The classic Catskills day loop is NY 28 west out of Kingston, NY 214 north through Stony Clove Notch, and NY 23A east over Tannersville and down Kaaterskill Clove. Those three roads give you a 12.48-mile (20.08 km) mountain notch barely wider than the pavement, a crest at 2,300 ft (701 m), and a descent that loses 2,000 ft (610 m) in two miles (3.2 km). It is close enough to New York City to be a day ride and steep enough that a wet Kaaterskill descent asks real questions of your brakes.
Why this loop and not another
The Catskills are a dissected plateau rather than a folded range, which is why the riding here has a particular shape: long valley runs along creeks, then abrupt notches and cloves where water has cut through the escarpment. Roads follow the water. That gives you two very different kinds of road in the same afternoon — the easy, flowing Esopus Creek valley on NY 28, and the tight, shaded, rock-walled climbs of NY 214 and the Kaaterskill descent.
The whole loop sits inside or beside the Catskill Park, whose boundary appears on maps as the Blue Line. Inside it, development thins out and the mountains get names riders eventually learn: Slide Mountain at 4,180 ft (1,270 m) is the range's highest, and Hunter Mountain at 4,040 ft (1,231 m) is second and carries the highest fire tower in the state.
Route at a glance
| Core roads | NY 28, NY 214, NY 23A, with NY 32A or NY 32 to close the loop |
| NY 214 | 12.48 miles (20.08 km), NY 28 in Shandaken to NY 23A in Hunter, through Stony Clove Notch |
| Stony Clove Notch | Roughly 2,220 ft (677 m), between Hunter and Plateau mountains |
| NY 23A | 34.56 miles (55.62 km) end to end, Prattsville to US 9W in the village of Catskill |
| High point | NY 23A crests at 2,300 ft (701 m) just east of Tannersville |
| Kaaterskill descent | 2,000 ft (610 m) lost in about 2 miles (3.2 km) through the clove |
| Season | Roads stay open year round but are plowed mountain highways; ice and rockfall close sections without notice |
Open the Kingston to Phoenicia to Hunter to Palenville version in Google Maps and push it to your navigation before you go. Signal drops in Stony Clove Notch and along the upper Esopus, and the turn from NY 28 onto NY 214 is easy to ride past.
NY 28, Kingston to Phoenicia
NY 28 is 281.69 miles (453.34 km) long in total, running in a C shape from Kingston up to Warrensburg, but the piece that matters here is the first 25 or so out of Kingston. It follows the Esopus Creek valley into the town of Shandaken, opening and closing between hills, with fishing pull-offs and small hamlets. It is a fast road by Catskills standards, two lanes with good sightlines, which makes it the least interesting part of the day and the part where speed enforcement is most likely.
Just southwest of Phoenicia, NY 214 leaves to the north. Phoenicia itself is the usual fuel and coffee stop, and it is the last convenient one before the notch.
NY 214 through Stony Clove Notch
This is the reason to ride the loop. NY 214 climbs through a cleft between Hunter and Plateau mountains that has just enough room for the road, with landslide scars and rock cliffs visible on both slopes. The notch sits at roughly 2,220 ft (677 m). The road began as a tannery road built by Colonel William Edwards of Hunter in the late 1840s and open by 1849, was upgraded into the Stoney Clove Turnpike in 1873 to serve Catskills resorts, and parts of it in Greene County stayed unpaved into the 1950s.
Ride it expecting a shaded, damp surface. The notch walls keep the sun off long sections, so the road dries slowly, wet leaves stay wet, and the same cliffs that make the scenery drop rock onto the pavement. Sightlines are short and the shoulder is often nonexistent. This is a road to enjoy at moderate pace rather than one to attack.
NY 23A over Tannersville and down the clove
At Hunter, NY 214 ends on NY 23A. Turning east takes you through the village of Hunter, past the ski area on the Colonel's Chair, and into Tannersville. Along this stretch the Devil's Path ridgeline — Plateau, Sugarloaf, Twin and Indian Head — sits to the south, one of the better mountain views from a road seat in the Northeast.
The road crests at 2,300 ft (701 m) just past Tannersville, runs through Haines Falls, and then drops into Kaaterskill Clove. This is the section riders come for and the section that catches people out: 2,000 ft (610 m) of descent in about two miles (3.2 km), on a road cut into the side of a gorge that reaches 2,500 ft deep in places. It is a genuine brake-heat descent on a loaded touring bike. Use engine braking, pick a gear at the top and stay in it.
Partway down is the Kaaterskill Falls trailhead. The falls themselves are a two-stage cascade totalling 260 ft (79 m), one of the tallest in the state, and the parking is limited enough that visitors walk along the narrow shoulder of NY 23A for a considerable distance to reach them. Pedestrians in the lane on a blind downhill corner is the single most predictable hazard on this loop. The road levels out at Palenville, where NY 32A gives you a short run south, and NY 32 or the Thruway takes you back toward Kingston.
Practical notes
Fuel. Kingston, Phoenicia, Hunter, Tannersville and Palenville all have gas. The gap that matters is Phoenicia to Hunter over the notch — short in miles, but there is nothing in between.
Closures and repairs. These are mountain roads on unstable slopes. In 2006, heavy rain triggered landslides that shut NY 23A between Palenville and Haines Falls for several months; the repair cost roughly $5 million and the road reopened in late November of that year. Smaller washouts and rockfall closures happen on a smaller scale most years. Check 511NY for current state road closures before you commit to the clove.
Weather. The 2,300 ft crest can be in cloud while Kingston is clear, and afternoon thunderstorms build over the high peaks through the summer. The National Weather Service Albany office covers this area and posts the mountain forecasts that actually apply, rather than the valley numbers your phone shows by default.
Crowds. October weekends bring leaf traffic to NY 23A and the falls parking, and ski season fills the Hunter and Tannersville stretch with weekend commuters. Weekday riding is a different road.
Gear notes for this loop
Two specific problems here. First, the descent: brake fade and tire temperature both change on a two-mile 2,000 ft drop, and a tire that felt right in the Kingston parking lot is a different tire at the bottom of the clove. Our tire pressure guide explains what heat and elevation do to your numbers, and a TPMS sensor shows the change while you ride instead of after. Second, the navigation problem is real but unusual: the turns are few, so the risk is not getting lost but looking down at the wrong moment on a road with pedestrians in it. Handlebar-mounted directions read at a glance beat a phone in a pocket — our piece on the risks of phone navigation on a bike covers why, and a JADO S6 riding system puts the route and both cameras on one screen. If you want the shorter, closer version of this day, the Bear Mountain ride is an hour south, and the regional overview compares them.
FAQ
How long does the Catskills loop take on a motorcycle?
Treat it as a full day rather than a quick blast. The riding distance is modest, but Stony Clove Notch and the Kaaterskill descent are slow by nature, and the stops — Phoenicia, Tannersville, the clove overlooks — are the point.
Is NY 23A through Kaaterskill Clove difficult?
It is steep and blind rather than technically hard. The difficulty comes from the gradient, the pedestrians walking to the falls on the shoulder, and wet leaves in autumn. Ride it downhill in a low gear and leave room.
When is the best time of year?
Late spring through early autumn. Mid-October gives the best color and the heaviest traffic. Winter riding is possible on clear days but these are high, shaded roads where ice sits in the notch long after the valleys have dried.
Can you ride Stony Clove Notch on a big touring bike?
Yes. NY 214 is a paved two-lane state highway, not a trail. The constraint is width and sightlines, not surface.
Where should you stop for fuel?
Phoenicia before the notch and Tannersville or Palenville after the clove. Do not plan on finding fuel between them.
