Harlem Valley Wandering

Description: 29 miles, moderate hills, (1600 vertical feet). For a much longer route, 61 miles, see Harlem Valley Rail to Trail to Falls. For an easier route in this area, see Amenia to Millerton - Rail Trail and Roads.

An option of interest to riders using the Metro-North trains might be to use the "connect" at mile 24.1 to join the Quaker Ridge route and finish at the Metro-North train station in Pawling (total 46 miles) or even Brewster (total 60 miles).  

Highlights: Rolling quiet roads with beautiful farms in Dutchess County and Connecticut, and a section on the nicest off-road "rail trail" around. A tour through a different world -- but reachable by train from Manhattan.
Characteristics: Moderate hills. Two sections on an off-road paved "rail trail". For both the main route and the variations, traffic interaction is typical of (or perhaps lower than) most other routes on this website.

Hill Climbs:  Total climbing around 1600 vertical feet.  Three substantial climbs:  the toughest almost 150 vertical feet at a grade around 8% (see Measuring Hilliness), another of 300 feet but spread gently over 2 miles, and one of around 100 feet with a rest in the middle.

Traffic:  The main route normally has very little high-speed and/or high-volume motor vehicle traffic.  About 7 miles have traffic which is more than low, but often less than moderate.  The rest of the road segments often have low traffic.  4.4 miles are off-road on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.