Difficulty Rating:
3 out of 5
This is a 3-day self-contained tour, staying at a motel in Monroe and doing a loop ride on Day 2 to the Storm King Arts Center. The cycling is lovely, with the exception of one unavoidable busy stretch on Day 1, and the cultural expedition is fun & enlightening. Storm King Arts Center is a 500 acre outdoor museum featuring sculptures and landscape art. https://stormking.org/ There's a cafe on the grounds for lunch and a rack to lock the bikes.
We stayed at the James Motel - decent enough and not terribly expensive. http://jamesmotelmonroe.us/ There are several restaurant choices in easy walking distance and a Dunkin down the road for breakfast. We were allowed to bring the bikes into the rooms, and there was plenty of space for them.
The first day, we took NJ Transit to Ridgewood in order not to have too long a day, but you can start in Manhattan. The only ugly stretch is on NY-17 from Suffern to Sloatsburg; otherwise it's lovely cycling. After Sloatsburg you enter Harriman State Park and ride up 7 Lakes Dr. to Kanawauke Circle. Turn west there, and immediately after crossing Kanawauke Lake there's a picnic area on the left with bathrooms. We bought lunch in Sloatsburg and had a picnic at Kanawauke. Continue west on Kanawauke Rd. and turn north on NY-17. There you have a choice: You can continue on 17, which can sometimes be busy but is more direct; or you can go up Orange Tpk, which is quite hilly but less busy & more scenic.
On day 2, you can go over Storm King Mountain to get to the Arts Center, but that does require a 3-mile stretch on US-6. (I did this once many years ago with no problem, but I can't guarantee that cyclists are actually permitted on that stretch.) However, once you're off US-6, this is a gorgeous route with beautiful sustained climbs and great views over the Hudson from the top of Storm King. We chose to do the shorter route, which was still very pleasant and scenic. Either way, there really isn't a pit stop until Corning.
On day 3 you again have the choice to go up and over Orange Tpk or come straight down NY-17. We chose the latter as we were leaving early and it was a holiday. Traffic was not bad and there were only a few stretches of rough road. Once you're back on Kanawauke Rd, you're in beautiful Harriman State Park. Use the same picnic area for a pit stop after climbing & descending Kanawauke, then continue onto another climb and descend down Willow Grove. You have plenty of choices for lunch, depending on how far you want to go before stopping: David's Bagels in Mt. Ivy; the Orchards at the top of S. Mountain Rd.; one of the delis in W. Nyack; or the 9W Market.
This is a moderately challenging tour because of the climbing, but three of us C riders did it in October 2019, using the short routes on days 1 & 2.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31443606 Day 1 Short Route (from Ridgewood, NJ) 38 miles
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31443760 Day 1 Long Route (from Manhattan) 60 miles
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31443615 Day 2 Short Route 30 miles
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31443620 Day 2 Long Route 36 miles
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31443636 Day 3 59 miles
