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The Hook Mountain/Nyack Beach Bikeway is a scenic trail that runs almost 5 miles along the Hudson River in Rockland County.
About the Route
The trail runs through Hook Mountain State Park and Rockland Lake State Park between Haverstraw Beach State Park and Nyack Beach State Park.
The northern half of the trail is also known as the Haverstraw River Trail and is hilly, narrow and quite rocky. It runs along the cliffs and should only be ridden by experienced bicyclists riding bikes in good condition.
Also known as the Nyack River Trail, the southern half of this trail is flat and runs right along the river at sea level. It is wheelchair accessible from the parking lot at Nyack Beach State Park and even beginner bicyclists can easily travel on it. There is a paved connection to the Rockland Lake State Park area from this trail.
Great views of the Hudson River and Palisades Cliffs rock formations are available from either trail segment.
The Hook Mountain/Nyack Beach Bikeway runs between Haverstraw Beach State Park (Riverside Ave, Haverstraw) and Nyack Beach State Park (698 N Broadway, Nyack), both of which offer paid parking.
Visit the TrailLink map for detailed directions.
Updating my July 2020 review, the road down to the Nyack Beach State Park has reopened.
And at the top of the newly reconstructed road to the right of the entrance fee kiosk is a newly constructed foot trail that will take you to the Long Path with access to the Hook Mountain summit with great river views.
5 miles of hilly terrain along the river from Nyack to Haverstraw that consists of mostly stone dust with some asphalt. A couple climbs and descents are steep but not a problem for more experienced riders. If you are going to attempt with a road bike go with a bigger tire. The 28mm Armadillos worked well for me. Watch out for pedestrians, especially on the downhill sections.
We did this trail plus the connector trail to Rockland Lake. Really fun! A few steep hills where got off to walk, lots of scenic views of the cliffs & the river, some old ruins the kids enjoyed checking out. The leaves are just starting to change (late Sept).
This is a great trail for any bike type but optimized for anything bulkier than "skinny" road tires. Great views and for parts of it you are literally right on the river.
About a third of the distance north from Nyack Beach State Park there is a trail intersection with a mostly paved road, including a tough little climb, that will take you to Rockland Lake State Park with its paved joint use trail that circumnavigates the lake.
North of the intersection the trail becomes more challenging with a few fairly steep uphills.
NOTE: The road down to the parking lot at Nyack Beach State Park has been closed to vehicles since last year due to a landslide. There is no information available on when it will be repaired. There is street parking a few blocks south of the Park entrance and at Rockland Lake State Park.
I've ridden this trail three times now on a loaded touring bike (rear panniers). Some of the rolling hills at the Nyack end definitely require some mettle and/or caution, but I never felt at risk of losing control. I think the "moderate" experience level is justified.
For reference, my bike was outfitted with 35mm tires. The first time was with moderately knobby tires (Schwalbe Mondials) which I decided were overkill for a mostly paved tour; the second time was with slicks and I felt no less confident. The weight of a touring load probably helps with traction regardless of the tire. Experience with changing your gears quickly and often is very helpful here. I was with friends who were on single speeds and they had to walk quite a bit of it :)
Great path to get in touch with nature, views are great. Not recommended for road bikes. Other wise you are in good hands.
My favorite trail for nice long walks. Beautiful views of the hudson.
This trail is just 1.2 miles from our home and is by far our favorite trail to ride. We enter the trail at the northern endpoint in Dutchtown in Haverstraw and ride to Nyack Beach Park and back. The 12.3 mile ride can be done in less then an hour or you can ride up the mountain and include the loop around Rockland Lake State Park where you can also park and enter the trail from. This trail winds up and down along Hook Mountain State Park with views from high over the Hudson River and then down along the rivers edge to Nyack Beach State Park. If you can get out during the week you can have the trail to yourself. Hybrid or mountain bikes are the better choice but you can make the trip on a road bike if your carful. If you live in this area you shouldn't miss this hidden gem.
I love walking my 2 Mini Daschunds on this trail. The views are amazing. This is a comfortable hike with lovely views of the river and grounds.
Pictures don’t do it justice. Get your mountain bike or cross country bike ready and hit this trail! First section of the trail is a bit busy with pedestrians, but it becomes nice and clear once you start entering the woods further north.
Great ride from Nyack to Haverstraw and back, this is a hybrid/mountain bike ride...leave the road bike home. Scenic.
Dateline: Sunday July 30. Sunny, temps in the 80's.
My hybrid did well on this mostly unpaved trail, but road bikes? Nah. I started a cramped parking area in Haverstraw, rode the forested trail between the palisades of Hook Mt and the Hudson River. In Haverstraw everyone must pause to view the hundreds of stone busts of the artist in the house overlooking the river. Along the way there are very old stone abandoned structures. The Rockland county park at the Nyack end has more parking and is a nice place to refresh, right on the river. Riding from either direction has some real hills to traverse., but the scenery does make you want to stop anyway.
The last few years of construction was finally completed a few months ago and I was able to ride entire trail from Haverstraw to Nyack on my road bike (along with many other road bikers). It is just barely ok for experienced cyclists on the hilly northern section.
But I tried it again on July 10 and the Northern section is closed to everybody while they do some heavy construction work. There is also a short section of construction on the path that leads up to Rockland Lake but that is passible by walking.
I rode the entire length from Nyack to the end at Haverstraw on my hybrid bike. It became a quixotic quest once I started, but frankly it was not fun, and maybe dangerous. A couple of steep hills, but numerous other rolling hills.
On the downhills easy to pick up speed too dangerous for the crushed gravel surface. I never spun out or fell, but I can see that one could easily do so. This was a scenic trail, but I was too busy white-knuckling to have the time ti take in the view!
However, with a mountain bike it is probably a decent challenging ride. I'm a runner also, and would enjoy running on the trail. But no more biking for me, here.
This is a great trail but please be aware that as of this posting there was no access at the southernmost trail head or at the River Road Entrance. I drove up to Monroe and entered there. At Monroe there is ample parking, a visible trailhead and the trail is paved at least as far as Goshen (where I turned around). Also There are no services on the trail until Chester so if you need a restroom go before you head out. Bring plenty of water as well, nothing till Chester.
I really enjoyed my ride,
but, on the south bound, I lost control on the hill down where my bike slit down, causing sever injuries on my knee.
I guess I shouldn't have gone on gravel with a road bike
Beautiful views of the Hudson River Valley and Palisades Cliffs. Parking at the south end in Nyack Beach State Park was easy and free to park on the Monday we went (sign indicates a $6 parking fee). The first 2miles was flat, packed crushed stone surface, right along the Hudson. After the 2miles the trail climbs up to fork, right follows a paved road up steep hill towards Rockland Lake (200ft vertical), left heads back down to the river for another 3.5miles to Haverstraw. The trail is mixed dirt road, pavement, and mostly crushed stone. Rolling hills, sweeping turns, could be just outside the range of a beginner if going the whole distance. Overall this was an excellent trail with great views and easy/moderate riding.
Traveled from NJ to do this trail on Sunday only to find out about 1/2 mile in it was blocked off. It seems Hurricane Sandy did a job on it and they have been doing construction since spring. However,a Park Ranger says they are suppose to pave the trail and it should be open after 7/29/2013...yet to be seen. Otherwise biked as far as I could than took the road into town and returned to my car! looks like a nice ride along Hudson river....would have loved to see more!
The trail along the Hudson from Nyack Beach SP to the junction of the Haverstraw branch is OFFICIALLY CLOSED for construction.
I was able to run the trail today, as there was no active construction in progress, and the trail was not barricaded at Nyack Beach, but was barricaded at the junction with the Haverstraw branch.
The trail is being re-graded/resurfaced. I don't know whether the surface is going to be stone dust or asphalt.
We rode the trail for the first time yesterday. It was nice to ride along the Hudson but there isn't as much to see compared to riding a trail through a more wooded area.
The trail is made of hard packed dirt, and paved areas. I think there were two areas of gravel that were a little deeper and loose than other areas but they aren't a problem to ride through. We were riding hybrid bikes, but I saw a couple of road bikes on the trail as well. I would recommend riding with a hybrid our mountain bike. There are a couple of areas where the gravel was loose and I can see road bike losing traction in those areas unless you take your time.
There's one paved area that has a steep hill that took some effort to get up it. I made it to the top with some effort but I'm not in tip top shape right now. You can always walk your bike up or down without a problem if you find it's too steep to ride.
We parked in Nyack Beach State Park but it costs $6.00 so make sure to bring a couple of extra dollars with you. There's also a rest room in the parking lot and picnic tables. There were a couple of other picnic table areas along the trail under some trees and next to the Hudson River; it would be a nice place to come for a family picnic. I didn't notice it there were grills in those areas though.
I don't think we will be going back to this trail though. We prefer trails through more wooded areas like the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. I suggest that you take a look at the trail for yourself, you won't know if you'll like it until you visit it.
I just did this trail on road wheels (700 * 23c) and whilst I stayed upright and suffered no rim damage I wouldn't recommend it, nor do it again with anything less than 2" tires.
The path grows less suitable as you travel north.
The issue is that the front tire occasionally sinks into the asphalt momentarily making steering very haphazard. I've done enough off road riding to regain control, but 'road only' riders would likely take a spill in these situations.
Fun trail with the right bike though.
My family and I attempted to bike this trail last sunday, October 9. Sadly, the trail was closed about a mile north of the beach parking lot. Does anyone have any info or know when the trail will reopen?
Pretty good for mt bike (easy/mostly flat), should be ok for hybrids, but wide tires recommended. awesome views of the Hudson! very well worth the trip!
I just visit this trail this weekend with my husband and 3 boys... The kids had a blast... riding, getting in the rocks, there is the little beaches that you can sit down and enjoy the view…
"Living in the area for nearly two years has given me the opportunity to ride the this trail several times. It’s a mostly dry, hard packed, gravel trail with rolling climbs and descents. If parking is tight at Nyack beach an alternative place would be Rockland Lake State Park. At the northeast corner of the park a road runs down to the trail.
It’s a nice walk and a great ride. Along the route there are several old buildings. The stone work along the trail is truly special. Use caution, though, as there are some areas in need of attention. Lastly, if you are on a bike, stay on the trail; most of the single track is not rideable, or should I say, not enjoyable to ride."
This is a beautiful but busy trail. On a warm weekend in March the parking lot was full. It was difficult to ride the first mile of the trail because of the crowds. I would recommend doing this trail on a weekday. Even if you have to take a day off it's well worth it.
"The trail description says it all. That is, if you live nearby or plan to travel through Rockland County, NY, don't miss this trail!
Absolutely breathtaking views of the Hudson River are available from either of the trail segments. You will also want to bring a camera along to take photos of the impressive Palisades Cliffs. There are plenty of places to picnic along the lower trail, which is more family friendly than the upper one.
Bikers with a fear of heights should not attempt to ride the upper tail as it comes very close to cliffs’ edge in certain spots. In fact, the upper trail should not be biked by those who like riding solo, just in the event that an unfortunate mishap should take place.
If you’re traveling from afar, plan to spend a day in the Nyack, NY area and ride this trail in conjunction with the Old Erie Path, Raymond Esposito Trail and the Joseph Clarke Trail. You’ll have a great full day of biking if you take in all three.
Feel free to e-mail me for directions or further information. Thanks.
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