Mountain bike advocate seeks trail knowledge

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BigJay

Guest
Hey there!

I'll be visiting the area in the next two weeks. We're taking a road trip from Montreal and skipping our regular playground (Northern Vermont and NH) and making our way down to Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Mass.

We'll likely be spending 2 days before hitting NYC. So we're seeking trails in the Northern part of NJ. My girlfriend rides anything but prefers trails "à la Kingdom trails" or "IMBA-style" type of trails... Something with lots of flow... Something that was built my mountain bikers for mountain bikers.

It's not that she doesn't like techy stuff... it's more like we'll be out riding for 2 weeks and it can't be all techy!

I've heard about Blue Mountain Conservation, Allemuchy and a few others... but since you guys must be familiar with all the trails, i'm seeking help!

Also, where are the best place to camp before hitting NYC? Any advice on places to stay (motel-hotel) while visiting NYC that will be a short commute to get into Manhattan? I'll be sampling out what NYCmtb has to offer also... but i won't be making a day out of it...

Thanks for all the info! We're hitting the road first thing on sunday morning!
 

sixseven

New Member
Six Mile Run for flow. Worth the trip from the north. The full loop is about 17 miles and its a ton of fun. Lots of stuff up up north that others can tell you about. Check out the 'Trail Directory' up on the forehead of this page...
have a great time while you are here!
 
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reihl_deal

Guest
place to stay / mtb in the city

For a place with a short commute to the city you may want to look into Seacaucus NJ. A bunch of hotels to choose from in "harmon meadow plaza". I'm not sure how easy the commute would be with a bike. Not sure if they'd let you throw it in the bottom compartment of a bus. I'm pretty sure theres a train you can take but not sure how long the ride to the station is from the area where the hotels are.

For riding in the city check out van cortland park in the bronx.....yeah its in the bronx, but its loaded with single track and horse trails that all branch off of an old rail path.

Thats some more info on those trails:
http://www.dirtworld.com/trails/trail.asp?id=396&trail_name=Van Cortlandt Park Mountain Bike Trail

Take the number 1 train up there...thats the easiest way to get there.
 

jbogner

NYCMTB: President
JORBA.ORG
DO NOT ride in Van Cortland Park. It's not legal and the trails are nothing compared to the legal trails in the city.

A good budget move would be to stay in a motel in Fort Lee, NJ, then ride over the George Washington Bridge into NYC and up to Highbridge. There are some old-school budget motels in Fort Lee, and the ride over the bridge is pretty easy. It's no more than 3 miles from Fort Lee to the Highbridge trails, so it's a pretty easy pedal if you don't mind a bit of NYC street riding. ;)

If you're going to ride Highbridge, post up on the NYCMTB forum and let us know. It's always better with a group and there are plenty of folks who could show you around.

Blue Mountain in Peekskill, NY is an amazing trail system and one that you really shouldn't miss. Here in NYC, we're equal distance from a lot of great trails in NJ, NY and Long Island, but far and away the trails that we ride the most are Blue Mountain. It's flowy singletrack, but very technical in places- choosing the right route makes a huge difference, so again it's always better to ride with the locals ( http://www.wmba.org ). For another option of smooth and flowy IMBA-style trails, try Glacier Ridge out on Long Island (http://www.climbonline.org ). Very fun trails.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Are you the same BIG JAY that posts on Teton Gravity??

From Jay peak??

My friend Marc b lives in Montreal too and has a home in Jay. He is in charge of the race team or soemthing...

I built most of the trails at the motioned Six mile run. I will gladly give you a tour..

I just want the same treatment in the woods this winter at Jay..

J_:hmmm:
 

SpartaBard

Well-Known Member
Its great to hear people coming here for biking. I would recommend that you check out Blue Mountain as someone already mentioned. You can camp in Harriman State Park which is in between BM and NYC. Also up in that region is Stewart State Forest which has some nice flowing single track.

In northern NJ, places worth checking out would include Allamuchy, and Ringwood. Camping is available nearby.

Down closer to the shore in NJ, you can check out Hartshorne, 6-mile and Allaire.

I would recommend posting up here when you plan to go, someone would likely volunteer to give you guys a tour.
 
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reihl_deal

Guest
My bad on the van cortland advice. I wasn't aware it was illegal. Glad I know now though. My boss went to manhattan college which is very close to van cortland he said there were awesome trails he used to ride. I haven't gone there myself but his descriptions of the trails made them sound really fun. Anyways...probably wasn't illegal 10 years ago when he was riding them. Blue Mountain sounds like a good time so maybe i'll check that out.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
Jay, Mahlon Dickerson has both tent and trailer camping, and some great trails as well. But a local guide would be real helpful.

Blue Mountain is a great place, and with a map you could manage well on your own. I do not believe there is any camping local to Blue. Harriman is an option, but it is about a 30 min (scenic) drive from Blue. I believe MTB'ing is off limits but there are some real nice hiking trails, and the Appalachian trail runs through the park.

Once you get your itinerary a bit tighter, post up the days you are around, and I'm sure you will get some local help.
 
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BigJay

Guest
Are you the same BIGJAY that posts on Teton Gravity??

From Jay peak??

My friend Marc b lives in Montreal too and has a home in Jay. He is in charge of the race team or soemthing...

I built most of the trails at the motioned Six mile run. I will gladly give you a tour..

I just want the same treatment in the woods this winter at Jay..

J_:hmmm:

Yep! Same guy! That's why we're skipping the trails of Vermont and New Hampshire, we ride there most weekends anyways!

That would be awsome to find someone to show us around! And i would gladly return the favor if you want to come up and ride in Jay... And if touring is your thing, we got great backcountry pow if you're willing to earn your turns!

I think I'll follow the advice on finding someone to ride with in Highbridge... and head out to Blue Mountain Conservation.

I'd have to check out the "Six mile run" stuff that people talk about...

The thing is that our visit to NYC can't be all about biking... my girlfriends wants to walk around Manhattan for a day at least... But anyhow, i don't have all the dates in yet... but i'm sure i'll be able to squeeze in 2 days of riding before heading towards Boston.


Thanks for the info, i'll look into it later tonight!
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Yep! Same guy! That's why we're skipping the trails of Vermont and New Hampshire, we ride there most weekends anyways!

That would be awsome to find someone to show us around! And i would gladly return the favor if you want to come up and ride in Jay... And if touring is your thing, we got great backcountry pow if you're willing to earn your turns!

I think I'll follow the advice on finding someone to ride with in Highbridge... and head out to Blue Mountain Conservation.

I'd have to check out the "Six mile run" stuff that people talk about...

The thing is that our visit to NYC can't be all about biking... my girlfriends wants to walk around Manhattan for a day at least... But anyhow, i don't have all the dates in yet... but i'm sure i'll be able to squeeze in 2 days of riding before heading towards Boston.


Thanks for the info, i'll look into it later tonight!



I have a split board and i am willing to use it. I have been dorking around Jay peak for some time and I finally feel pretty confident that I know most of the stashes in bounds but off the back was a bit sketchy this season with the illegal trail buisness..
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Without question your best bet is to shout out here as you get closer and get a local guide. You can also be fairly remote in this state and grab a train to NYC. They run out of NY through about 1:00 am so unless you plan on making it a late night, getting out is never going to be an issue. Also depends on how far you want to travel in state, where you're coming from, where you're going next. How nailed down is your schedule in that time frame?
 
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BigJay

Guest
Right now, i know i'll be coming from CT on the 23rd late in the day and be staying through the 26th in the morning (checkout time). After that, i'll be heading towards Boston.

Riding should be on the 24th and/or 25th and/or 26th. In that time frame, i'd like to spend a day or a day and a half walking in Manhattan... Central Park and such. It's been near 10 years since i visited the city.

I'll be probably landing at a campground on the 24th for a night and 25th-26th in a Motel near the city, so i'll have internet access there for sure.

Thanks again for all your help!
 
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