Over the Hills and Far Away

This loop requires a couple of strenuous climbs and exhilarating downhills. After the climb on Norrisville Rd. the route passes Macomb State Campsite and Day Use Area, no day use fee for cyclists. After Peasleeville, climbing becomes strenuous and ends after the turn onto Ore Bed Rd. which affords great views of Lyon Mtn., farm fields, woodlands and a steep downhill.

The Clinton Correctional Facility, which opened in 1845 with the mandate for inmates to work an iron ore mine owned by the state, is the center of Dannemora. The mining experiment was ended in 1877 and the wall was built. Just east are the gothic buildings of Clinton Annex, opened in 1899 as the Dannemora State Hospital for inmates declared insane after trial. Closed in 1972, it is now a separate correctional facility. The Gen. Leroy Manor Rd., with views of the Adirondack High Peaks, is named for a Clinton County native who served with distinction as a fighter pilot in World War II and the Vietnam War. Akey Road includes a spectacular 2 mi. downhill.

Difficult

0.0 Plattsburgh Town Hall; right onto Banker Road.
0.1 Cross NY Route 3.
0.7 R onto NY Route 22B.
1.3 Cross Saranac River; L onto Mason Street.
6.0 R on Salmon River Road.
6.7 L onto NY Route 22B.
6.9 R onto Norrisville Road at Gas Station.
10.5 Entrance to Macomb State Park on left.
11.5 R onto Peaseleeville Road.
17.8 R onto Ore Bed Road.
22.6 L onto Ore Bed Road; Cross the Saranac River.
22.7 R onto State Route 3.
28.3 L onto Pickett’s Corners Road.
32.5 R onto NY Route 374 (Cook Street).
33.3 L onto General Leroy Manor Road.
37.0 R onto Gene LaFave Road (before tractor sign).
37.7 L onto Akey Road.
40.9 L onto NY Route 374.
44.4 R onto Banker Road.
45.2 Finish at the Plattsburgh Town Hall