Great Rides Long Island – Bike Rides for Everyone

Bikeways, beaches, vineyards and views: Long Island is a great cycling escape.

Powdery white sands, lighthouses, rocky bluffs, regal mansions, and rolling vineyards. Long Island has scenery in spades, and much of it is accessible by its 200-plus miles of bikeways. Take in Long Island Sound on the 27 miles within Caumsett State Historic Preserve, ride the Ocean Parkway Coastal Greenway to buzzing Jones Beach, or explore the interior on the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail (there’s a parallel mountain biking trail, too).

Farther out on the island, Glacier Ridge is the top MTB spot, with 12 miles of speedy flow, tight turns, and sandy sections. Also great: the steep climbs and varied terrain of Rocky Point and the spectacular ocean views of Hither Woods.

Gravel is harder to come by on LI, unless you hug the shoulders of the bikeways, so your best bet is to head back to New York City and beyond (the dirt multi-use trails in the Bronx, the backroads and pastoral farms of Westchester, or the woodsy hills across the George Washington Bridge).

With such a large population in the area, the options for organized rides are impressive: the North Fork Century (13–100 miles), the Gold Coast Tour (12–100 miles), the Empire State Ride to End Cancer Long Island (10–62 miles), and Bike to the Beach—a century ride to benefit autism that starts in Manhattan and finishes with a beach party in Westhampton. Too far? There are half-century and quarter-century options, but the party stays the same.

Middle Long Island Loop

Distance: 38.9 mi
Elevation: +/- 1327 ft

Old Westbury, NY

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Tour de Peconic Bay

Distance: 63 mi
Elevation: +/- 1504 ft

Suffolk County, NY

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Oyster Bay Loop

Distance: 24.4 mi
Elevation: +/- 903 ft

Old Westbury, NY

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Sunken Meadow Loop

Distance: 10.4 mi
Elevation: +/- 451 ft

Suffolk County, NY

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Three Points Loop

Distance: 54.1 mi
Elevation: +/- 2552 ft

Old Westbury, NY

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South Huntington Loop

Distance: 19.4 mi
Elevation: +/- 626 ft

Suffolk County, NY

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Great South Bay Long Ride

Distance: 49 mi
Elevation: +/- 690 ft

Nassau County, NY

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Montauk Lighthouse

Distance: 111.7 mi
Elevation: +/- 1879 ft

Massapequa Park, NY

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Glacier Ridge

Distance: 12 mi
Brookhaven Town Hall 1
Independence Hill
Farmingville, NY 11738

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Meadowlark Park

Distance: 5 mi
Fort Salonga, NY 11768

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Stillwell Woods

Distance: 12 mi
72 S Woods Rd
Woodbury, NY 11797

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Overton Preserve

Distance: 11 mi
David Overton Rd
Coram, NY 11727

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Cunningham Park

Distance: 14 mi
196-10 Union Tpke
Queens, NY 11366

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Bethpage State Park

Distance: 12 mi
99 Quaker Meeting House Rd
Farmingdale, NY 11735

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Cathedral Pines County Park

Distance: 11 mi
116 Yaphank Middle Island Rd
Middle Island, NY 11953

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Caumsett State Park

Distance: 14 mi
25 Lloyd Harbor Rd
Lloyd Harbor, NY 11743

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Jones Beach Bikeway

Distance: 10 mi
Elevation: +/- 96 ft

Nassau County, NY

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Heckscher State Park

Distance: 4.5 mi
Elevation: +/- 13 ft

Suffolk County, NY

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Long Beach Board Walk

Distance: 4.2 mi
Elevation: +/- 0 ft

Long Beach, NY

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Eisenhower Park

Distance: 6.7 mi
Elevation: +/- 104 ft

Nassau County, NY

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Paul Simons Memorial Bike Path

Distance: 2.7 mi
Elevation: +/- 155 ft

Suffolk County, NY

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Belmont Lake Trail

Distance: 3.5 mi
Elevation: +/- 55 ft

Suffolk County, NY

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West Hills County Park

Distance: 10.1 mi
Elevation: +/- 785 ft

Suffolk County, NY

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Muttontown Preserve

Distance: 5.7 mi
Elevation: +/- 267 ft

Muttontown, NY

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