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: 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.
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.
More e-bike routes you might like:
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.
The Cary: A Mid-Hudson Route
This farmland loop through an area of quiet beauty connects the gardens of Millbrook to the Cary Institute grounds in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
The Garrison
Watch carefully for signs of the Revolutionary War — canon balls, milestones and markers — along this lovely wooded route in Putnam County. Bring the wide tires, and watch out for washboard rough roads.
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.