I love to ryde my Can-Am Spyder in quiet and wilderness areas so one would think I must go a long way from Manhattan where I live.  Sometimes I do, to Bear Mountain, Harriman State Park, the Catskills, Hawks Nest and even the Adirondacks.  But there is a hidden, little known, beautiful road right under our nose or more specifically right under the George Washington Bridge.

Just after you cross into New Jersey take the hairpin turn to Hudson Terrace, turn right and then left into Hudson Hudson Drive.  Check out your GPS or Google Maps for more.  This rather narrow, meandering drive is surrounded by woods along and under the Palisades for several miles.  There are four picnic areas, three of them along the Hudson River at boat basins.  There is a Snack Shack with passable hot dogs and hamburgers, but you are better off bringing your own picnic as there are public grills at several of the picnic spots.  They are claimed early on weekends but if you take a day off during the week, you can usually take your pick.  As you can see from the picture below there are some lovely spots along the Drive.  There are also hiking options or you can putter along on four wheels, two wheels or three wheels as I am wont to do.

Sure there are more extensive wilderness roads farther away, but this is a quiet and lovely spot just minutes away from Manhattan.  Check it out for yourself.  I will again this summer!

As always you can find more at http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes

TOMORROW: A tasty delicious review