Bike the South/North County Bike Trail - 50 miles continuous paved path
Details
The South and North Country Trails are the longest continuous paved bike paths in the area, and provide an amazing ride through nothing but woods the entire way. The south county trail begins in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx, and continue for 14.1 miles up to Elmsford NY, and the North County trail picks up from there and continues for another 36.2 miles (combination of North County and Putnam County trail) until Brewster NY.
The entire 50 miles takes about 4 hours. This trail is virtually flat the entire way. It is the most relaxing bike path I have done in the area, as it is nearly continuous with very few street crossings, few pedestrians, no cars, just you and the road! This will be a relaxing easy pace ride, not a race. There will be stops ~10-15 miles to take a break, grab a snack, etc. At the end in Brewster, we will ride ~1 mile to the Metro North station to take the train back to NYC.
http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/north-and-south-county-trailways-bike-map/
There is a small one mile section of road that has not been completed to connect the South and North County trail near Elmsford, it is a mile long on route 9A. There is also a small ¼ mile section on N. Cty trail that has construction going on right now. Both of these sections require minor detours onto road.
Dont feel up for 50 miles? No worries, anyone can come along, you have several options. You can do just the South County trail up and back, which is 14 miles each way, 28 miles total. That would be about 2 hours depending on pace. One can also ride to several other towns along the trail and ride the Metro North back, from either Tarrytown (~20 miles riding) or Pleansantville (~25 miles). Or you can ride up to any point and turn back and head back to the start at Van Cortland Park.
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What to bring: Must have own bike or have means to rent and bring one for the ady. Water (either water bottles on bike, or hydration pack). Snacks (bars, trail mix, anything quick to eat) and/or sandwich for more calories. Comfortable clothes to ride in, bike shorts are ideal for longer rides. Weather looks perfect for biking on Sunday with sunny skies and highs around 70. Bring a light wind jacket or fleece for chillier/windy temps while riding. Bike helmet goes without saying. Bring a change of shirt/clothes if you like for train ride back home.
Directions/Logistics: We will start at Van Cortland Park South, near Broadway, at intersection of Putnam Ave and Van Cortland (170 Van Cortland Park South), meet at 11 am at the park entrance. For public transportation take the 1 train to 238 St stop, 2nd to last stop (NOT the Van Cortland park stop). The trail entrance is 2 blocks east from the train station. Other options are the A train to the last stop in Manhattan and ride up Bway across the Bway bridge to Van Cortland Park. The 4 train seems close but requires going down stairs to cut through to Van Cortland Park. You can also drive to Van Cortland Park (I-87 to Van Cortland Park exit) and park your car there, but its difficult to return to the car afterward from the Metro North. We will then ride the Metro North back from the end of the trail at Brewster to Grand Central Terminal (~1.5 hour train ride). Metro North requires a bike permit to bring bikes on board, which can be purchased IN ADVANCE at Grand Central Terminal for only $5 for lifetime (If you do not buy in advance, they will charge you $10 on the train to bring the bike onboard, for ONLY that one ride). You can buy the train tickets at the Brewster stop however. The trains run every :17 of the hour on Sundays, so the goal would be to finish by 3 pm hopefully, or 4 pm if need be, depending on pace and stops. We could try for food afterwards in Brewster if we can find a place that is bike-friendly.
Feel free to email or call me in case of any questions:
917-400-0987
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Bike the South/North County Bike Trail - 50 miles continuous paved path