Massachusetts

[denisekessler1@gmail.com]

Hi,
I am trying to do my second leg of Canada to the tip of Florida along the Atlantic Coast of sorts.  I need to cross the western edge of Massachusetts to get down to the Adventurecycling map that is in CT and goes around NYC to Philadelphia.  Any suggestions of how I could choose these roads.  Coming across the northern tier years ago I bought Wisconsin state maps and it was a terrible idea once I was off of the Adventure Cycling maps----hit a lot of bad roads.  I would love any input.
Thank you,
a passion to hit the road again!

[BikeliciousBabe]

I have come down from Brattleboro, VT, through places like Deerfield, Westhampton, Chester and E. Otis, MA, eventually dropping down to N. Canaan, CT, to pick the ACA's Atlantic Coast route to Philly (where I live).

Found this:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27849657

The unpaved section(s) are easy.  A couple of the climbs in MA are not.  I can tell you where there is camping.  In Chester you can even rent an old trail caboose for the night.  Fun experience.

I can give you an alternative from Monterey, MA that goes to Great Barrington, MA and then into NY to pick up the new section of the Harlem Valley Trail near Copake.  That will put you on route when the trail enters Millerton.  The new section is terrific, and there is a great state park campground in Copake.  Tow days before I rode it last year and friend and his wife rode it and had to stop for a bit to wait for a bear the move along.

BTW...I don't know if the ACA map mentions the trail on the PA side of the river south of Phillipsburg, NJ/Easton, PA.  if it does, stay on the NJ side of the river until Lambertville.  The trail suffered extensive damage in places last August.  It is not fully repaired and will not be this year.

I can also give you an alternative between Portland, PA, and Belvidere, NJ, that I think safer than the ACA route between those points.

[denisekessler1@gmail.com]

Thank you so much for responding.
So I've come down through Vermont from the Canadian border to Williamstown MA.
Now I am trying to figure out if I can find  "safe" way to NYC where the AC map 2 of the Chicago to NYC would then take me over to Philadelphia or if I want to aim for Norfolk CT which puts me on map 2 of the Atlantic Coast that will then take me to Philadelphia.  That is the only stretch I'm struggling with since from Philadelphia on down I have AC maps (I can't wait to bike Delaware Ocean City to Currituck and then I think the highlight will be the outer banks for me. 
Do you have an opinion on trying to find my way to NYC from CT or to riding wide to Philadelphia thru Poughkeepsie and Port Jarvis and Phillipsburg?
Thank you so much for your time.

[BikeliciousBabe]

I don't know my way into NYC from that direction.  I have only ever gotten into Manhattan by bike via ferry rides from Hoboken, Jersey City and, most recently, Staten Island.  (Our local bike club does a yearly ride from New Hope, PA, to Brooklyn.) You'd have to get to the GW Bridge way up north in Manhattan to actually ride in. Personally, I would not want to be bothered with riding in the traffic-heavy areas of north Jersey.

The map I linked to picks up the ACA route "south" of Norfolk, CT.  You have to go backwards a bit if you wan to reach Lone Oak Campground, which I believe is the only game in town until the Millerton, NY area, where there is the Rudd Pond section of Taconic State Park. (Closes after Labor Day.)  Lone Oak used to offer have a cyclist discount. Relatively inexpensive compared to what a normal site costs.  The place is a huge camping resort.  To me, the in-ground hot tub was worth it.

I have done the ACA route south from Poughkeepsie through Port Jervis, etc., a few times.  It's mostly nice, although I would skip the trail mileage starting in New Paltz and instead stay on the roads the route used to use.  The segment south from Port Jervis through the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is one of my favorite local-ish long weekend adventures.  Worthington State Forest along that stretch is a great place to camp.  (It often fills on the weekends during camping season. A weekday is the best time to go.)  Saw a bear cub there in 2018.  The 13 miles from Belvidere to P'Burg is wonderful.  There are some low, narrow railroad underpasses that mean no truck traffic.  In general, there is very little traffic.  Getting through P'Burg sort of sucks, but once you get back down to the river at Carpentersville Rd. the riding gets really nice again until Milford.  Dogwood Haven Campground, just across the river, gives a cyclist discount.  Mark, the owner, is a great guy.  Small, "rustic" and quiet, with nearly all seasonal people who are pleasant, although when I was there last September I there was a couple riding the ACA route north.