Hawks Nest near Port Gervis NY

[johnmdesigner]

We were out country home shopping last week and came upon a mountain road outside of Port Gervis called the Hawks Nest.
Beautiful descent but low stone retaining walls and no shoulder make it a deal breaker for me. The monuments to the dead on each corner are not encouraging either.
Funny because it has a green bicycle sign on each end. Perhaps this is just Upstate humor.
Just curious if anyone here had ever attempted it?

[GregL]

I've ridden there. I rode mid-day, mid-week in the summer time, so there was actually little traffic. Fun ride with nice views. I would imagine that an autumn weekend when the leaves are changing color would have much more traffic and be much less fun on a human-powered bike.

Greg

[johnmdesigner]

I agree the weekend would be a no-no. It was pretty busy on a mid day week.
It's a beautiful area for riding. We drove all around and the only bicycle we saw was a lo rider ridden on the sidewalk in Port Gervas.:D

[AngryScientist]

wow. i like the looks of that.

[seanile]

take a look around Warwick. that's where i grew up. the town center is going through a bit of a revitalization and it's still pretty accessible to jersey and the city with the tuxedo train station and rt 17 & 87 nearby.

Edit: its got the most wonderful perk of having a drive-in movie theater btw

[johnmdesigner]

take a look around Warwick. that's where i grew up. the town center is going through a bit of a revitalization and it's still pretty accessible to jersey and the city with the tuxedo train station and rt 17 & 87 nearby.

Thank you, I will take a look.
We just started kicking house tires and it's a daunting task. We do want to be able to visit the city occasionally.
Lived in NYC for 40 years and it's hard to escape!

[dbnm]

I grew up very close to there as well. It's Port Jervis and I would never ride my bike along Hawks Nest. Too many speeders.

[DHallerman]

I love Hawks Nest, with its amazing views, a stretch on Route 97 in NYS which parallels the Upper Delaware River.

I drive on 97 regularly going to our cabin near Callicoon NY, and would love to try cycling on Hawks Nest...but have not, yet.

Yet.

[ripvanrando]

I am pretty sensitive to dangerous routes, this one is not even on my radar...YMMV....

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15467841

[mmfs]

I've ridden it a few times - it is beautiful, but it's not very confidence inspiring.

Perhaps most harrowing is the frequent loud motorcycle traffic on nice weekends that startles me each time they pass no matter how much I'm trying to prepare for it.

The Eastern PA rando group has some rides in that area, should you be looking for routes when you're out near Port J(G)ervis.

[fiamme red]

Lots of motorcyclists like to test their abilities on that road, which has led to a number of fatalities in recent years.

The best view in Port Jervis is not from Hawk's Nest but from the top of Elks-Brox Park. Fortunately, not too many motorcyclists know that.

[PaulE]

I grew up in Port Jervis. Rode my bike on the Hawk's Nest many times over 40years ago. I doubt I would today though!

[johnmdesigner]

I grew up in Port Jervis. Rode my bike on the Hawk's Nest many times over 40years ago. I doubt I would today though!

Small world!:D

[Bob Ross]

My brother-in-law has a house up just a few miles past Hawk's Nest, and we always bring our bikes whenever we visit because the cycling in that part of the state is fabulous ...but every time we drive through Hawk's Nest to get to his place we think about cycling on that particular road, and the consensus is always "Mmmm...Nah."
Maybe if they closed the road to automobile traffic....

[CNY rider]

But Otsego county is calling you!

[tctyres]

Yeah, I've done it.
Do it at the crack of dawn before it gets loaded up with people. I did it in the pre-dawn hours. There was no one out there, but it was f*in dark.

[verticaldoug]

I've done the ride from Port Jervis to Binghampton along the Delaware on 97. I think it is a great ride as long as it is not a crowded weekend in the fall. There are some dirt roads on the Penn side you can ride up.

Hawk's Nest itself is fun but short and if you ride in the mountains, it is not bad at all. 202 from Peekskill to Bear Mountain Bridge along the Hudson is way worse for traffic. It's all relative. The memorials are for motocyclist not cyclists.

http://www.upperdelawarescenicbyway.org/

[johnmdesigner]

But Otsego county is calling you!
Decisions...decisions...

[Billybob62]

I've ridden it several times from Lackawaxen on PA randonneur routes and have never had any issues. While they were rebuilding the stone walls at the overlooks (which took forever) they had the Eastbound lane closed and it was still quite acceptable. There can be some motorcycle traffic but it's never been objectionable. The views are pretty spectacular.

[unterhausen]

it's not bad going towards Port Jervis. I have done that many times with no issues. When you get to the start of the scenic part, it's downhill until you get to a stretch with a very wide shoulder near Port Jervis. I have only done it the other direction once, and it turned out to not be as bad as I thought. I have seen quite a few cyclists riding in that direction. The worst stretch of road used to be just inside the Orange county line, there was an uphill with a ditch in the shoulder for no good reason. They just repaved, and it's pretty nice there now.

[Hilltopperny]

Hard to beat Otsego county for cycling and great scenery. I try to get out there once a week! I just found a lake house in the Adirondack mountains that I am looking to purchase. There is a lot of great places in upstate NY for all kinds of recreation. Good luck with your search!