• NYC MOTO
  • Posts
  • Upstate fast sweepers, hairpins, twists, and great food

Upstate fast sweepers, hairpins, twists, and great food

Off the beaten path with a few hairpins thrown in

I recently ran this route with a few friends and aside from a little gas scare (26 miles past the fuel light!) and a bald tire (wasn’t me this time!), this was a phenomenal ride with all kinds of roads thrown in. Something for everyone

The Route

  • MILES: 204

  • TIME: 5 hours 4 minutes

  • START: 9W Market

  • FINISH: Cold Spring Coffeehouse

We made a mistake right at the beginning on this ride.

Instead of taking the Palisades from 9W Market, we took 9W up. Don’t do that. The route below fixes our mistake.

This route is damn near perfect though. You’ve got fast sweepers via route 9W, tight corners and fantastic scenery on 55 and 46, great food at Huckleberry, and two hard hairpins. It’s the best upstate has to offer outside of the legendary - and usually highly trafficked - 23a.

Head North to the best stretch of route 9w just ahead of Newburgh. This is a fantastic detour, especially since Storm King Highway was recently washed out from flooding. For those with a itchy throttle hand, this is for you. FAST sweepers, fantastic views, and relatively light traffic. Enjoy.

The true gold on this route is 46 & 42. Truly epic roads with some fantastic forest scenery as you ride along Sundown Creek. Watch the hairpin on 46. It sneaks up fast but a fantastic curve if you can time it right.

Route 42 continues to deliver with amazing views and some of the best riding you’ve done. Even on the Streetfighter, I slowed down a good chunk of the route to just enjoy the views & forest.

Route 44 is another beautiful ride with amazing cliff-side views right before hitting another insane hairpin. This one is heading downhill too so pay attention to the map.

Head to lunch at Huckleberry (chicken sandwich!) and then cross Hudson River on the way to Route 301 via the Taconic.

Route 301 is another huge pay off. Fast sweeps and relatively light traffic gets you closer to the final point in Cold Spring. Just make sure to check ahead that the coffee house is open.

👉️ Google Maps & .GPX Download Links 🔗 

Click on the Google Maps links below for a full waypoint by waypoint route. Open it in Google Maps on your phone to follow the whole route turn-by-turn.

A paid membership is required to view the links.

Subscribe to Riders Club to read the rest.

Become a paying subscriber of Riders Club to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Already a paying subscriber? Sign In

A subscription gets you:
Access to Google Maps links for all rides
Long-form editorials & features
Easily accessible archive of past posts and features
Constantly updated lists of our favorite cafes, breweries, lunch spots, rider gear shops, dealers, and mechanics we trust

Reply

or to participate.