Here’s a 37-mile bicycling loop that will take you through state forests, nature sanctuaries and down a long dirt road alongside one of Connecticut’s most scenic rivers.
Find a place to park your car in the village of West Cornwall, get on your bikes and head west through the covered bridge, and then onto West Cornwall Road. As you turn northwest, you’ll pass through Housatonic State Forest, with the Miles Wildlife Sanctuary on your left.
After about 5 miles, take a right onto White Hollow Road, which, true to its name, will run about 5 more miles between hills up to Lime Rock. Take a right onto Lime Rock Road (Rte. 112) and then, across from Lime Rock Park race track, go left onto Dugway Road.
Dugway Road will proceed north, eventually joining up with the west bank of the Housatonic River, which you will cross at the bridge onto Water Street in Falls Village. Stay on Water Street into the center of the village. If you’re hungry, head to Route 7, where Mountainside Cafe has a great local following and offers a farm-to-table menu.
Now you want to head south on Warren Turnpike, a grand name for a pretty quiet country road. A mile or so south of town it will turn into Lime Rock Station and then, at the border of Cornwall, it becomes River Road, and it will be just you, the river and a stretch of railroad track back down to West Cornwall, where you started.