This route starts at Dunkin Donuts in Monroe, CT. because it’s a good starting point for a group I ride with often, and finishes at Starbucks in Southbury, another favorite gathering place for us.
First stop is Croton Gorge Park. The roads travel along some nice reservoirs, lakes and rivers with spectacular views. Croton Dam is a "must see". Your first view of the dam entering the park is jaw dropping. The park is well maintained and easy to spend a lot of time just wandering around, but many more awesome roads lie ahead.
Next stop is Bear Mountain State Park just over the Hudson. The roads from Croton Dam are full of twisty's, especially 202/6 just after Rt.9. It was freshly paved when we did this ride in the early summer (2013). I had some fun scraping my floorboards! We didn’t stop at the top of Bear MT. because some of us were getting hungry, but the views are spectacular.
Next is up Rt.9W to The Storm King Highway (Rt.218), a gorgeous 3 mile stretch of road carved into the mountain on the west side of the Hudson River. This is another "must see" that is really spectacular. It has a few "pull offs" with limited space for picture taking, or just taking in the views. You eventually end up back on 9W, and we stopped at Billy Joe’s Rib Works on the Hudson in Newburgh NY. It was just OK. If we had more time I would have stopped at Round-Up Texas BBQ & Tumbleweed Saloon in Cold Springs on the East Side of the Hudson just South of RT. 301, one of my favorites. You might hesitate to stop at first glance, but the BBQ is very good.
The ride from Newburgh to the end is full of nice roads, especially RT. 301 along the Boyd Corners and West Branch Reservoirs. The option of jumping on RT. 84 to get home is there, which we did because of rain. But I prefer to stay off highways as much as possible. The ride up into Kent CT and on back to Starbucks in Southbury is MUCH nicer.
I have to believe this would be an awesome Fall Foliage ride and hope to do it this year, which is now! Enjoy!
This is a motorcycle ride in the states Connecticut, New York. This motorcycle route has 8 scenery characteristics and other road conditions to help you plan your road trip. This motorcycle map was created by whayes2007 in October. Click here to see other Motorcycle Roads by whayes2007