Shawangunk Ridge and Minnewaska · part 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Food stop near Kiryas Joel

   The village of Kiryas Joel, in Orange County north-west of New York City, is one of the most distinctive communities in the United States, founded in the 1970s by Satmar Hasidic Jews and still almost entirely Hasidic today. It is a densely built, fast-growing village where Yiddish is widely spoken, shops close for the Sabbath and the rhythm of life follows religious tradition. Visitors passing through should be respectful and dress modestly if stopping.

   Read the complete Food stop near Kiryas Joel write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Food stop near Kiryas Joel is where the day begins. Next is Photo stop near Bradley Gardens.

2. 2. Photo stop near Bradley Gardens

   Planning note

   You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Shawangunk Ridge and Minnewaska checkpoint 8.

3. 3. Emerson Hill

   Most visitors to New York never see Staten Island except from the deck of the free ferry, which is a pity, because its interior holds something unexpected: a ridge of steep, wooded hills running through the middle of the island. Emerson Hill is one of them, a quiet residential enclave of winding lanes and large old houses among the trees, next to Grymes Hill, where Wagner College stands. The ridge is made of serpentinite, a greenish rock rare on the East Coast, and further south it rises to Todt Hill, the highest natural point on the Atlantic seaboard south of Maine.

   Read the complete Emerson Hill write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 199 km.