Catskills Mountain Sweep

A 446 km loop from Harriman exit

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

Reservoirs, forest roads and a full-day reset. A 446 km loop that starts and ends near Harriman, about 7 h 41 of riding. On the way it passes Roscoe trout town, Pepacton Reservoir, Phoenicia mountain road and Kingston.

Roadbook

1. Harriman exit fuel fuel

   Harriman is a village you notice mostly from the highway, and its role in a riding day is simple: it is the exit. The New York Thruway runs past here, and the exit ramps lead to a cluster of fuel stations, fast-food places and a very large outlet shopping centre, which draws buses from all over the region. It is the last chance for easy fuel and coffee before the Hudson Highlands, and an early-morning stop here is a sensible way to start a ride out of the city, since prices in the small towns beyond tend to be higher and the opening hours shorter.

   The name comes from the railroad magnate Edward Harriman, whose family played a major role in the region. His widow, Mary Harriman, gave about ten thousand acres to the state in 1910, which became the core of Harriman State Park, now more than forty thousand acres, one of the largest in New York. The forests, lakes and rocky ridges of the park lie just to the east and are criss-crossed by walking trails and the Seven Lakes Drive, a quiet road that is among the best motorcycle routes in the area. Neighbouring Bear Mountain, on the Hudson, has a landmark inn and a historic bridge over the river. Nearby Kiryas Joel, a large Hasidic Jewish community only a few minutes away, is busy and densely populated, so take care on local roads, where pedestrians are numerous and children may cross unexpectedly.

   The road onward is worth the early start. From Harriman, you can take the Seven Lakes Drive through the forest to Bear Mountain, then cross the Hudson on the bridge and follow Route 9D north along the river to Cold Spring, a pretty village with antique shops and a view of the West Point Military Academy across the water. The curves are smooth and sweeping, the surface is generally good, and the autumn colours are exceptional, though weekend traffic can be heavy. Deer are a constant hazard, particularly at dusk. In fog, the Highlands can be eerie and damp.

   From there, the Catskills lie ahead, with winding mountain roads and the Pepacton Reservoir, one of the reservoirs that supply drinking water to New York City. Fill up in Harriman before leaving, and plan some food in a village on the way, since the outlet centre's cafes are crowded on weekends. Central Valley, nearby, has more shops, and the larger Kiryas Joel, to the north, has every service, though it is closed on the Sabbath, from Friday evening to Saturday night.

2. Roscoe trout town food

   Roscoe calls itself Trout Town USA, and it has the credentials to back the claim. The village sits in the western Catskills at the meeting of two famous fly-fishing streams, the Beaverkill and the Willowemoc, which join a short distance away at a spot called Junction Pool. Anglers have been coming to these waters since the nineteenth century, and the tradition of American dry-fly fishing took shape in these valleys, with local fly tyers developing patterns that are still used today. A fly-fishing museum a few miles up the road in Livingston Manor tells the story.

   Roscoe also has railroad history. For decades, the New York, Ontario and Western Railway ran trains from the city to the Catskills, carrying holidaymakers and fishermen to the boarding houses and hotels of the Borscht Belt, and Roscoe was a major stop. The railway has gone, but the village keeps a small, workaday look, with a main street of shops, diners and sporting goods stores, and a long-established diner that serves enormous breakfasts. The valley around it is quiet, green and farmed, with hills rising on either side in a pattern of woods and pasture.

   Riding here is delightful. Old Route 17, which follows the river through the valley, is a winding road that the interstate has bypassed, and it has light traffic, old bridges and views of the water. Back roads climb into the hills, with steep gradients and tight bends, and the surface is rough in places because of frost heave. In May, when the hatch is on and the dogwood and apple trees are in bloom, the fishermen stand shoulder-deep in the river at dawn, and the whole valley feels like a quiet church. Autumn colour comes in October.

   The village has fuel and food, but a larger town is a long way off, since Fallsburg, the nearest place with a significant population, is more than thirty kilometres away. Fill the tank here or in Livingston Manor before heading off into the hills toward the Pepacton Reservoir, where services are few. If you want to try fishing, a licence is needed, and local shops sell flies and give good advice. Mornings are cool even in summer, and a thermos of coffee is a good companion.

3. Pepacton Reservoir swim

   Pepacton Reservoir fills a long, bent valley in the western Catskills, a deep blue lake many miles long, built in the early 1950s to supply drinking water to New York City, a hundred and thirty miles away. The East Branch of the Delaware was dammed at Downsville, and the rising water drowned four villages, including Pepacton itself, along with farms, roads and a good many orchards. The old foundations, it is said, still lie beneath the surface, and in dry years the water drops enough to show a few of them.

   Route 30 follows the lake's shore for much of its length, a quiet, winding road with views over the water and the forested hills beyond. It is not a high-speed road, but it is a fine, easy one, with long gentle curves and little traffic, especially on weekdays. The Catskills here are older and rounder than the Alps, worn by glaciers into rolling ridges, with hemlock and hardwood forests and rushing creeks. Autumn colours are famous, and the weather can turn cool and misty in any season.

   The reservoir is strictly a water supply, so swimming, boating and wading are banned, and the shore is patrolled by watchful rangers. Fishing is allowed with a permit, and the trout in these cold waters are famous; the Delaware's branches are some of the most storied fly-fishing streams in the country. Downsville, at the dam, has an old covered bridge from the 1850s, a lovely wooden span over the river, and a small fishing museum nearby.

   Services are thin. Livingston Manor, Roscoe and Margaretville are the nearest places for fuel and a meal, and Margaretville has a pleasant main street and a few diners. Fill the tank before you come, since the stretch along the lake has none. Cell service is patchy. Winters bring snow and ice, and some small roads close, while spring brings mud and fog. Late September to mid-October is the best window, with the hills ablaze and the air crisp. Bring a camera and an extra layer.

4. Phoenicia mountain road scenic

   Phoenicia is a small hamlet in the Esopus Creek valley, in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, and it is the point where several of the region's best roads come together. The creek, a fast, clear trout stream, runs right through the village, and in summer, tubers in inner tubes float down it by the hundreds. Hills rise steeply on all sides, thickly wooded with hemlock, maple and beech, and the highest of the Catskills, Slide Mountain, at about 1,270 metres, stands a short way to the south.

   The village was once a stop on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, which carried visitors from the Hudson River to the mountain hotels, and the old station still stands, with a heritage railway running excursions on part of the line. The area was also a centre of bluestone quarrying and leather tanning, trades that stripped the hemlock forests of their bark in the nineteenth century. The forest has regrown and is now protected as part of the Catskill Park, and the creek's water flows into the reservoirs that supply New York City with some of the best drinking water in the world.

   For riders, Phoenicia is a crossroads. Route 28 follows the valley to the west toward Margaretville and Pepacton Reservoir, a gentle, flowing road with long curves beside the creek. Route 214 runs north through Stony Clove Notch, a deep, narrow gap between steep mountains, with tight turns, a steep grade and cliffs rising on either side, and it is a real mountain road. Woodstock, an artists' town famous for the music festival that was not actually held there, lies a short ride to the east and has plenty of cafes and shops.

   The village has a handful of cafes, including a diner that has become a favourite stop for people driving up from the city, and a few shops. Fuel in the hamlet is limited, so it is wiser to fill the tank in Kingston or Woodstock, the larger towns to the east, or farther along Route 28. Weekends in summer and autumn bring crowds, so go early. In winter the roads can be icy and the notch is slow to clear. In October the colours on the surrounding hills are startling, a deep red and gold that fills the whole valley.

5. Kingston return fuel fuel

   Kingston has a good claim to be the first capital of New York State. The legislature met here in 1777, when the state's first constitution was adopted, and in October of that year British troops sailed up the Hudson and burned most of the town. The Stockade District, a neighbourhood of old stone houses, has been rebuilt on the same streets, and a number of the buildings date from the Dutch period of the 1600s. It is the kind of place where history sits on every corner, and the cafés and restaurants have taken advantage.

   Down by the river is Rondout, the old canal port, where the Delaware and Hudson Canal once delivered Pennsylvania coal to the Hudson and the great ships. Natural cement mining nearby also supplied builders in New York, and the waterfront is dotted with brick warehouses and cast-iron fronts. A lighthouse built in 1915 stands at the mouth of Rondout Creek, and the maritime museum has boats, photographs and stories of tugboats and ice harvests. A walk here is a good way to break up a long ride.

   For motorcyclists, Kingston is the gateway to the Catskills. Route 28 runs west along the Esopus Creek valley, past the Ashokan Reservoir, a vast sheet of water built in the early 1900s to supply New York City, and on towards Pepacton and the high peaks. The road is wide and fast at first, with long bends and good surface, then narrows and climbs into forest as it nears Phoenicia. On a clear autumn day the hills are on fire with colour, and the Hudson is a silver line to the east.

   With over twenty-three thousand people, Kingston has all the fuel and food you need, and the last big supermarket for a good way. The chain stations by Route 28 and the Thruway exit are the most convenient. Beyond town, stations become scarce in the mountains, so fill the tank before you commit to the loop. Weekends in autumn bring heavy traffic to Route 28, with leaf-peepers and cyclists slowing the pace, so mid-week or early starts are the best option. Deer are common, and the roads can be icy from October.

6. Back to Harriman finish

   The route ends here after 446 km.

Where this sits

Rides near here