ROUTE : How to ride a Bicycle from Manhattan to Montauk New York Long Island

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***The author believes this route to be the safest route for a bicyclist to travel from Manhattan to Montauk.

This post is intended to encourage riders, citizens, and law-makers to implement proper bicycle infrastructure to connect Manhattan to Montauk by bicycle. The author no longer lives on Long Island but…***

“In 2014, when I moved to Long Island, I experienced some heavy culture shock. I’m born and raised in San Diego CA and the lack of bicycle infrastructure on Long Island was absolutely alarming.

I had always heard that NYC was some sort of ‘mecca’ for safe bicycle infrastructure, so I sort of assumed that that infrastructure protruded out on to Long Island. Also, Long Island has been around for about 200 years more than California so I figured they’d integrated bike lanes in to their roads by now –

But hoooooly cow I wrong…

The lack of bike lanes on Long Island is really unfortunate. Long Island COULD be absolutely amazing for cycling – it’s mostly flat – it’s scenic – and the seasons make both those things all the much better.

Yes yes there ARE already some excellent bicycle trails on Long Island. And I do feel fortunate enough to have lived in Seaford – smack in the middle of two of the best bike trails on the island – the Bethpage Bike Trail and the Jones Beach Bike Path. Those trails only run North and South though. After doing those trails so many times, naturally, I decided I wanted to ride West to East – Manhattan to Montauk.

For those of you unfamiliar, that essentially means from New York City to the eastern most tip of Long Island. It’s a little over 130 miles and almost entirely flat.

I thought for sure that there would be some sort of signage along the road pointing bicycles the best way east because, I mean, what a great recreational opportunity!

I thought for sure that there would be some sort of online resource showing the best and safest route – surely someone had done this before and documented it!

But nope – no sort of information on a safe route could I find. So – Here’s a link to my route I rode on Strava (LINK).

I did this ride on a State Bicycle Co. Contender Fixed Gear.

Also, here’s some photos of the route starting with just out of NYC and ending in Montauk. As you’ll see, getting out of the city is bumpy and confusing. Once you get out east a bit tho, smooth open roads and scenic! :

Just wanted to leave all this information on the internet and see what happens. If you have any questions, shoot me an email!

Here’s a link to the route I rode on Strava : https://www.strava.com/routes/2738290552890643038

Enjoy and be *safe,

Charlie Sears – theawarewolfs@gmail.com

* Really. Please be safe. Wear a helmet, watch out for cars, and watch the road cause it can be rrreally horrible in some parts…

14 thoughts on “ROUTE : How to ride a Bicycle from Manhattan to Montauk New York Long Island”

  1. Thanks for sharing your San Diego perspective, experience living on Long Island and the thought provoking photo journey.

    As a lifelong Long Islander 30 years I can substantiate much of what you say. South shore, West Islip and my wife’s from out east, now we live on the north shore. And offer three bullets:

    1. About 25 years and 26 years ago I attempted to ride to montauk with my friend and we made it 88 miles to the same spot South Hampton, which has a bike ordinance that requires you to walk your bike – riding will be rewarded with a summons. The first year this surprised and deflated us, the second year we were prepared but my friend took a spill just prior to South Hampton so we ending up reluctantly taking the LIRR from South Hampton yet again. We took Sunrise Highway for most of it and a cop finally pulled us over and made us get off onto montauk highway approximately in Brookhaven.
    2. NYC is the capitol of the world it has some of both the most experienced cyclists and most dangerous dare devils – it is also the Mecca of freight/logistics boasting two of the the most congested roads (NJ and NY side) of the George Washington Bridge. Point being, it’s a long established area but also not that simple, it’s also complicated and requires a lot of thought to attend to other roadway needs (our taxes and freight is already significantly high here).
    3. As I recently picked up an e bike and handled a wounded warrior 25 mile ride. I’m picking cycling up again and have been really impressed with the new paths established from Wantagh to basically Captree state park. And I strongly encourage both our elected officials to continue to plan for more pathways and former residents with opinions such as you to come back and give us a try. It is one of the most scenic and special places in the world, just a short ride from NYC.

  2. Hey! Thanks for the route. Anything you’d recommend for the train back from Montauk I were doing the ride on a saturday or sunday? THANKS!

    • Yes! I did. Well, I took the LIRR to Seaford or Massapequa. But you could take it back to the city for sure 🤙

  5. Hi, thanks for the informatic review! I am planning to do it on November 2nd week with my coaster brake_fixie bike I have experiences on riding from Central park to Corny island with my fixie. Can i ask whether there are any tough uphill on the way from the city to Montauk like Brooklyn downtown?

    • Hello Kayla! The entire route is relatively flat except for the very very end. At the very end, it does become semi-hilly. Good luck have fun be safe!

    • Hi do you think it would be safe to ride the sunrise hwy? I saw somebody do it on strava but it was a biig group.
      Never been to New York before but I will visit this week.

      • Parts of Sunrise HWY can be safe but a lot of Sunrise HWY can absolutely suck. Plus, it can be pretty dangerous. Mainly through the Nassau County part of Long Island.

  7. Gonna give this a try on my birthday in April. I was wondering about how much head wind was a factor for you?
    Thanks so much for the post. I’ll let you know how it goes.

    • Great! April ssshould be a good month to do the ride. No, head wind was not a factor for me at all actually – hope the same for you Phil!

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