This route is brought to you by Laura Kelly. She currently lives in New York, but her heart is in Colorado.
She is the event director for the Dirty Apple and Frozen Apple gravel events, of which this route is taken from.
Photo credit to Kraus Grafik Services and Laura Kelly.
Explore the scenic backroads of Westchester County, NY on this challenging ride featuring pastoral farms, quiet scenic backroads and hidden local gems. You’ll love seeing the unique church houses, and quirky iconic sites like Harry the Gnome, and "Twinkle Toes" (the ballerina cow statue)!
Enjoy the variety of road flavors including: pavement, hard-pack dirt, double-track and chunky washed-out mountain roads. (See where the different terrains are along the route here. Purple is double-track or wooded trails , brown is hard-pack dirt segments.) The route is NOT FLAT, and in fact has a few “favorite” hills that spice things up like Hunt Lane, Mountain Lakes and Mount Holly. (Don’t forget to save some energy for the last climb!)
This is not only a local favorite route, but Laura’s choice for favorite Dirty Apple route (which can be done at 40 miles, 55 miles or 63 miles)!
The route is a pretty even 50/50 mix of pavement to gravel, so at times you may think "I've been on pavement for a long time", but we promise, it leads to more dirt.
You can find bathrooms and services at the beginning at places like Dunkin Donuts and Subway, but local businesses require a purchase to use the facilities. But hey- "having" to buy a doughnut to use the bathroom isn't the worst thing, right? 🤣 🍩
Do this ride if you want to explore the scenic backroads of Westchester County, NY on this challenging 55-mile ride featuring pastoral farms, quiet scenic backroads, and hidden local gems.
Mountain Lakes is a hidden gem of the county park system and a completely different flavor of gravel from the hard-pack dirt roads.
You will traverse Ward Pound Ridge, the largest county park at over 4,000 acres.
These routes are in the equestrian-heavy part of the county. To ride safely, riders must educate themselves on proper bike-horse etiquette (which can be found on Dirty Apple website).
People often wonder if there are actually dirt roads in Westchester County since it is the northerly neighbor county to New York City with a population of around 975,000 people, and the answer is YES (and this route found the BEST ones for you)!
The route starts and ends at the Goldens Bridge MTA station for easy access from the City as well as parking.
You can find services at places throughout including public bathrooms and water at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation (which occurs at approximately mile 31.5).
Guest: Laura Kelly
Hi I'm Laura Kelly! I have lived in a lot of places, but Colorado is where my heart lives. I currently live in New York.
I started as a bike commuter and road rider, but fell in love with mountain biking while living just outside Philadelphia. After moving to Westchester County, I was introduced to dirt roads and made the switch to All Dirt, All The Time.
I am the event director for the Dirty Apple and Frozen Apple gravel events as well as an assistant trail supervisor for the New York New Jersey Trail Conference and board member of Westchester Mountain Bike Association.
As a brand ambassador, I represent Pactimo cycling apparel and Nuun hydration.
I believe smiles > average speed. I believe the best rides are where we don't take ourselves too seriously.
