MoonJW

Please help plan my vacation!

This year my significant other and I did the Great Allegheny Passage. We had such a good time that we want to do something similar this coming spring for one week in the Northeast.

Any suggestions?

Our criteria is this:

1) Good for May / June. Not too hot, not too chilly.
2) Within one day's drive of New York City. A day to get there, a day to get back.
3) Good for 3-4 days of cycling, or roughly 175-200 leisurely miles. Moderate elevation, lots of chances to rest and sit around and enjoy the scenery.
4) Minimal to no traffic. My girlfriend hates, hates riding in traffic for anything longer than a short stretch, especially highway shoulders. She won't go near those.
5) Paved or crushed stone. Rail trails are fine as long as they are doable on 28mm slicks.
6) Staying at inns or hotels.

Lightingguy

Petit Du Nord. North of Montreal, crushed gravel rail trail. Lots of B&B's, great French cuisine. There's a shuttle as well. A long drive from NYC, but you could always overnight in Montreal which is worth a visit by itself.

P?tit train du Nord | GoBiking.ca

Much more rustic and remote is the Downeast Trail, from Ellsworth, Maine out to near Eastport. Gravel as well. Pretty much nothing out there but trees and the occasional small town. You can overnight in Machias, there's a nice hotel on the east side of town right near the trail, food is at Helens Restaurent which has terrific lobster stew and blueberry pie (though that's not really in season till Sept.). So 60 out, overnight, do an out and back for the remaining 50 or so towards Eastport, then back to Machias, 3rd day back to Ellsworth, which is about a 7 hr. drive.

dendawg

We did the Petit Train Du Nord in July around 7 years ago on our road bikes. Had a great time. We stayed in a different B&B each night and our luggage was shuttled for us. On a day one rider wasn't feeling well she and her bike were shuttled as well. It was a 6.5 hour drive from Manhattan to St Jerome where we had to overnight to catch the shuttle to the Northern end where we started. Might be a little cool in June.

MoonJW

Downeast Trail — that's mostly all gravel, right? Would you happen to know if there are many other cyclists on the trail, or is it predominately ATVs?

Papa Tom

I always look forward to my summer ride along the Connecticut shoreline. I haven't done this all in one shot yet, but Port Chester, NY to Westerly, RI is about 125 miles, very moderate hills if you use my routes. There are some beautiful towns and beautiful views along the way, and plenty of places to stay. And if you ride back far enough (to complete your 200 miles), you can hop Metro North to get home.

Steve B.

I was just re-reading the OP and was going to edit my post that from the section I saw, the trail is not as refined as say the GAP or Petit du Nord, in that the surface has larger gravel stones (I've read this as well), so while doable on 28mm tires, I will use 32mm knobbies when/if I get up there again.

It is an occasionally "well" used ATV trail, but from reading other riders blogs, there were never issues as they come and go quickly. Weekends tend to be the busiest for ATV's.

From the research I've done, it doesn't seem like the trail gets a lot of cycling use. It would be a good alternative to US1 if you were coming down Rt1 from New Brunswick and heading south, though it's not like this section of Rt 1 sees a lot of of car traffic. This IS a remote area.

The trip I have planned is a pure out and back. Day 1 Ellsworth to Machias - 63 miles. Stay overnight in Machias. Day 2 travel light and finish the remaining 24 and return (48 RT), overnight day 2 in Machias (so 2 nights at same hotel), then day 3 return to Ellsworth.

As stated, there's not a lot of sight-seeing out here, excepting any detours you choose to do along the coast to see bays with Fundy tides, etc... If you choose to camp and bring the gear, there's a great state park on Rt 1 - Cobscook State Park, about 8 miles down Rt 1 from where the trail hits a road north of Dennysville.

MoonJW

Thanks Papa Tom! I've read some of your other posts on CT. Will definitely head up there. I've driven the roads, and for reference sake, I think what we're looking for is a degree of traffic less than that.

I am now looking into possibly Delaware County in NY, or Western Massachusetts.

dendawg

The best thing about Le P'tit Train Du Nord was the food. A lot of the old station houses have been converted to cafe's.
For western NY you might look into the Erie Canal tow path
Biking the Canalway Trail - New York State Canals

Papa Tom

Well here's the thing...if you stay off Rt. 1 (which is probably what you've driven) most of the way, you will spend a lot of time riding through exclusive private neighborhoods and backroads where you may not see a car for a while. I have spent several years working out routes that avoid traffic and hills and I think I have almost perfected this ride. If you're still interested, I will provide more info.

Two other rides that I enjoy are Syosset to Port Jefferson and Port Jefferson to Greenport. These are essentially mirror rides of my CT shore rides, except they follow the north shore of long Island, rather than the south shore of CT. I believe the mileage, if you put the two legs of this trip together, would be about 110 miles. And if you ride from your front door in NYC, that adds about another thirty miles. This is another good option, if you're willing to stay close to home. The traffic (at least from Syosset on-out) is practically non-existent, the scenery is pretty good, there are plenty of places to eat and rest, and Greenport is an excellent destination in the good weather (although summer is livelier than spring).

Just some ideas.

Steve B.

Ditto the Erie Canal trail that I forgot to mention. Some buddies did a segment out/back near Rome and Syracuse this past summer, loved it.

Lot's of small and not-so-small towns so good lodging options. Pick your segment as well it's fairly long as it runs from Albany to Buffalo for 360 miles.


s

White_birch

Just circling back on the Downeast Sunrise Trail because I can speak from personal experience. My wife and I did the Ellsworth to East Machias segment in 2012 as part of a longer trip. We're Mainers, some would even say Mainiacs, so we might be somewhat biased. But we had a great time and found the trail pretty easy to ride even fully loaded on LHT touring bikes with no special off-road tires. There were a couple washouts, as we were coming off some very heavy rains, but these were easy and even fun to navigate.

And yes, there were some ATVers, but not so many as to dominate the experience in any way. In fact, the ATVers help maintain the trail - they were out there repairing the washouts as volunteers. During the weekdays, you might see a handful of ATVers all day. During the weekends, more.

What you'll see more of than any other trail I've ever been on are beaver lodges, beaver dams, and neat wetlands. Schoodic Bog, with Schoodic Mountain rising up right beyond it, was a real treat.



Also, the trail is remote, but not that remote. Ellsworth is a good starting or destination point - a few good restaurants, lots of lodging options, a nice compact downtown area. And you pass through other towns before Machias, such as Cherryfield and Harrington, which have a few interesting spots.

And, from East Machias, there's a great on-road side loop you can take: Route 1 and then 189 all the way out to the village of Lubec and/or West Quoddy Head State Park, which is the ironic name for the easternmost point of land in the continental United States. The park itself has a neat lighthouse, as well as a gorgeous coastal cliff walk of 2-3 miles. Then, on your way back from Quoddy Head, you take Boot Cove Road to 191 and along 191 there's the Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land, one of Maine's best kept secrets -- more absolutely stunning coastal cliffs. The tourist brochures refer to this area as the Bold Coast, and it's well worth checking out.

So, MoonJW, you're allowed to check out coastal Connecticut, or western Mass and I won't hold it against you. But I did feel the need to sing the praises of the Downeast Sunrise Trail a bit more than the previous posts in this thread.

Cheers,

Rob

Champlaincycler

All of us enjoy and know our local areas. Good suggestions already, here's another. The Lake Champlain region can be quite nice, especially that time of year before the summer folks arrive. Its a 5 hour ride to NYC from where I live on the west side of the lake, about 30 miles south of Plattsburgh, approx 60 miles from the Canadian border. The ride north along the lake is really nice with very little traffic, a bit in Plattsburgh but its a small city and easily managed. Ride to Rouses Point (border town) and take a bridge into Vermont. There are Inns and B&B's throughout the Champlain Islands. There's a small bike ferry that starts up around Memorial day that saves a ride on busy roads and drops you off on the Burlington Bike Path. Burlington is a nice city with some great sunsets looking west over the Adirondacks, an overnite stay there is fun. Its a bit weird heading south from Burlington if you're not familiar with it. Its doable (I do it a lot) but there's a 5 mile stretch that you need to pay attention on. You could just take one of their buses with bike racks south to Shelburne and then you're on some nice roads. There's a ferry back to the NY side not far from there, or you could keep heading south to Vergennes, or even Middlebury and then come back by bridge. So, a ride of anywhere from 125-200.

Have fun wherever.

MoonJW

Thanks Rob. I haven't ruled it out entirely. It's still on the list, which will ultimately be OK'ed by my S.O. The coastal cliffs certainly help sell it.

MoonJW

This raises so many questions!

Are the roads from Plattsburgh up to R.P. busy? Do you think a ride up to the Missisquoi Valley Rail-Trail is worth incorporating into a trip like this? (Meaning is it especially different from other rail trails, i.e. scenery, towns to stop in, etc)?

And, side question: what about riding south from Plattsburgh? I saw photos from the Cycle Adirondacks route and it looks really nice up there.

Champlaincycler

From Plattsburgh to R.P., you'll need to ride about 3-4 miles north along Rt. 9, which is a main road , but hardly busy and with good shoulders. then turn off towards Point Au Roche State Park. From there its a beautiful ride along the lake , really flat all the way to Rouses Point, close to 30 miles. Now this is just my opinion and I ride mostly alone and hate busy roads, but the Cycle Adirondack route is great on the east side of the loop. The west side, going from Plattsburgh to Saranac Lake down past Indian Lake etc. is beautiful BUT, its the only road through that side of the Adirondacks. Its a small 2 lane road but has big truck traffic etc. Many people from busier places don't mind it at all, but I'd find it bothersome, again my opinion only. I live in Essex NY and the back roads in this area are little traveled as there's an interstate for through traffic. I can do 30 mile rides and see half a dozen cars. BTW, there's a ferry in Essex that puts you in Charlotte VT and the rides south from there are good, flat and pretty.

I'd heard about the Missisquoi rail trail, but didn't realize it was actually open. That's a beautiful part of Vermont, mostly rolling farmland without the Gap climbs, could be nice. If you do that, let us know and give some feedback.

flattie

This probably doesn't quite meet your criteria but I will throw it out there anyway. Acadia National Park in Maine has @ 50 miles of carriage trails that are closed to motor vehicles. I've only been once and due to having my family and MIL with me I was unable to spend any time on the carriage trails. I've always wanted to go back to spend a a few days exploring those by bike. They run shuttle buses from downtown into the park and the shuttles have bike racks. So if you stay at a BnB or motel downtown its easy to get into the park.

Aside from the carriage trails there's tons of great hiking in Acadia. Obviously in Bar Harbor there's tons of great food choices... On the return trip leave a few hours to stop in Freeport Maine for the LL Bean store(s).

Carriage Roads & Bridges - Acadia National Park

Lightingguy

Very good suggestion. I've biked the carriage roads twice and can state it's about my favorite cycling destination on the east coast. Meets most of your requirements except distance. The scenery is just exceptional.

As well the Schoodic Peninsula section of Acadia Park just added a whole lot of crushed stone bike and hiking trails. It's just east of Mt. Desert island and is beautiful as well.

The Acadia park roads have some traffic, but it tends to move slow so is good for riding as well.

And if you want to ride part of the Downeast Sunrise trail, it's just north of Mt. Desert island in Ellsworth.

You could easily spend 4 or more days exploring this area and it's a day's drive from NYC.

If camping, there's campgrounds in Acadia on Mt. Desert at Blackwoods and Seawall as well as a spanking new NPS campground just south of Winter Harbor on the Schoodic. Plus Lemoine State Park south of Ellsworth which is a hidden gem on the water.

indyfabz

I rode part of it and found it boring, but maybe I did the boring part.

Another option is the Pine Creek Trail between Jersey Shore, PA and Ansonia, PA and back. There is a motel in Ansonia as long as your S.O. is willing to ride a mile or so on U.S. 6, which has a nice shoulder. There is at least one hotel at the sounthern end in Jersey Shore, and at least on place along the trail in between. The trail passes through the "Pennsylvania Grand Canyon" and actually extends a bit beyond Ansonia. If your S.O. is willing to ride 3 miles on U.S. 6 you could reach Wellsboro. The town has some cute streets that are still lit with gas mantel lamps. There is lodging there.

https://www.visittiogapa.com/railtrailmap.pdf

This place in on U.S. 6 near the northern end of the trail. For a fee they would probably be willing to shuttle you to and from Wellsboro:

PINE CREEK OUTFITTERS - Rafting, Canoeing, Kayaking, Biking & Hiking

I have used them twice for shuttling to do hike the West Rim Trail. The owner was a nice guy who. Turned out that for many yeas we lived 5 blocks from each other in Philly, although we didn't know each other. He may have retired and sold the business by now since when I used them in the mid-2000s he was relatively old.

Little Darwin

If looking to do a series of trails, I would suggest the following (all suggestions are crushed stone with little or no road riding):

First, the Pine Creek Trail, from Jersey Shore to Wellsboro and back. It is about 62 or 63 miles each way, and near the midpint is at least one inn and a hotel (in different towns). I haven't spent any time in Wellsboro yet, but when I have driven through to get to the northern trail head, it looks like a nice town to visit. Along the trail, you will go through a few small villages on roads, but traffic the times I have been through there has been minimal. The towns are so small, that my guess is that their primary income is to service the camp grounds in the area, and cyclists on the trail.

Then the Lehigh Gorge Trail. This is a nice 25 mile trail between White Haven and Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe is a great little town to visit, and the trail itself crosses one road, and a couple of parking lots. Other than that, no cars unless the ranger is making a swing through the park. Inns and B&Bs are available in Jim Thorpe, I don't know about White Haven.

There are other nice sections of trail in the same corridor as the Lehigh Gorge, many that I haven't explored yet in the 160+ mile trail system. There are some significant gaps, but several reasonable length sections with minimal roads connections. Map - Delaware & Lehigh - Delaware & Lehigh I believe most sections are crushed stone, but there are a few sections that might be less suitable to 28 mm tires. Such as the section leading north out of WhiteHaven has about a mile that is a bit sandy and rutted, and it leads to a gravel section. I skip the first couple of miles of that trail and start after the sandy section heading towars Mountain Top. The nature of the gravel leading from White Haven to Mountain top is probably suitable for 28mm tires. That is my most common section, and I have ridden it on 28 mm with no issues.

It is a nice ride to go the 36 miles from Mountain Top to Jim Thorpe (with the one sandy section) and it is a slight down grade the whole way.

Also, in case you want to go one way, Shuttles are available on both the Pine Creek trail ( PINE CREEK OUTFITTERS - Rafting, Canoeing, Kayaking, Biking & Hiking )and between Mountain Top and Jim Thorpe ( Lehigh Gorge Trail Options | Pocono Rail Trail Biking: Rentals and Shuttles ).

leob1

Are you looking for a tour, or are day trips ok?
For a place with day trips try staying in Burlington, Vt. Your SA will love the shopping, there are good restaurants and good riding.
You can take the Island Line trail across the lake(check to see if the Local Motion ferry is running), and wander around South Hero island for the day. There is very little traffic as long as you stay off Rt. 2. There is food, and a winery to find. You'll see lots of other cyclists. Or you can go across the lake on the ferry and ride up to Plattsberg, NY. take another ferry back to VT, back to Burlington. Doing this will involve riding with some roads with traffic. Most have big shoulders, it's not a problem.
Or you could stay at a B and B on one of the Champlain Island(try Ruth's Cliff House on Isle La Mott), and ride around there. Again, little traffic, nice views. Go to Alburg Dunes, and North Hero state park. There are lot's of BandB's and Airbnb places to choose from, as well as hotels.
BTW, go to the Old Spokes Home in Burlington, visit the museum.
Enjoy the ride.

09box

Delaware Canal Towpath runs from Bristol to Easton, PA:
PA*DCNR*-*Delaware Canal State Park

Schuykill River Trail:
Schuylkill River Trail | Schuylkill River Trail

There are numerous offshoot trails off the SRT.

dendawg

And you'll find a lot of people doing air b n b's along the Delaware Canal

09box

There are numerous places to eat along the D n R Canal as well.

Jim from Boston

Northeast cycling vacation tips? Minimal-to-no traffic, paved or rail trail, 3-4 days

How about a “hub and spoke” ride in Metro Boston? I live in downtown, so I have explored the region in all directions. Boston is surrounded by a beltway of about 10 mile radius from downtown, Rte 128/I-95, and once outside that beltway, the road cycling is excellent.

Even better, a concentric beltway, I-495, is about 20-30 miles outside downtown, and there you are in exurbia and rural countryside. One could stay in Boston and explore various sectors by driving out to a distant starting point, or move to various points outside the City in those sectors.

Besides driving, one can take fully-assembled bikes on the Commuter Rail from the City Proper quite a way out of town, ride, and return by train. I have previously posted a Cycling Guide to Metro Boston, describing the varied, scenic and interesting regions to ride; the urban bikepaths; and using Commuter Rail to carry bikes.

I think Metro Boston meets all your criteria. Feel free to PM me if interested.

arvin smee

Every summer I bike from Wassaic NY to Lenox MA, then back from Lenox to Poughkeepsie. The route is due to the fact that my sister works in Lenox in the summer and the Metro North train has it's northern most stops in Wassaic and Poughkeepsie.

In any case, there's lots of great riding up there. Some nice rails to trails, but for the most part I just study google maps and pick quiet roads. I've done it 5 years in a row and managed to go a completely different way each time. Using a combination of topographical view, satellite, and street view you can get a good sense of what you're riding on. The whole area of Taconics - north western CT, western MA, and NY east of the Hudson in gorgeous.

If you're interested in the area let me know, I've covered a lot of ground there and could recommend sights to check out or which roads are the nicest. I don't check this forum too often but you can reach me at sm1ff1cus@gma1l.com (convert the 1's into i's).