thunderworm

In a couple weeks a friend and I plan to ride from Portland to Philly over 4 to 4.5 days. We've looked at some possible routes using Map My Ride, Google Maps bike directions, and the East Coast Greenway. The default Google Maps route is 447 miles: https://goo.gl/maps/Z7lQh
The East Coast Greenway route adds a lot of extra miles since it goes through the major coast cities, about 664 between Portland and Philly total.

We'd like to find a good bike friendly route (trails and roads with wide shoulders) between about 450 and 470 miles. We are from Nebraska and this will be our first time touring this area, so we'd really appreciate any route advice, even if just for a portion of the way!

Thanks!
Aaron

hochflynn

you might want to check out adventure cycling and see what maps they have available for the east coast that would incorporate Maine to Philly.

Jay H

That would be the Atlantic Coastal Route which you could utilize parts of it, you can check out Adventure Cyling's website for a rough route map and folks here could easily point out good ways to Philly from it.

What's nice is it does go around NYC and Boston...

Jay

thunderworm

Thanks for the Adventure Cycling suggestions! I ordered the Atlantic Coast map section 1 today. Looks like that route would take us pretty close to Hartford, CT, and from Hartford we could get on the East Coast Greenway and pass through NYC on our way to Philadelphia.

Jay H

Yes, I've ridden most of those sections, the AC route goes trhough northern CT all the way from Webster, MA to Salisbury CT before it moseys through Dutchess county headed towards Poughkeepsie.

Jay

bktourer1

Look into trying to connect to the North & South County trails in Westchester NY. The Aouth County can connect you towards the Hudson River Greenway to the GW Bridge over the Hudson & to Jersey.

thunderworm

Thanks for pointing me to the N & S County trails; I searched them and found this useful website https://www.nycbikemaps.com/.
In NYC, we are thinking of taking the Hudson River Greenway trail and then crossing into NJ via the PATH train.

indyfabz

Are you aware that the ECG in PA is much more of a concept than a reality? I would not ride on many/most of the roads is uses to get into Philly. Way to much traffic and way to many dangerous drivers. Also, northern NJ outside NYC is the most densely populated area of the most densely populated state in the country.

If you feel wedded to coming down that way, I would take the D&R feeder canal path from around Trenton to Lambertville, NJ and then follow the ACA route to Conshohocken where you can pick up the Schuykill River Trail and Manayunk Tow Path into town. If you arrive on a Saturday or Sunday, you can get to the Art Museum via MLK Drive, which is closed to cars until 5 p.m.

Best case scenario would be to find more time and follow the ACA route. The stretch between Port Jervis, NY and down the river to Lambertville, NJ is particularly sweet. It's not what typically comes to mind when one thinks of cycling in NJ.

indyfabz

PATH to where? If Hoboken, I would take the ferry from somewhere like the Midtown dock along the Hudson Trail. Nicer ride. Note that on the weekends, the only ferry service between Manhattan and Hoboken is from Midtown to the 14th St. dock, but it's an easy ride to the Hoboken train station, which is worth a visit if you are in that area. Built in the 30s and nicely restored. Also note that you cannot take you bike on PATH during certain times of the weekday.

40 Cent

thunderworm,

My wife and I did Portland, ME to Brooklyn, NY last summer -- 4 days, 400 miles. We actually went down through RI to New London, CT and took the ferry across to the tip of Long Island.

My recommendations would be: 1) stay way west of Boston -- we got snarled up big time trying to get from north to south around the city. 2) Adventure Cycling maps in my opinion aren't great for people who want to make time, or who have a destination in mind that doesn't fall on the route. 3) the Long Island idea probably isn't the best idea for your plans; it adds a few miles; the eastern half of LI offers great biking, but the closer you get the the city, the more your options narrow. 4) the North and South County rail trails are great, as has been mentioned, but as opposed to what you might think, there are other safe approaches into and around NYC, so don't veer too far off your big picture just to hit them.

You might want to look into crossing into New Jersey up near Bear Mountain Bridge and following NY State Bike Route 9 south until you find a good route diagonally through NJ toward Philly. Because unless you're staying a night in NYC -- which may in fact turn out to be your 3rd night destination -- you might want to avoid the whole Path/ferry idea, and stay north of the city entirely.

In general, the denser part of NJ right across from Manhattan is not bike-friendly, whereas northern and central NJ offers some better and straighter roads with less traffic.

From experience, I'd say do as much route planning ahead of time as possible, since you'll be riding through a very dense corridor of the country.

Good luck.

indyfabz

Although you have to be careful in certain parts unless you like painful hills. Hunterdon and Warren Counties can get nasty that way.

The route through the Delaware Water Gap from Port Jervis, NY to Delaware Water Gap, PA and then down the Delaware River (crossing back over into NJ at Belvidere) all the way to Lambertville, NJ is pretty traffic free/light (other than through Phillipsburg) and very scenic. You can even take the D&R feeder canal trail between Frenchtown, NJ and L'Ville. Not the straightest shot, but very nice riding, and there is camping just south of Port Jervis, in Worthington State Forest just north of DWG, PA, in Portland, PA, between Portland and Belvidere and in Upper Black Eddy, PA, just across the river from Milford, NJ.

thunderworm

Thank you all for the recommendations so far; they are really helping! I wasn't aware that the ECG is not great in PA. We are planning to stay west of Boston. We were in fact originally planning to go through NYC and stay our 3rd night there, but after considering the comments here, I think we will now plan to go around to the west to avoid the denser part of New Jersey.

Currently, I'm thinking of basing the route on the ACA Atlantic Coast route sections 1 and 2, which would make the trip about 537 miles if we followed the route exactly. Hopefully I can find a few decent shortcuts from the ACA route to get the total distance to around 500 miles.

indyfabz

I would not try to cut corners to save mileage once you hit the Delaware River at Delaware Water Gap, PA unless you want to add hills. The ACA route follows the river and is relatively flat. Anywhere you go east or west will likely involve some climbing.

With that said, you might map this to see if it cuts off some mileage:

At Millbrook Village in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area you can take Millbrook Rd. south instead of following Old Mine Rd. towards I-80. It's a nasty, nasty climb, but it's short. From there you head down Millbrook Rd., make a right on Maple then a left on Mohickon then a right onto Rte. 94. Rte. 94 takes you to Columbia, NJ. There, you can either take the pedestrian bridge across the river to Portland, PA, which will put you back on the ACA route. Alternatively, you can stay on the NJ side and take U.S. 46 south. It has some traffic depending on day and time but a shoulder. There are no hills, only gentle rises, whereas the PA side has one or two steeper climbs. At the traffic light at the intersection of U.S. 46 and Manunkachunk Rd., make a right and stay on that until it bends left onto Market St. That will take you into Belvidere, NJ and put you back on the ACA route again.

FYI...There is a giant A&P grocery store on Rte. 94 in Blairstown. There is also a campground on U.S. 46 not that far south of Columbia. Belvidere has some great victorian houses and a nice park for lunch. Get some sandwiches from Skoogy's at Greenwich & Front and head two blocks east to the park.

If you stay on the ACA route proper, there are virtually no services between DWG, PA and Belvidere, NJ. There are also no services bertween Port Jervis, NY and DWG, PA except for water and bathrooms at Millbrook Village. That means if you camp at Worthington on Old Mine Rd. (a great place, just be mindful of bears in the area and use the food storage locker), you have to either carry food all that way or drop you gear at camp and ride the 4 or so miles into DWG, where you will find some restaurants, a diner and a small convenience store at a gas station, and then ride back to camp. (There is a pedestrian bridge along I-80 go get you across the river. Obey the seemingly out of place traffic signal on Old Mine Rd. or you could get hit by oncoming traffic.)

From Belvidere immediately south you are in for a treat. The roads are quiet and virtually traffic free thanks in part to some low and narrow clearences that make it impossible for trucks to use them. Lots of pretty houses along the river. Traffic will pick up again as you get close to Philipsburgh, which is pretty much a dump trying to be a cool town. Once you turn onto Carpentersville Rd. (easy to miss turn at a traffic light just after you pass under an old railraod bridge) you will lose most of the traffic. You will lose even more once you get back down close to the river. Things pick up again as you close in on Milford, NJ. I recommend taking the bike trail between Frenchtown and Lambertville. It's monotinous at times, but the shoulder on Rte. 29 is banged up in many places. Also, 29 loses its shoulder between Stockton and L'Ville. Whatever you do, DO NOT take Rte. 32 on the PA side. It's needlessly dangerous.

Here are some photos from my spring tour from Port Jervis to Philly.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez20...7633368316419/

They were shot up until Milford, NJ. I took the Blairstown route mentioned above so I could make a stop at the Lakota Wolf Preserve and campground near

Again, feel free to send me a PM if you would like additional info about the portion fo the route discussed above or about how to get into the center of Philly from the SRT in Conshohocken.

40 Cent

Those photos are awesome.

indyfabz

Thanks. While the development made possible by I-78 is slowly ruining parts of Hunterdon and Warren Counties, they are still great places to ride. I lead several club rides up that way every year and have done a Port Jervis-Philly tour the last two years. Hunterdon County usually makes the list of America's wealthiest counties as measured by median household income. A few years back it was No. 4 two years in a row.

If you are looking for a nice one-day event, check out the Black Bear Century, which starts in Delaware Water Gap, PA but is mostly in Sussex County, NJ. One route takes you up to High Point State Park, which, as its name suggests, is the highest point in NJ. There is usually at least one black bear sighting every year. Sort of a haul from Brooklyn, but there is a nice Day's Inn with a heated indoor pool on U.S. 209 in E. Stroudsburg. PA. The hotel is close enough that you can ride to the start of the event. The only caveat is the weather. The ride is in October so it can be very cold, at least in the morning. Last year it was around freezing when we set out from the hotel to the start.

seacoaster

Just a suggestion, but you may want to include the coastal route from Ogunquit, ME through Kittery, Portsmouth, and down along the NH coast. The ECG runs a bit inland through Maine, but there are some relatively lightly traveled two lane roads from Ogunquit to Kittery. The current ECG in NH runs from Portsmouth through New Castle and then along the coast to MA. I’m very familiar with the route from Ogunquit to Newburyport, MA, but can’t help you outside of this stretch.

The Memorial Bridge on Rte. 1 from Kittery to Portsmouth won’t reopen until the second half of July, and bikes are banned on the Sarah Long Bridge on the Rte. 1 Bypass. There is a shuttle that can carry a few bikes that runs every half hour between Kittery and Portsmouth, usually over the Long Bridge. The alternative is through Dover.

I’ve never done it, but I understand that you can take bikes on the MTA in Boston as long as it’s not during the morning and evening commute. There is a train station in Newburyport, and the roads north of Newburyport are fine to ride on, with the exception of weekends from mid-morning on (beach traffic). Might be an option to get through Boston and suburbs.

The Seacoast Century route is between York, ME and Newburyport, MA. You can find the route and cue sheet on Map My Ride, and I’m sure a few other sources as well. There are a number of very picturesque roads on the route that you are unlikely to find on your own. It's flat, so don't worry about tacking on a few extra miles.