Bike Routes Around Cornell

Here are four routes which I enjoy. They shouldn’t be treated as hard-and-fast routes which can’t be changed. Rather, use them as guidelines which you can combine and modify. There are a number of good roads which you can find by making random turns off some of the routes listed below. The best way to find good places to ride is to explore and to ride with others who are familiar with the area.

The Finger Lakes Cycling Club page has some more routes, which can be found at http://www.flcycling.org/flcc/touring/rides/ . These routes depart from the HSBC bank at East Hill shopping center. Here are directions to the bank from the Arts Quad.

1. Get on East Ave, and go south until it dead ends in front of Phillips Hall / Duffield Hall.

2. Make a left on to Campus Rd

3. Make a right at the next intersection, by the baseball field. This joins Route 366.

4. Make a right on to Pine Tree Road. When you get to the shopping center, the HSBC will be on your right.

All mile measurements for the following routes are nowhere close to exact. They should be accurate to +/- 5 miles, depending on where you are leaving from. It’s usually easy to extend or shorten a route to get the length you want – experiment until you find a variation of the route which is a good length.

A very quick loop. If you only have an hour or so between classes, but want to climb a big hill and get a nice view of the area, this is a good route.

1. Leave the Arts Quad and get on Tower Road, going toward the Vet School. Take Tower Road until it intersects with Route 366.

2. Make a left onto Route 366

3. Make a right on to Game Farm Rd

4. Make a left on to Stevenson Rd

5. Right on to Turkey Hill Rd

6. At the bottom of the hill, make a left on to Ellis Hollow Creek Road

7. Make a left onto Ringwood Rd (this is when the climbing starts)

8. After the hill has flattened out, make a left on to Mineah

9. As you come up the hill, you will see another big hill on your left with a road going up it. Make a left on to that road – it’s called Mt Pleasant Road but I don’t think there is a sign there

10. Go over a couple of big rolling hills, then follow Mt Pleasant Road all the way down. Cross Route 366, go over the bridge, (the road is called Freese Road now) and follow it to the end.

11. Make a left on to Lower Creek Road/Hanshaw Road when you get to the end of Mt Pleasant Rd

12. Make a left on to Warren Road, and then make a right on Jessup Road. You’re back on North Campus and should be able to find your way back from here.

A loop with a solid climb up Hurd Hill and a couple of fun descents. You can break 50 MPH on the big hill without too much trouble, but be careful – there’s some gravel at the bottom of the biggest descent, where you make a sharp left turn.

1. Follow the Mount Pleasant loop directions to get to Ellis Hollow Creek. Follow Ellis Hollow Creek to the end, and make a left at the three-way intersection.

2. Make a left on to Hurd Hill Rd

3. When Hurd comes to an end, make a right and then a left, to get on to Irish Settlement Road. This is a nice stretch, as the road has been recently paved and is very smooth.

4. Follow Irish Settlement up a gradual climb and then down a steep descent, being mindful of any gravel at the bottom.

5. Cross Route 13. Make a left on to Freeville Road (Rte 38) when Irish Settlement Road comes to an end. At the top of a hill, make a left turn to stay on 38 – there will be signs pointing you in the right direction.

6. When you come to a little town, make a left on to Rte 366.

7. Make a right on to Upper Creek Rd. If you get to a bridge before making the turn, you have gone too far and will need to double back to get on to Upper Creek.

8. Make a left on to Wood Road

9. Make a right on to Lower Creek Road. Lower Creek becomes Hanshaw Road – follow it in to Cayuga Heights, then make a left on Warren Road which takes you back to campus.

A longer loop which takes you along some of the more important roads for biking in the area. Many of the roads are good starting places for other routes – e.g. from Coddington, you can take East Miller over to 96 B. From 79 you have a number of options. From Midline you could take Irish Settlement Road to extend the loop. There are plenty of variations.

1. Get on Rte 79 going east. The quickest way to 79 will depend on where you live. Check a map. If you don’t know where 79 is, look to the south of downtown Ithaca – you should see it; it’s a fairly major road.

2. Go a few miles on 79, then make a right on Burns Road. This will take you down a steep hill, and then up another hill.

3. When Burns comes to an end, make a left. You will go past the Coddington Community Center, the starting location for the Thursday Night time trials.

4. Make a left on to Caroline Depot Road.

5. Left on to White Church. This takes you down to Brooktondale.

6. Make a right on to Route 115 / Valley Rd

7. Left on to Route 114

8. Right on to Route 79

9. Left on to Midline Road

10. After a while, you will have to make a left to stay on Midline. If you go straight, the road becomes Irish Settlement and you can follow that way home. If you stay on Midline, the road becomes Mineah. Follow the Mount Pleasant directions to get back.

A route which covers some of the more serious hills in the area, but also has some fun descents.

1. Get on 79/State Street, but this time go toward downtown Ithaca.

2. Make a left on to Ferris Road. Follow this to the footbridge.

3. Take the footbridge – this is the bottom of the first major hill. Get on Columbia Street, which should be the road going up a hill right in front of you.

4. Left on to Hudson St.

5. Hudson becomes Coddington. Go past Ithaca College, then make a right on to Troy Road.

6. Make a right on to King Street. King Street takes you over the top of the first hill.

7. Follow King across 96B. Make a right on to Jersey Hill Road, which becomes Blakeslee road. This is a very fun descent with a sharp switchback (there is a sign for trucks saying 5 MPH).

8. The road ends at Route 34. Make right on to 34. This becomes Route 13. It’s a highway, but the shoulder is plenty wide.

9. Left on to Enfield Falls Road. This is bottom of the second hill (which is harder than the first).

10. Go up the hill, then make a right on to Van Dorn Road. This is a gravel road, but its not too bad on a road bike.

11. Follow Van Dorn until you get to 79. This part is mostly flat.

12. Make a right on to Route 79. Follow it all the way to downtown Ithaca. Another fun descent, one of the longest that I know of.

13. Make a left on to Cayuga Street, then a right on to Buffalo. A left on to Stewart will take you by West Campus. Buffalo is the last hill (and it will feel like the hardest one of all).

14. If you’re feeling masochistic, you can continue past Cornell campus and finish up by doing the Mount Pleasant loop. This adds another 10-15 miles depending on your route through Ithaca and your route to Mount Pleasant.