HUDSON VALLEY area INFORMATION

general notes


tourism info links



lodging - motels and hotels - B&B's



camping


food - restaurants - grocery stores etc.
note: there are many,many restaurants, cafes etc. in the area. I have listed only a few, mostly those near, or on, a bicycle route. However, I have listed the main grocery supermarkets in the area which would be of interest to the long distance touring cyclist.


area bicycle shops

general notes

THE WEATHER:

The spring and fall are generally the best times of the year for cycling in this area. With the whole global warming thing, (not enough people riding their bicycles!) it is quite likely on a given day, that one may be riding in this area, the weather is anything but what the average is supposed to be for that month.

When I went Apple picking during Columbus day weekend, in mid October, 2008, it was 72 deg.(F)! This was like 20 degrees warmer than what it was supposed to be, which is in the crisp 50's (F).The oppressive heat, humidity, and occasional ozone pollution alerts warning people not to breathe the air outside, make the summers here the least desirable time of the year for cycling. However, I have experienced on occasion during the summer here, Colorado-like days of, clear blue skies, low humidity, and toasty, but not blazing, temps in the 80's(F)

The winters here are too cold, snowy-icy for cycling. This is the time of the year to wax one's XC skis and head out to one of the many trails in the area. However there are some hard core extreme cyclists in this area who do go cycling in the area during the winter. These extreme cyclists equip their mountain bikes with studded tires and go “ice-biking” on one of the many frozen ponds or lakes in the area. Brrrrr ...

The area code for the mid Hudson Valley is: 845
the upper Hudson Valley is: 518
note: a section of Dutchess County is in the 518 area code
Westchester is: 914

There is a City of Poughkeepsie and a town of Poughkeepsie – the City of Poughkeepsie (nor the town of Poughkeepsie) does not have a bicycle shop

There has been quite a lot of “urban sprawl” just in the last few years in this region – most notably in the area of New Paltz NY (Ulster County) on the good side of all this growth is increased services – restaurants etc.

The village of Highland NY is the town seat for the town of Lloyd – the village of Highland is the only actual incorporated village in the town of Lloyd

There seems to be some confusion as to the precise route, SB and NB, of NY state bike route 9 near Marist College – the official route as indicated on the DOT website has the BR9 both NB and SB the same as the ACR – but, there are indeed the street/road signs that shows BR9 SB from the college to go up SR 9G past St. Francis Hospital etc.

One may see in the addresses of of the various businesses in the area a reference to a “South Road” or a “North Road”. This is actually the main north-south federally funded US highway route 9, that goes from Westchester in the south, to the US-Canadian border in the (very) far north of New York. However, in the city of Poughkeepsie, “North Road” usually refers to the far northern end of Washington St in the vicinity of St. Francis hospital This section is actually part of New York state highway 9G.

There are actually a number of “route 9's” in the area. All of the “route 9's” are north-south highways. There are the 2 main federally funded US highways, US rt. 9 on this side of the Hudson River, and US rt. 9W on the west side of the Hudson. (thus the W suffix) There are also the 2 state highways, SR 9D and SR 9G.

area tourism

Dutchess Tourism Council 1 - 800 - 455 - 3131 this would be a good start for tourism information specific to Dutchess county
there is an interactive information kiosk in the main waiting area of the Poughkeepsie RR station

Pawling

Ulster County Tourism

Gunks.com

Orange County Tourism There is a special section for the NY state highway 97 byway. NY SR 97 is part of the NY bike route 17.While the eastern half of Orange county is in the Hudson Valley, Port Jervis, in the south-western most corner, is in the Upper Delaware region. This is a very beautiful area. A section of the Atlantic Coast Route includes a ride through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in nearby New Jersey. (see the non-regional section of this website for more detail)

Rockland County Tourism

Westchester County Tourism

Hudson River Valley Greenway