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.
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.
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.
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.
More e-bike routes you might like:
The Perkins Memorial
Perkins Memorial Drive leads to the tower atop Bear Mountain, but the real pleasure is having this road to yourself when it's closed to cars. Take your electric bike effortlessly to the top, then swing back downhill and into the Bear Mountain Inn.
The Minnewaska: A ‘Gunks Ride
Wide-open views of the Shawangunk valley, stunted pines clinging to cliffsides, pristine lakes and gently rising carriageways combine for the most spectacular ride in the collection.
The Ashokan: A Catskills Ride
Climb High Point Mountain Road, briefly; then enjoy a mostly-downhill roll through the foothills, all while surrounded by the Catskill Mountains. This 13-mile ride is lovely in autumn.
The Fahnestock
Ride alongside a gorge and under a canopy of hemlock and pine. This ride takes you past otter ponds, a centuries-old inn and the site of an old Revolutionary War inoculation station.