Help me get psyched on the Northeast!

Looks like I'm moving to the Hudson Valley for a paid master's program at Bard College. Being half an hour from the Gunks is the biggest draw, but what else am I missing that's up there? What are the winter climbing possibilities? What's the mountain biking like? Anything else I gotta know??

Just looking for any more inside info on the area, and trying to get a better idea of what life there will be like. Seems like a good place for general recreation, but my familiarity with the east coast in general is quite limited.

Thanks! And I'll be looking for partners up there come fall!

Well you already mentioned the Gunks but that in itself is a reason to be very psyched. Big roofs, jugs, and some sporty pro. You also have the Adirondacks only 3 hours away with its endless list of activities (rock, ice, hiking, etc) all of which are world class. The Catskills is also quite close and offers a lot of hiking and ice. Can't comment on the mountain biking.

Downhill mountain biking at hunter, I think some of those guys have private trail networks that are pretty burly. Maybe check strava? There must be other trails around.

For general stoke, you'll be looking at kaaterskill high peak and the devils path from across the river. There are waterfalls and quarries to jump off of. Lots of ice climbing quite close in the winter. Close skiing that on occasion can be really good. Hiking isn't bad to the south at breakneck, south west in the gunks, west in the cats, north east in berkshires, and due north in the dacks.

The Hudson valley is awesome, have fun.

Hi! I am an undergrad at Bard College and I love it in the Hudson Valley. I transferred from UC Santa Cruz to Bard in 2016 so I have some basis for comparison of the east and west coast but it is limited of course.

Sorry if I repeat anything above, here is my brief overview:

The climbing community at Bard is small to nonexistent. That being said, I have never had any problem getting out or finding people to climb with almost year round *weather permitting* (without having to use MP partner finder). From Bard campus it takes a leisurely 40 minutes to get to the Gunks, ~3 hours to southern ADK, and though I haven't ice climbed here yet I am told there is tons in the nearby catskills and slightly farther ADK.

More ambitious destinations are Rumney ~4.5 hours, the New ~10 hours, the Red ~12 hours, and Tennessee Wall) ~13 hours. Of these places I have driven to the Red and Twall from Bard campus.

When the weather is really shitty (like right now for example) there are a couple different gyms. Gravity Vault in Poughkeepsie is nice, new but relatively expensive. The Inner Wall in New Paltz is fun with just bouldering (or VERY short TR) and has $5 dollar bouldering on Wed and Thurs I believe and The Edge Halfmoon is good too but kind of far to drive for plastic.

I don't mountain bike but there are trails <10 minutes away from campus in Ferncliff Forest (cannot vouch for quality). Overall there is a great outdoor community in the area (though not so much on campus) and there are tons of opportunities to get out. Let me know if you have any more questions about Bard or the area.

I am going to be graduating at the end of the fall semester hmu when you get here. Congrats on the acceptance!

Sammy

That puts you about 2.5 hours from Farley in Western MA, and 6 hours from Shagg Crag in Maine in addition to the locations mentioned above. (And closer to a lot of Western MA and Connecticut bouldering areas)

+1 Farley.

An infinite lifetime of amazing ice in the Adirondacks and if you're willing to range a little further, NH and the Whites.

There's some mountain biking in western mass. Overall not a ton of biking options in the NE, but what's here is supposedly decent.

[I'm not an avid biker, maybe a few times a year, but climb with someone who is]

There's a ton of mountain biking in the NE. Close to you check out Lippman park and Jockey Hill. Lake Placid and Wilmington in the Adirondacks have some of the best trails I've rode in the NE. There's another good spot by you but the name slips my mind.

Vermont has the Kingdom trails.

I don't know if you're into park. Mountain Creek and Highland Mountain are two great spots.

M.A. at Bard and the Gunks - you're set! I'm local, be in touch if you got any dumb ideas and ropemate roorlemate.

David L

Where is that deep water slab photo from sil vous plait

Bill Kirby wrote:There's a ton of mountain biking in the NE.

Not when you compare it to other parts of the country. Yes, thinking out West again.

In the Albany area the number of trails is very slowly growing. It takes time as the demand has only recent gone up enough to support having a lot of widespread systems. And the stigma of the sport, ruining existing trails/impacts, etc has made inroads difficult.

I've seen videos of some of the Vermont downhill trails. Very cool stuff! But it's very unique to have that much dedicated space to mountain biking around here. It's also not cheap but in this case you get what you pay for.

google.com/search?q=killing…;tbm=vid&*&rct=j

I've tried some of the ADK systems. Although it's only been a small sample what I've done was good. Haven't done much single track up there though, mostly just trails that are multi-use or old roads closed to vehicle traffic.

Jeffo wrote:Where is that deep water slab photo from sil vous plait

Good mountain biking at Lippman Park about 20 minutes from Gunks.
renegadesmtbcom.ipage.com/l…

If my profession existed in Upstate NY, and if taxes weren't so ridiculous, I'd consider living there again. It's a beautiful area. The Adirondacks are near and dear. There is so much available to you, albeit if you're willing to drive.

I don't think you'll find any shortage of stuff to do.

The biggest drawback is the weather when compared to the West.

The biggest benefit is the bonafide pizza! Nobody makes it like NY.

Hey Danny. Congratulations on the grad program. You can climb with us in Western mass again anytime.
As long as you're open to variety you'll be happy. By winter climbing do you mean ice/alpine or do you mean winter rock climbing? Plenty of winter ice adventures to be had and when there isn't you can usually squeak out some rock on southern facing cliffs.
Ali.

Canon, Cathedral, Acadia, Rumney, and the Gunks are amazing places to rock climb. There's superb winter climbing at Canon, Frankenstein Cliff, and Mount Washington. And there's so much good mountain biking. Definitely make the trip to The Kingdom Trails in Northeast VT. The cross country trails are world class and you can ride some downhill at Burke while you're there. Highland Bike Park in New Hampshire is also amazing. Plus you can ride the popular trails at both Burke and Highland on an enduro or AM bike with a little finesse.

Maybe keep your politics to yourself. Just something to think about.

Bone up hard on the whole tick/lyme thing - supposed to be a bad year...

Forbidding Forecast For Lyme Disease In The Northeast

There is good mountain biking at blue mountain in Westchester shouldn't be too far.

Get the trailforks app it will help up find and navigate mtb trails just about anywhere.