Where to Ride: Take the Train to the Trail

No, you most certainly may not mountain bike in City parks. To satiate your need for dirt, here are some trails you can get to with your bike, sans car. T.A. plans to post a more complete listing on our web site (www.transalt.org) soon; or you can always check out your local library, book or bike store for guides on NYC-area ATB riding.  Some suburban cycling maps show rail connections to trails. 

Blue Mountain Reservation
Town: Peekskill, NY
Trail: Blue Mountain Singletrack
Length: 5.2 mi.
Difficulty: Advanced
Trail: Blue Mountain Carriage Trail
Length: 3.6 mi.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Distance from NYC: 44 mi.
Train directions: Take the Metro North Hudson Line to Montrose. Depart the train and cross the tracks on the wooden path to the parking lot. Ride up and make a right onto Montrose Station Road. Stay on Montrose Station Road until it ends (1 mile), and turn left onto Washington Street. Stay on Washington for 1 mile and turn right at the stop sign onto Welcher Avenue. The park is straight ahead, less than 1 mile. Enter the park, turn left at the stop sign near the guard station, and follow the road until it ends at a parking lot (about half of a mile).

North County Trailway
Town: Tarrytown, NY
Trail: Eastview Trail
Length: 8 mi.
Difficulty: Beginner
Distance from NYC: 25 mi.
Train directions: Take the Metro North Hudson Line to Tarrytown. Depart the train, and ride around to the right of the parking lot. Go straight at the first stop sign and bear left at the next stop sign, ahead toward White Street. This is a short, steep road which bears right onto Main Street in Tarrytown. At 0.5 miles, cross over Route 9 (South Broadway) and proceed up the steep Neperan Road, which winds left then right and passes through Marymount College. Approximately 1 mile from the train station, when there is a parking lot on the left, turn right onto Sunnyside Avenue. The trailhead is on the left side of Sunnyside Avenue. (The trip from the train station to the trailhead is mostly uphill.)

Bronx River Pathway
Town: Hartsdale, NY
Trail: Bronx River Pathway, Kensico Dam Plaza
Length: 10.4 mi.
Difficulty: Beginner
Distance from NYC: 22 mi.
Train directions: Take the Metro North Harlem Line to Hartsdale. From the bottom of the stairs at the Hartsdale Train Station parking lot, ride left out of the lot and onto the bridge over the Bronx River Parkway. Note a church in front of you. At the stop sign, make a left onto the trail. Notice a blue sign for the trail. Once on the trail, stay left at the fork.

Old Croton Aqueduct
Town: Croton, NY to Ossining, NY
Trail: Ossining-Croton Trail
Length: 10.6 mi.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Trail: Croton Trail
Length: 5.8 mi.
Difficulty: Beginner
Distance from NYC: 40 mi.
Train directions: Take the Metro North Hudson Line to Ossining. Depart the train, and walk up the stairs to Secor Road, which crosses over the railroad tracks. Take this road away from the river, up the steep hill until it flattens out and becomes Main Street in downtown Ossining. Go straight through the traffic light at approximately one half mile from the railroad station, and at the fork, stay left and ride onto the sidewalk. Notice the beginning of an urban pathway on the left. This is the Aqueduct trail and it is marked by pink bricks in the roadway.