Every once and a while, I take the 25 mile drive down to the Port Jervis Watershed Trails, to traverse a bit more rugged landscape. While the entire park is beautiful and challenging, the upper section, near Reservoir three, is quite possibly one of the most picturesque places to ride a bicycle in the tri-state area.

On Friday, I met Mike at the parking lot on Box Baum Road for a late afternoon sampling of the lush green trails that make you feel like you have been magically transported to somewhere in the northwestern part of the country. We had about 90 minutes before sunset, so we wanted to make the most of the time we had.

We pedaled out of the parking lot and right on to Walt’s Keep, an easy trail that sends you west for about a mile before intersecting with Starcrawf, then loops back to the lot. Next, we headed down Box Baum Road and hopped on Holography. This is one of my favorite trails in the Watershed. What it lacks in distance, it makes up for in beauty. The views of the lake and incredible pine needle surface makes me forget any stress I might have carried into the park. I felt weightless as we tranistioned to Lost Bear, Mahackamack, Tufted and Delaware.

Somewhere up on Mahackamack, we ran into TC from Action Bikes and Outdoor. He was test riding a new demo bike. Both shops offer demos that are suitable for the most rugged terrain.

If your in town or looking for a beautiful place to ride, checkout this section of the Port Jervis Watershed, you won’t be dissappointed.