I will be be spending quite a few hours in my new CS racking up break-in miles this weekend. I would like to request itinerary suggestions for a maximum 5 hour round trip drive in the NYC vicinity.

Anybody know some good back road twisties?? A 5 hour loop out of NY could include NJ, PA, CT, MA and upstate.

I use this site for planning spontaneous roadtrips:

Roadside America

It is really cool. You browse the sites you would like to visit, check them off, and then it makes an itinerary for you on Google Maps. I recently took a trip down the East Coast and stopped by everything from Medical Oddity Museums, gigantic fire hydrants, Tom Thumbs grave, a gas station shaped like a giant sea shell, home made UFO's in peoples yards, a museum dedicated to bugs.... and the list goes on.

It really is a great resource.

(How was that for a first post?)

One of my favs are the twisties in Harriman State park. I think that Pistol Pete has pics he's taken from some of the roads. You can take the Palisades parkway there, it's also scenic. Route 9 W parallels the Hudson and is intermittently very pretty , rural interrupted by small towns along the way. Anyway, you could conceivably rack up a bunch of miles just on these roads. Let us know about the trip!

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Yup, Harriman State Park, Seven Lakes Drive, Perkins Memorial Highway.



Off 9W there is Storm King Highway (Rt. 218) above West Point, very twisty, be careful!

Further up there in Port Jervis there is Hawks Nest (Rt. 97)



Lot's of good stuff around here!

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

Be careful if you are using secondary roads in the Berkshires, I was traveling them this last weekend the the frost heaves and pot holes were pretty bad..

Again, Pete showing off his photography skills!! 97 is really beautiful in the autumn.

I think potholes will be an issue on almost any secondary road this time of year. So, I will be diligent.

I think I am going to do the Harriman Park bit and then head up toward Port Jervis and Shohola. I figure I'll have my TomTom with me so I can't get lost. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Thanks for the input.

After you do Harriman Park go north on the Thruway to 17 west toward Binghamton. Exit at 302 north towards Pinebush and then west on 52 towards Ellenville. The section of 52 from Shawngunk to Cragsmoor is nice. Lots of turns and you're on the side of the cliff with great views. If the weather is good you'll see alot of hang gliders in that area. The area is somewhat rural with lots of horse ranches. I used to drive my M3 thru there alot.

Don't forget to keep April 19th free for the Zone 2 run along the NJ/NY and PA border. I'm looking forward to seeing some new roads at this event.

Here are some pictures from the same organizer last fall:

Rennlist 2007 Fall Drive Photo Gallery

I think he has a new route planned for us next month.

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

I have relatives in cornwall up past west point and I couldnt agree more. The palisades is nice and 9w/218 are awesome along west point. You could also go over the bear mountain bridge make a right and take that road along the other side of the hudson down through sleepy hollow which is also kind of cool.

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Thank you to the old people who put no miles on their porsches and trade them in.

So here is what I did. I took the Saw Mill to the Taconic (lots of cops!!), and exited on Rt 55 heading west through Poughkepsie (sp?). Rt 55 after it crossed the Hudson was really scenic and had some wicked twists. I passed quite a few Porsches and BMWs on this stretch so I think this road is well known. I stayed on Rt 55 until it hit Rt42 and I headed south on Rt 42 until Rt 52 which I took heading east. Rt 52 between Ellenville and Pinebush was pretty cool, with lots of twists and elevation changes. Rt 52 after Pinbush got less and less fun, but I stayed on it all the way the Newburgh where I got on 9W heading south. Unfortunately, 218 was closed, or so the sign said. perhaps there is damage or still icing. I don't know. So I missed that part which I was really looking forward to. However 9W isn't bad and I stayed on that all the way to Seven Lake Drive through Harriman State Park. While this road was fun and plenty scenic, it can sure use a new coat of asphalt. I got the thumbs up from a group of Boy Scouts who apparently approve of my ride.

After Seven Lakes Drive I set my TomTom to home. The home stretch included 87 and 278.

All in it was 5 1/2 hour behind the wheel and some good driving. I can't wait to see what happens north of 4000 rpm's.

Glad to see that you had a great long run with the car. Kinda weird to be on the receiving end of attention on the road due to the Cayman, right?

Some parts of Seven Lakes Drive were paved a few years ago, but you really have to be careful on the rougher sections or your car will get a real good beating on the potholes!

Look on Google for Perkins Memorial Drive in Bear Mountain. It's a nice drive to the top, if the road is open, and there is tower you can walk up to for a nice view of NJ, NY and CT.

Hope you can make it to the tire tech session this coming Saturday at noon @ EuroTire.

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey CS, PASM, Chrono, Sport Seats, Sport Shifter, Sport steering wheel, Xenon, Fire Extinguisher, Auto Climate and clear bra!
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

The Bear mountain route is a good one, just mind the bikers on a Sunday morning as they also like using the wrong side of the road on the way up and down the hill, racing line and all that

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