Cycling in the Catskills

[mlegault]

I'm planning a summer bike trip and am considering the Catskills area.  I live in Vermont where there are endless back, country dirt roads with spectacular views and experiences galore.  I hope to find another place that offers beautiful backroads and pastoral and mountain views.  Do the Catskills offer this?  Any suggestions as I have no idea where to start other than by purchasing a NY Gazetteer.

I don't need to plan my routes - I just pick a region and go where the wind blows - hopefully at my back.  Thanks for your input,  Michelle

[waynemyer]

I hope to find another place that offers beautiful backroads and pastoral and mountain views.  Do the Catskills offer this?  Any suggestions as I have no idea where to start other than by purchasing a NY Gazetteer.

Hi Michelle.

As someone who grew up in the Catskills, and lived and cycled in Vermont, I can authoritatively say, "Yes!"  One of my favorite rides in Vermont was the LAMB (Lincoln Gap, App Gap, Middlebury Gap, Brandon Gap).  I don't explicitly know of anything exactly like that in the Catskills, but I have spent a lot of time in the Hunter Mountain and Ashokan Reservoir areas.  There is much that is very similar, given that the geography is also similar.  The added bonus is that the Palenville NY (where I grew up) was a day's bike ride from Burlington VT (where I lived).


If you find yourself headed towards Palenville, let me know.  My father still lives there, is hospitable, and has ample crash space.