GWB to Bear Mountain Adventure
Description: Loop on the West side of the Hudson River, from the George Washington Bridge to the Bear Mountain Bridge through Bergen County in NJ, and Rockland and Orange counties in NY. On the way out it goes through the hills of the interior, then it returns close by the Hudson River.
Highlights: It offers quite a mix: the famous bridge crossing, several views along the Hudson River shore, and high above on the mountain. It goes through wealthy suburbs, also cities whose prosperity has passed; both four-line highways and 3-foot-wide paths. Several long fun descents. Lots of hills, some long, some steep. One section on a dirt path (the way to avoid this gets into a different problem).
Traffic: This route has a larger number of miles with moderate and high volumes of motor vehicle traffic than most routes on this website. And there are specific road sections that have greater traffic-interaction risks and require "advanced" traffic-handling skills. (For one section, we say that the our way to handle the traffic is to get all the way off the road onto the grass.)
Directions to Start
West end of George Washington Bridge:
To get to the West end of the south walkway of the George Washington Bridge at Hudson Terrace / Route 505 in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
From New Jersey by car: Starting from NJ Turnpike, I-95 Northbound, or I-80 Eastbound: Get into the Local lanes of the George Washington Bridge approach. Keep working into the Right-hand lanes. Exit on the Right at the "last exit in New Jersey" (last time we were there, it said Rt 67 / Lemoine Ave). At the end of the exit ramp, continue straight (becomes Bridge Plaza South) -- avoid left turn onto Lemoine Ave. Then continue straight East to Route 505 / Hudson Terrace, and find parking -- some possibilities to consider are on Hudson Terrace (north under the GWB roadway) or in Fort Lee Historic Park (south of GWB).
Cue Sheet
Similar route on Ride with GPS