River-to-Ridge Trail
A 6-mile loop from 41 Springtown Road in New Paltz.
- Food
- Main Street Bistro
- Church
- Reformed Church of New Paltz
- Farm stand
- Hudson Valley Open Market
- Sauna
- Wintersun Sauna
- Sports
- The ride itself
- Lodging
- New Paltz
Crowd level: Easy. Busy only at the obvious hour.
Best season March through November is the practical riding season. Mud and ice close the idea in winter.
Drive About 1 hr 45 min–2 hr 15 min
Same New Paltz drive as Mohonk, general guidance from Midtown. The trailhead is on Springtown Road, not at the hotel gate.
Parking. The Springtown Road lot is the main start. Do not block a farm lane. A Preserve permit is extra if you ride past the boundary.
A maintained 6-mile loop from 41 Springtown Road in New Paltz, through farm fields, toward the Shawangunk ridge. Bikes and horses are allowed.
Worth knowing
Two tickets, maybe
The trail to the Preserve line is not the same pass as riding the Preserve carriage roads. If you cross the boundary, pay the Preserve.
The boundary
The Open Space Institute and Scenic Hudson pages read on October 20, 2026 do not say the trail is free. Mohonk Preserve charges its own day fee on Preserve land.
The short version
The Open Space Institute lists the trailhead and parking at 41 Springtown Road, New Paltz, NY 12561. Scenic Hudson says the institute created the loop and that it links toward Mohonk Preserve and Minnewaska. Those parks are separate once you reach the ridge.
Food nearby
Main Street Bistro
The trailhead is not a restaurant. Main Street Bistro is at 59 Main Street in New Paltz. Breakfast and lunch Monday and Wednesday–Friday 8 am–3 pm and Saturday–Sunday 8 am–3 pm, closed Tuesday, and dinner Friday–Sunday 4:30–8 pm. Doug and Teresa Thompson bought it on July 1, 1993.
Official menuA game nearby
The ride itself
Gravel and carriage-road riding, not a lift-served bike park. Helmets are required if you continue onto the Preserve’s bike routes. Bring the bike. Rentals have existed at the trailhead. Confirm they still do.
Farms and stands nearby
Hudson Valley Open Market
The market calls itself the farmers and makers market for New Paltz.
Season. Every Saturday, 10 am. To 3 pm., May through October, at 196 Main Street, in the New Paltz Middle School parking lot.
The grocery stop if you are cooking in the village. The trailhead is not the market.
Official page
Staying in New Paltz – snapshot (lodging only)
Checked Oct 16, 2026. We recommend; you book directly. Prices are nightly, low–high by season, with a source. “From” prices depend on your dates. Items we couldn't verify are marked †.
The quiet base: New Paltz for the ridge. Brookfield Farm is the farm stay, in Modena.
Inns, B&Bs, farm stays, guesthouses, campgrounds
- Gatehouse Gardens, New Paltz
- Type.
- B&B suites
- Price (low–high).
- Open 3/29–12/2 (closed in winter). 2026: $180 room / $260 4-guest / $410 6-guest suite. 2027: $190/$270/$480 (own)
- Good for.
- Strong, up to 6
- Book via.
- Booking/Expedia/Airbnb:
- Why we like it.
- Private entrances, pond
- Brookfield Farm B&B, Modena
- Type.
- Farm B&B
- Price (low–high).
- $210 Mon–Thu, $230 Fri–Sun, 5% off 5+ nights; no seasonal variation shown (own)
- Good for.
- Suite for 4
- Book via.
- Booking/Expedia:
- Why we like it.
- Highland cows, orchards
Vacation rentals
- Haywood Farmhouse, New Paltz
- Sleeps.
- 5 guests
- Price (low–high).
- No price on file
- Good for.
- 5 guests, pool
- Book via.
- Airbnb
- Why we like it.
- 5 guests, pool
Know before you book: Gatehouse Gardens is open 3/29–12/2 and closed in winter. Haywood Farmhouse has no price.
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A church
Reformed Church of New Paltz
The congregation’s history page traces the church to January 22, 1683, when Pierre Daille preached in the Huguenot settlement. Worship is at 92 Huguenot Street.
Sunday worship at 10 am, and church school for ages 3 through 8th grade.
Service timesA sauna
Wintersun Sauna
The sauna is now at Taliaferro Farm, 187 Plains Road, New Paltz, and that this stop begins October 24. Weekday social sessions are 90 minutes, communal, up to 8 people, and they ask for a minimum of 2.
Book ahead. To wear a swimsuit or sweat-ready clothes and to bring two towels, one for the bench.
Their site