The best motorcycle roads in New York

The twistiest paved roads in New York, from Old Post Road near Esopus on down. Distances, how twisty each one is and how to string them into a ride.

New York has a lot of tarmac. We sorted through 105 named paved roads to find the ones worth leaning into.

The headliners

Old Post Road

Near Esopus. 6.4 miles, about 10 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

Goodnow Flow Road

In Essex County. 7.3 miles, about 10 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

Port Kent-Hopkinton Turnpike

In Franklin County. 15 miles, about 25 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

Palisades Road

In Warren County. 7.7 miles, about 10 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

Mountain Rest Road

Near Marbletown. 9.8 miles, about 15 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

When you want to settle in

Not every ride is about hairpins. These are longer paved roads that keep twisting the whole way, good for a long cruise where you can find a rhythm.

  • New York Highway 167, near Warren: 16 miles
  • North Hudson Road, near Moriah: 15 miles
  • Bear Mountain Bridge Road, near Stony Point: 15 miles

How we picked them

We looked at the shape of every named paved road in New York and measured how much each one bends along its length. Then we ranked them by bends per distance, so a short hairpin road and a long mountain highway are compared fairly. Gravel, tracks, residential streets and anything under about 6 miles are left out.

What this does not tell you: how nice the scenery is, how good the surface is, how busy the road gets, or whether it is closed for snow. Check before you go, especially in the mountains and in winter. Then ride it and see for yourself.

Turn it into a ride

Open the MotoRidez planner and link a few of these into a loop, or hit Surprise Me and let it pick a twisty route from wherever you are. Every ride you record is remembered, so next time it can send you down roads you have not tried yet.

Questions riders ask

What is the twistiest motorcycle road in New York?

Old Post Road near Esopus. It is 6.4 miles long and bends more for its length than any other named paved road of that size in New York.

How do you work out which New York roads are twisty?

We measure how much each road bends along its length from its shape on the map, then rank roads by bends per distance. Gravel, tracks and residential streets are left out.

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