Further Afield: Our Favorite Distant Routes

Ebike Routes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York State

These self-guided bike routes — through pine barrens, hemlock ravines, mountains and marshes — require a little more driving to get to. But they’re undeniably worth the trip. Here are our favorite electric bike rides, further afield.

Site icon of electric bike rider

Rustic wooden bridge over a stream in Franklin Parker Preserve.

Further Afield: Franklin Parker Preserve

Old cranberry bogs, twisted pitch pine forests and remarkable wetlands teeming with animal life and rare plants are the enchanting backdrop for this electric bike ride through the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

Spiky plants grow along a dirt road in the forest

Further Afield: Brendan T. Byrne State Forest

Late winter is the perfect season for this pine barrens adventure in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. Unlike other pinelands routes, this one is mostly paved, but the roads through the forest and along the wetlands are remote and isolated.

a lonely road through a forest

Further Afield: Stokes State Forest and Tillman Ravine

The off-season is the perfect time for this electric bike adventure in Stokes State Forest. In winter, the gated roads are off-limits to cars, but not to your electric bike. This is when the sense of isolation is deepest, and the hillsides, thick with hemlocks, provide a welcome contrast to the blahs of winter.

More e-bike routes you might like:

A lone cyclist on the Empire State Trail Maybrook segment, with a hilly background

An Empire State Trail Loop Ride: The Maybrook Trailway Past Whaley Lake

Ride the newly-opened Maybrook Trailway segment of the Empire State Trail; then, return via peaceful rural backroads, creating the perfect 17-mile loop for your electric bike.

An outdoor view, on a sunny warm day, of a balcony at a brewery.

The Craryville

Cycle Craryville, the pastoral heartland of the Upper Hudson Valley, with golden meadows and the blue foothills of the Berkshire mountains.

A Weathered timber frame house along an unpaved road in the Western Connecticut countryside

The Macedonia: A Western Connecticut Ride

The Macedonia Brook tumbles alongside the start of this 16-mile ride in Kent, Connecticut. With plenty of hardpack and gravel, hybrid e-bikes are well-suited to the route.

a lonely road through a forest

Further Afield: Stokes State Forest and Tillman Ravine

The off-season is the perfect time for this electric bike adventure in Stokes State Forest. In winter, the gated roads are off-limits to cars, but not to your electric bike. This is when the sense of isolation is deepest, and the hillsides, thick with hemlocks, provide a welcome contrast to the blahs of winter.