Northeast - Riding out of NYC to Katonah, NY

I am interested in riding from the city to Katonah, and I am wondering if anyone has a good route. Obviously avoiding freeways and the saw mill parkway. Any ideas?

Is there anything interesting there or just visiting? I haven't ridden up that way but hopefully others have.

Just visiting. House sitting for my girlfriend's relatives for the weekend, she's taking the train up, I'm riding. It's really beautiful up there, lots of the NYC reservoirs, some great hiking, some empty roads from what I saw. I've only ever been up there in a car though, and want to get my bike out!

If no one else posts just pour over the satellite images on Google Maps of the roads, look for ones that have wide shoulders and no dividers.

I am interested in riding from the city to Katonah, and I am wondering if anyone has a good route. Obviously avoiding freeways and the saw mill parkway. Any ideas?

I rode to Croton On Hudson last Sunday from Manhattan which is pretty close to Kotonah. After you get into the Bronx go up Broadway. Traffic is not bad at first and then, when you get to Van Cortlandt Park it really thins out. Broadway is also about 100 yards wide at this point (I exaggerate). At about 259th ST. go left, toward the Hudson and get on Riverdale which will turn into Warburton. This is a very enjoyable route. At Hastings you will have to go onto Broadway, Highway 9, to keep going north. I was on it at about 12:30 and traffic was very light, much to my amazement. I would veer towards Katonah at Tarrytown and don't have a route for you.

FYI: on my ride the NYC to Tarrytown was great. From Tarrytown to Croton was nice but not as great. Some pretty crazy hills on that segment and traffic on Broadway increased.

Have fun.

You could aslo try the south and north county rail trails which start at Van Cortlandt park. When you get to Millwood you'ld probably want to head east on 133 instead of crossing the reservoir. You could try mapmyride.com or bikeroutetoaster.com to generate a route for you.

Head north along the Bx River paths from Pelham Parkway to 233rd. Along bronx River road to Bronxville into Tuckahoe. In Tuck. Follow the path along the river to Scarsdale. It gets tricky here as at the train station the path ends. See Trailink.com for further info. I don' remember the names of the connecting streets once past the station.

Definitely consider the Westchester South and North County rail trails:

Maps: http://www.westchestergov.com/Parks/SideBar/Trailways.htm

Also, Route 100 has some great sections with a fine shoulder, just watch out for the dumb-arse rumble strips north of 118 running up to Somers.

I love riding up in that area... I usually start in Hastings or up by Tarrytown and make a loop. Totally worth the drive to the start (I get enough city riding commuting).

I'd recommend using the North County trailway, it merges into route 100, follow 100 all the way up to 35 (whitehall corners), hang a right on 35, and follow that over to Katonah. Definitely a few variations there.

Some fine riding up in that area... lots of cyclists on 100 and the roads around there.

Between Manhattan and Hastings though... I often just skip that section. I wish the Tappan Zee Bridge had a ped/bike path, 'cause a nice ride up 9W to the Tappan Zee, then cross over to the Tarrytown area would be fantastic.

I would avoid Route 9 in Sleepy Hollow... it's got a 45mph speed limit but traffic tends to be around 60mph with no shoulder on the road. Get off Route 9 in Tarrytown and take either Route 448 up through Briarcliff Manor or Old Sleepy Hollow Road, which also ends in Briarcliff. The trailway is nice but watch out for the stroller moms and rollerbladers, on any nice day they will be out in force.

Ok, I think I am going to try the north and south trails, and then take 35 into Katonah. Is the trail actually nice, or is it sort of blah and along the freeway?

Ok, I think I am going to try the north and south trails, and then take 35 into Katonah. Is the trail actually nice, or is it sort of blah and along the freeway?

The trail is pretty nice. Not always scenic since it's a bit secluded at times, but it's totally worth it. There are a few absolutely brilliant points on the rail trail though... the bridge over the Croton Resevoir is pretty damn neat, especially in the fall foliage season.

Up by the reservoirs is pretty damn nice... you'll have a great ride up there. I can give you some more route info if you're interested, I've done a lot of riding up in the area and often use the rail trail to link bits together. I've tried to start putting some of it into mapmyride.com, here's one if you'd like some other ideas for riding:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/tarrytown/20605146

On that map there's some hard packed dirt sections, those are the ones between 100 and 35 south of the Croton Reservoir. Otherwise, it's a nice ride.

The North County trail is really nice from Briarcliff Manor on. +1 on Warburton/Rt. 9/turn onto 119 in Tarrytown.

Whoa - just found an awesome site:

http://www.ridethecity.com/index.php?rid=52004

Not sure if you've done this yet, but in taking the north county trailway, you may be more interested in staying on route 100 north to 35. If you take the trail up to 35, the roads are rideable, but there are a few sketchy sections.
Where specifically in Katonah are you headed-- I lived in that area for 3 years and did a lot of riding thru that area.