Gravel Grinding
If riding dirt roads is your thing, you don’t have to go far from New York City to pursue your passion. Our region has dozens of miles of often scenic, usually challenging unpaved public roads easily accessible via commuter rail. Wonderful dirt multi-use trails can be found in the Bronx and just over the GWB.
This section of the Ride Library contains routes cued with a generous mix of dirt roads and multi-use trails, all rideable on a road, gravel, or cyclocross bicycle. Unpaved roads in our region are typically hardpack dirt; conditions on any given road can vary widely from season to season.
Each ride description includes a recommended minimum tire size, from 25c on up. This is meant as a guideline rather than a hard-and-fast rule: every dirt rider will have her own preference based on experience and riding style. The tire recommendations correspond to the quality of road surface you're likely to encounter: from smooth, groomed dirt to rugged gravel.
-Brian Sullivan
Name | Level(s) | Distance | Difficulty Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Hudson Highlands Hardpack: start / finish Cold Spring | A, B | 35 | 4 out of 5 |
Indian Brook, Sunken Mine, Boyd's, East Hook: Cold Spring loop | A, B | 46 | 4 out of 5 |
Minnewaska via Awosting Portal, Gunk Ridge to Mohonk, via Poughkeepsie: Gravel or Mtn bike | A | 65 | 5 out of 5 |
New Brunswick to Trenton via the D & R Canal towpath | B | 37 | 3 out of 5 |
NYC Old Croton Aqueduct Highbridge to Croton Dam & Croton-Harmon | B, C | 36 | 2 out of 5 |
Otisville, Sam’s Point, Poughkeepsie (44% gravel) | A, B | 55 | 5 out of 5 |
Pawling Dirt Loop: start/finish Southeast | A, B | 51 | 4 out of 5 |
Poughkeepsie, Ashokan Reservoir, Poughkeepsie via trails and roads | A, B | 75 | 4 out of 5 |
Poughkeepsie, R2R, Lenape Ln, Laurel Ldg, Undercliff, Castle Point, Lake Awosting, Hamilton, Overcliff, Glory Hill, Poughkeepsie | A, B | 66 | 5 out of 5 |
Putnam County Hardpack 30 | B | 29 | 3 out of 5 |