stayfed

Hey.

I was curious if there were any Bicycle Camping groups in New York. I spent some time on Google and couldn't find anything.

I've never done it but plan on diving in next month because it seems like a lot of fun!

I'd love to hear about any information you may have.

Cheers.

Cyclerock

I don't know of any local bike camping groups, but I plan on trying it once it gets warm. I have never bike camped either. Where were you planning on trekking to?

stayfed

I am still researching that now. I am in Brooklyn so I was planning on hopping on a train for a couple hours and getting off somewhere upstate.

jerseyJim

Maybe take the Metro North to Garrison. Then head over to the Duchess County Rail Trail north to Poughkeepsie, over the Walkway on the Hudson to New Paltz and the Wallkill Valley Trail then east to the Hudson and south to the Bear Mountain Bridge hook back up to Metro North. If you swung west through Goshen and tok the Orange Heritage Trail east on day two it would be 120+ miles or so and you could overnight in the Shawgunks near New Paltz.

That's what I would do anyway : )

stayfed

That sounds like a great route!

jerseyJim

Im from North Jersey and I did something like this backwards last summer and had a very nice ride. Come back and tell us all about it!

Jay H

You could take the train all the way to Wassaic and ride up the Harlem valley railtrail right from the station. There is a NY state campground in Copake right by Bash Bish falls which you can explore. This would be an awesome ride in the fall!

https://hvrt.org/

Jay

indyfabz

Not in the city per se, but close:

https://btcnj.com/

Another nice route is from Port Jervis south through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (keep your eyes peeled for bears) and then down the Delaware River. You can train to Port Jervis from Hoboken or Seacaucus. Or you could train to Poughkeepsie/Hyde Park area and start from there. When you get down the river to Frenchtown, NJ you can pick up the path along the D&R feeder canal, take that all the way to Trenton and catch NJT home. Or you could continue on the main D&R path to New Brunswick and catch NJT there.

Hyde Park/Poughkeepsie to Lambertville, NJ is part of Adventure Cycling Association's Atlantic Coast route. Their maps show the locations of things like campgrounds, motels, grocery stores and bike shops. Well worth the $12 or so/map if it's your first foray into touring.

Send me a PM with any questions.

jerseyJim

+1 These are great route suggestions. I have found BTCNJ tours are mostly the CC variety or hub and spoke day trips from a central location.

indyfabz

There is some camping a little ways north of Port Jervis just off U.S. 209 and at least one place (a Jelly Stone campground) south of New Paltz. There is also camping on SR 9 just north of the center of Hyde Park. Going north from Hyde Park, the ACA route eventually takes you to the Harlem Valley Trail mentioned above. As noted, the state park isn't that far north of the town where the trail currently terminates. Can't remember its name.

I rode from Port Jervis home to Philly last year. Rented a car one way, dropped it in town and stayed just across the boder in NJ at this place:

https://www.rockviewvalley.com/

A little rough around the edges, but pleasant enouigh, and they gave me a diso**** because I was on a bike.

The next day I rode to Worthington State Forest on Old Mine Rd. There is a big campground right along the river. Because it's on the AT, there is at least one group site with a bear locker. (There are definitely bears around there. I have done the Black Bear Century the last two years and there were bear sitings both years.) It's only a 32 mile day, but there are lots of nice places to stop and explore and admire the scenery. Late winter/early spring you should encounter very little traffici. The only logistical problem is that there isn't really anything commercial along this stretch, so you have to bring enough food and water, including food for dinner that night. The alternative is to drop your gear at Worthington and make the 3 or so mile ride into Delaware Water Gap, PA, where there is a small convenience store at a gas station, a diner, a pizza place and a couple of higher-end restaurants, and then ride back to camp.

The next day I rode down the PA side of the river through Portland and crossed into NJ at Belvidere. There is a big town square there along with some nicely restored Victorian houses if you take the time to explore. Several places to get food and water. From there I continued down the river through Philipsburg and eventually to Milford, where there are places to eat and a grocery store. Except for Philipsburg, this section of the route is very pretty and usually sees little traffic. Normally, I would have stayed on the NJ side through Frenchtown all the way to Bull's Island a few miles north of Stockton, but the campground there is closed and may never re-open again. Instead, I crossed over from Milford to PA, rode down PA 32 for about 1.5 miles, made a right on Lodi Hill Rd. and stayed at Dog Wood Haven campground. The owener was rerally nice. He gave me a discounted rate of $15 because I was on a bike and offered me a free beer.

The next day I continued on PA 32 for a few miles to Upped Black Eddy and then crossed back into NJ and Frenchtown. (You don't want to stay on the PA side. No shoulder and impatient drivers. A cylist was struck and killed on that road a few years ago in a hit-and-run.) Took the D&R trail to Lambertville and then mostly followed the ACA route to Philly. As noted, that arm of the D&R trail conitnues all the way to Trenton. The surface is a good crushed limestone. I have ridden it with 23c tires. The main arm of the trail goes from Trenton up to New Brunskwick. I believe most of that is a natural (i.e., dirt) surface.

The biggest problem you might encounter is campground availability. I believe Worthington is open all year (Running water might not be available. Check the web site.), but some of the private campground will not open until later. For example, the one I provided the link for doesn't open until May 4. April is a sketchy month up in those parts. There could still be ice on the roads in places.

jerseyJim

Indy I rode the East Brunswick to Trenton portion of the D&R canal as recently as last fall. If I recall correctly, most of the way was firm crushed gravel. Except for a few cobbled spillways it was smooth riding all the way.

stayfed

I can't wait to try these out!

Cyclerock

Since you are in Brooklyn, if you want to stay on the 'mainland', you can check out Long Island camping sites. Some can be really far east. Call the associated phone numbers on the sites because at least one camp / park space no longer allows camping.

https://www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=15665

https://www.discoverlongisland.com/vi.../minor/webcamp

For a 'test run', you could check out Floyd Bennett Field or the other Gateway locations. As it is in Brooklyn, the ride wouldn't be far and it would let you know if you packed everything reasonably and if you are properly prepaired for a further trip.

https://www.nps.gov/gate/planyourvisi...at-gateway.htm

https://longisland.mommypoppins.com/l...on-long-island

Should we create a group trip for this?

stayfed

There's definitely some spots out in Long Island I wanted to check. Most of them are all the way at the very end. I went on a ride upstate the other day and realized that I need to really change my gearing or pick up a bike just for touring.

rhm

I like the way you guys are thinking. Take a commuter train out of the city to where the riding gets good, and then ride. But don't restrict yourselves to the trains that go north. A New Jersey Transit train to Princeton Junction or Hamilton gets you within a few miles of some excellent riding.

Another option is to take the ferry from midtown to Atlantic Highlands NJ and ride south from there.

Considering places to camp, you should look into www.warmshowers.com.

indyfabz

The D&R's web site says:

The historic towpath along the main canal from Bakers Basin Road (Trenton) to New Brunswick has a natural surface for hiking, jogging, horseback riding, and biking. From Mulberry Street to Bakers Basin Road, the trail is crushed stone. Horse trailers may be parked in some of the parking areas located along the main canal. The trail along the feeder canal is made of fine textured crushed stone and is for hiking, jogging and biking.

indyfabz

Send me a PM if you would like a Bikely map of the Port Jervis route I described. The road through the DWG National Recreation Area can be a little confusing if you are not familiar with them. There are a few other twists and turns south of Belvidere that you need to make in order stay on the quietest roads and an important turn in Philipsburg you need to make.

nigelsane

Doesn't look like anyone has mentioned Croton Point yet. I got the idea of getting into bike camping early last year. Took some time to research and buy equipment (never camped before), and to find destinations, and finally decided on Croton Point park after seeing it mentioned in one of the RBW/BOB google groups.

The ride up is pleasant enough. We followed the cuesheet from time's up. None of those links work anymore for some reason, but here is the route we took. I choose Croton Point as my first attempt because it's very close to a Metro North station, but still definitely rideable in a day. This way, I have some flexibility--If I wasn't feeling up to riding home the next day, I could just take the train.

Unfortunately, we got caught in a torrential downpour just after we got off the North County trail, during a hairy and curvy descent. It was too much for my partner, who was riding loaded for the first time. Demoralized, we took Metro North home even though we were only about 3 miles from the campsite. And wouldn't you know it, the ride home to Queens from Grand Central was moist, but sunny.

I haven't attempted bike camping again since, but I think it would have been a success if I'd been alone and set up camp anyway, despite being soaking wet. When I try again this year, I might shoot for something closer, like Floyd Bennett Field (though I don't know if that'll be open this year, with Sandy and all).

indyfabz

Did Port Jervis to Philly last week. Last year I camped at Worthington State Forest. This time, I climbed over the mountain from Millbrook Village and then descended to Blairstown. From there, I head down SR 94 and then climbed back up to get to Camp Taylor and the Lakota Wolf Preserve. Took the tour the next monring and then rode to Upper Black Eddy. Day 3 took me home to Philly.

Lakota is worht a visit if you are in the area. Just be aware that the climb up Millbrook Rd. from Millbrook Village is extremely steep. I had to walk the last part with a 26x34 low gear. There are also two very steep sections on the way to Camp Taylor. Plotting a profile is deceiving. From SR 94 to Mt. Pleasant Rd., which is the top of the climb, it's an average grade of 3.6%. The problem is that a lot of that climbing comes in two stretches, with the remainder of the section being easy. So while the vaerage is only 3.6%, you have stretches that are probably at least 9%. At least it's not Mt. Pleasant Rd. which I descended from Camp Taylor back to SR 94. That has insanely steep sections. I had one point I had my brajkes fully engaged and could not bring the bike to s stop. Don't try to climb up that way unless you like serious suffering.

Send me a PM if you would like route details.

nigelsane

Anyone try one of these trips this season yet? I'd love to hear a report.

I'm thinking about trying the Wassaic/Copake Falls trip Jay mentioned upthread.

Schnebit13

Anyone interested in a S24O from NYC in the next week or so(June 21st or 28th)?