Harriman State Park is the second largest park in New York, and Seven Lakes Drive is its backbone: a quiet, winding road across the Ramapo hills that most people in New York City never realize is an hour from Times Square. It was built in the 1920s as a parkway for pleasure driving, long before anyone thought of it as a motorcycle road, and it still has the character of its time, with stone culverts, gentle grades and no commercial vehicles allowed. The park exists thanks in part to Mary Harriman, who gave land in 1910 in memory of her husband, the railroad magnate, with the aim of keeping the Highlands from the quarries.
The road runs from near Bear Mountain through forest and past a string of lakes, including Tiorati, Askoti and Sebago, each with its own beach or boat launch and a scattering of picnic tables. The forest is oak, hickory and birch with hemlock in the damp hollows, and the granite underneath shows up in rounded boulders and low ridges that the glaciers scraped. The Appalachian Trail crosses the park, and thru-hikers in spring and early summer are a common sight near the road crossings. Black bears are present, and deer are everywhere, so keep an eye out at dawn and dusk.
Riding here is calm rather than thrilling. The corners are fairly open, the speed limit is low and state troopers watch it. The surface is generally good, with some frost heave in early spring and leaf litter that can be slippery in autumn. The best seasons are late May and October, when the greens are fresh or the colors are strong, and weekday mornings give you the road almost to yourself. Summer weekends bring families to the lakes and the traffic thickens near the parking areas.
Practical details matter, since there is little here. You will not find fuel inside the park, and the nearest large selection is down in the villages along Route 17 and Route 9W, such as Thiells and Stony Point, a short ride east. Some park facilities have seasonal opening hours, and a vehicle fee is charged at some beaches in summer. Bring water, and expect patchy phone service in the deeper valleys.
If you can, stop at one of the lakes and listen. The silence is part of the point, and on a cool morning with mist on the water it can feel like northern Maine.