in one day. No camping near own, but there is a HI Hostel in the park that is within biking distance to the center of town:

http://www.philahostel.org/aboutus.html

You could make it from Philly to the NJ shore in one day or break it up into two days. I know a nice state forest with camping along the way to Ocean City, which would be a good place to end the trip (unless you want a beer at the end).  Riding through Camden, NJ is not fun, but there is a short train option (bikes allowed) that allows you to hop over that area.

Once "down the shore" as we say, you can ride north to Atlantic City for a train ride (bikes allowed) back to Philly for transportation home.

[canalligators]

... I have the hardest time trying to find maps for the NY bike routes on line. Maybe you will have better luck.

Only one of the access points actually puts up the interactive map with state bike routes annotated:
https://www.dot.ny.gov/display/programs/bicycle/maps

I've complained, but although cycling does get consideration in my state, fixing a usability problem isn't critical and probably won't get done.  I may have to contact the bike and ped people directly (via a department employee who knows these folks...)

[sdotkling]

I suggest that the way to get from Chicago to New York (I am planning a similar trip, but backwards, in the summer) is via Buffalo, and the Eerie Canal bikeway or roads that parallel it. (The bikeway itself runs all the way to Albany, 380-something miles, but it tends to get dull after a while.) Approach New York City not from the west, but from the north. Take the Canal Bikeway to Rochester, then head southeast on 96 to Ithaca (great college town, great food, great beer), then southerly to Owego and on to Binghamton. Due east to Deposit, New York, then the Delaware River Scenic Route to Port Jervis. Very nice riding, beautiful, cool and hilly and generally calm, with good roads (paving crew is a good job in those parts, so they pave and re-pave a lot.) Port Jervis to New Paltz through the Shawanagunk Mountains (a lovely valley road most of the way, once you get out of Port Jervis and nearby towns.) New Paltz--another nice college town--to Poughkeepsie across the Walkway Over The Hudson, a pedestrian bridge that everyone has gone wild over in those parts. Cut across Duchess and Putnam Counties to Brewster (more nice roads) and there you'll pick up the North County Trailway, 40-odd miles of rail trail that goes straight down into the close-in New York suburbs. North County Trailway becomes the South County Trailway which --with one notable nasty gap you will have to pick your way through in Yonkers--drops you in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. From there, look for the High Bridge to cross the East River into Upper Manhattan, then the Hudson River bikepath from the top of Manhattan to the bottom. Welcome to New York. If you are looking for a suitable beachy end to the trip, put your bike and gear on a Long Island Railroad train and go to Montauk and the Hamptons. Nice riding out there, too. (The city to Montauk is a favorite 100-miler for some, but much of it is too gritty for my taste.)

[litespeed]

Another suggestion for getting from Albany to NYC is to go down 9W and across the George Washington Bridge. This puts you right near the north end of the Hudson River Bikepath. When I lived in Hoboken 9W was my favorite get-out-of-town ride. 9W is lightly trafficked as all the traffic is on the freeway. On much of it you are just riding through the trees.  I admit this was almost 40 years ago but things probably haven't changed much. US9, across the river, is much more congested.

[dkoloko]

Another suggestion for getting from Albany to NYC is to go down 9W and across the George Washington Bridge. This puts you right near the north end of the Hudson River Bikepath. When I lived in Hoboken 9W was my favorite get-out-of-town ride. 9W is lightly trafficked as all the traffic is on the freeway. On much of it you are just riding through the trees.  I admit this was almost 40 years ago but things probably haven't changed much. US9, across the river, is much more congested.

True, Rt 9 has heavier traffic than Rt9W; in general roads west of Hudson River have less traffic than those east. However, I still recommend avoiding Rt9W; much less trafficked roads are available.

Bicycling to NYC from where you are coming from depends in large part where you want to cross the Hudson River. Check to see the bridge you are planning on crossing does not have limited hours for bicycles or is closed to bicyclists because of construction.

Besides the Allegheny hills, when I bicycled across Pennsylvania I had problems of roads suddenly becoming arterials, closed to bicyclists, without any indication where bicyclists should continue.

[indyfabz]

The only way you can bike across the Hudson into NYC is via the GW Bridge.

[dkoloko]

The only way you can bike across the Hudson into NYC is via the GW Bridge.

If you are crossing from New Jersey. There are other options pedaling across the Hudson River coming from Illinois.

[indyfabz]

The only way you can bike across the Hudson into NYC is via the GW Bridge.

If you are crossing from New Jersey. There are other options pedaling across the Hudson River coming from Illinois.

You cannot bike across the Hudson into NYC via any other bridge but the GW. You bike across the Hudson in NY state via other bridges and then ride south into NYC. I believe the next available bridge would be Bear Mountain (U.S. 6).