• where:  northwest Columbia County, NY. 

• 38 miles, moderate hilliness (2300 vertical feet, hill index 3.6) 

52 miles, with the Philmont start. 

For a 18-mile route in this area, see Kinderhook Ramble. 

• mapping:  digital mapping resources + GPS . . .

GPX file with all tracks + key waypoints : [ map on Bikely | Google Earth KML | GPX ]

Philmont start-finish: [ map on Bikely ]

• highlights:  Miles of quiet farm country in the west, beautiful hilltop views and long downhill cruising in the east, and several historic sites. 

One of our favorite rides

• characteristics:  Moderate hilliness.  About 2.5 miles on dirt.  For both the main route and the variations, traffic interaction is typical for routes on this website.  

Hill climbs:  Total uphill climbing is about 2300 vertical feet.  Most of the longer climbs come in the second half of the route.  The toughest climb is on Highland Rd for 150 vertical feet at around 8% grade on dirt, quickly followed by another 200 feet of uphill -- then later after downhills to rest, two more climbs of 150-200 feet.  The west-to-east section along the Rensselaer-Columbia county border has several steep-ish 60-foot bumps to get over. (see Measuring Hilliness)

Traffic:  The main route has about 4 miles of high-speed and/or high-volume motor vehicle traffic.  Also about 1 mile of moderate traffic; and about 10 miles of traffic which is more than low, but often less than moderate.  The rest of the road segments often have low traffic. 

see [ Road Condition Reports ] and [ Trip Reports ]

• warning:  roads change -- but we have not checked much of the main route since the date below.

And it might have been a longer time since some of the Variations of the route were last checked by us.  Some roads and intersections might be different since then, or closed -- so be prepared to find alternatives -- a good reason to carry a detailed map. Other people may have more recent experiences with parts of the route which could help prepare: see the Reports page linked below.

Route not checked by us since 2010 -- learn more | see Reports

Philmont start-finish not checked by us since 2010 -- learn more | see Reports

• warning:  Riding a bicycle on roads has dangers and risks that need to be taken seriously.  For more on those, see our page on risks.

Route Direction "Cue" Sheet - - Map of route | Trip Reports

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more . . . 

• directions to Start in Ghent: 

from the west and south (Routes 9H, 23B, or 9), take Route 66 North to Ghent. 

from the Taconic Parkway:  Take the Route 203 exit and go West into Chatham, then South on Route 66 for about 2.3 miles to Ghent. 

• Alternate starts:  

Chatham:  Near the Route 295 exit from Taconic State Parkway (consider parking along Birge Hill Rd)

Kinderhook:  on Route 9. 

Philmont:  Go West about 2 miles from the Route 217 exit from Taconic Parkway.  Adds 14 miles to route -- see Philmont start route directions.  

Schodack:  Find some place to park from exit B-2 / exit 12 of New York Thruway Berkshire Extension/ Mass Pike / Interstate 90. 

• maps:  You should have a detailed road map of Columbia County to do this route (see Road Maps). See also digital mapping + GPS resources above.

places: Hudson river valley, New York state, NY

bicycling: bicycle bicycling bike bikes bicycles bicyclist cycle cyclist cycling touring riding rider riders

routes: route routes ride rides tour tours turn cue sheet sheets map maps

Route Direction "Cue" Sheet - - Map of route | Trip Reports

back to Top | More routes | Tourism | East side routes