Catskills Bikepacking 5 Days 210 Miles August 3-7

Join Lichen Bike Tours on this bikepacking adventure through the Catskill Mountains of NY State. While our 4 day trips stick to a tight circuit, our 5 day trips allow for a little more exploration of dead-end roads, a little more time for getting your feet wet at swimming holes, and even the option on Day 3 to take a shower at the Catskill Recreation Center in Arkville, NY. It’s August, it’s hot, and this bikepacking trip is a getaway that will let you reconnect with the forests and the earth.

This 5 day trip will start and end in Hudson, NY and there will be a total of 210-ish miles of riding with 15,000+ft of climbing (and descending). This is a self-supported bikepacking trip, which means that riders are responsible for carrying their shelter, sleep, and cook systems. We will camp in the forest preserve for 4 nights, and riders should expect to act in accordance with the Leave No Trace 7 Principles, including digging catholes for human waste.

We are going to keep the group size very small, up to 6 riders (plus the guide). 

The route on this trip will take us across the many ranges and wild forests of the Catskills. Our highest elevation point of the trip is 2800ft at the mountain pass between Vly and Bearpen Mountains. Twice we will cross the Catskills Divide that separates the Hudson River watershed from the Delaware River watershed. Of course, watersheds are overridden by the NYC water supply reservoirs, and we will pass by 4 of those reservoirs (Ashokan, Rondout, Pepacton, and Schoharie). Along the way we will camp at designated campsites in the Sundown Wild Forest, Delaware Wild Forest, Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest, and Colgate Lake Wild Forest.

What surfaces will we be cycling on? The entire trip is a mix of paved roads, gravel/unpaved roads, and singletrack trails. We will follow all NYS DEC guidelines and the only singletrack trails we follow are designated multi-use trails that permit bicycles. Did we mention hike-a-bike? The mountain pass between Vly and Bearpen Mountains is a rough trail, but ridable if you’re a technical rider with a front suspension on your bike. Along the route there are other opportunities to skip “easier” gravel roads in favor of trail riding or hike-a-bike. 

You should know that a majority of the miles on this route are on paved roads. This is not ideal, but it is the reality that NY State tends to pave its rural roads. Most of the paved roads that we take do not have any painted double yellow lines or white lane markings and the speed limit is 30mph.

For everyone who registers, we do have a video call information session 2-3 weeks before the trip start date. This will be a time for Q&A about the trip, the route, how to adapt your camping setup, tire widths, and more. Recommended packing lists, our specific route in .gpx format, mile-by-mile details and weather updates are provided to everyone who registers.

Lichen Bike Tours does have a screening process for new riders where after registering, we ask about your cycling and camping experiences. Our goal with this is to make sure that the trip you signed up for is a good fit for you. You can read more about the screening process and the LBT refund policy on the FAQs page.