Upstate Coffee Crawl: Callicoon Ride

The Ride

I’ve been delighted with the Upstate Coffee Crawl series and the coffee shops we’ve visited.  We were last in Callicoon, NY, for another shop, The Kitchen Table, so I knew our ride today would have some great roads along the way.

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I met another riding buddy at our start in Cross River, NY, and the Beeline Moto’s compass mode indicated 82.5 miles as a straight line to Callicoon, NY. With the Hudson River between us and our coffee, we knew the twisty roads we would take would add a few more miles to that. See our article on discovering new roads with Beeline.

The weather was a bit iffy for the day, so we expected we might hit some rain along the way. While I love riding the BMW R18 Classic I was onboard today, the front fender gives up too much to styling and allows spray onto the bike, so we kept our pace slightly more reasonable.

Knowing the continued construction on Route 6/202 heading up to the Bear Mountain Bridge, we headed north, departing from Cross River, NY, along Route 121 to connect a few of our favorite reservoir roads to Route 301.

A quick diversion on Route 9 leads us to Snake Hill Road to reach Route 9D and then head south to cross the Hudson River at the Bear Mountain Bridge, avoiding the construction to the south.  Route 301 is a local favorite, so we always try to take it.

With a long ride remaining to Callicoon, we continued on Route 6 once we crossed over the bridge. It became more of a highway to the west of Harriman State Park, so we switched to Route 17M near Kiryas Joel. This eventually reconnects with Route 6 but allows us to stay to the west of Middletown, NY.

State Highway 211 aligned better with our compass heading, and we stayed on it to Cuddebackville, where we grabbed Route 7.  This road followed for a time along the Neversink River.  The Neversink River is one of the tributaries of the Delaware River, which runs past Port Jervis and the tri-state meeting of NY, PA & NJ.  Neversink is believed to be the birthplace of dry fly fishing in the US, so for the anglers out there, this might be enough reason to bring your rod & reel on this coffee ride.

Much of our route followed streams, rivers, and reservoirs that hold many trout. Mongaup Falls Reservoir along Route 43 offered some spectacular views from the road.

We got off Route 43 and took some secondary roads near Mohican Lake and Highland Lake, seeming to find water along every road. Given that our route was unplanned, this was a fortuitous outcome, as water roads tend to be good options.

We passed through the town of Eldred, NY, where we visited the Churchill After Hours coffee shop co-located with Churchill Classic Cars, a fantastic destination on its own.

Montgomery Lake, Bodine Lake & Toasperns Pond were next as we re-aligned our compass to start heading north again.  We passed the Toronto Reservoir & Black Lake along Route 55 before meeting White Lake as we joined Route 17B heading West.  White Lake, a hamlet of Bethel, NY, was the closest community to the Woodstock Festival in the 60s.  While the organizers of the Woodstock Festival had hoped to open a recording studio in Woodstock & hold the festival nearby, they could not find a space nearby.  They had to use Max Yasgur’s dairy farm 40 miles away in Bethel, NY.  Our route on 17B took us just past the farm that had been used.

We continued heading west until we reached Route 97 near Cochecton, NY. This route follows the curve of the Delaware River, which defines the border between New York and Pennsylvania. We then headed north on Route 97 toward Callicoon.

As we approached Callicoon, we saw several tractors heading in the same direction.  As we descended the winding road leading to the village of Callicoon and the train tracks, we realized the tractors were all heading into the village.  With many spots near the entrance to Grizzly Bagels filled, we made the circle around downtown and saw people sitting in chairs on either side of the street.  We found some spots by the train tracks and parked the bikes, shaking off the misting rain that had accumulated on our jackets from the ride.  We learned there was a tractor parade on the day we arrived, so everyone was setting up their chairs around the route.  Ending the ride recording on Rever, it showed our 82.5 straight Beeline distance had grown to 143.1 miles with all the wonderfully winding roads we’d found along the way.  See the route below.

REVER is a mobile app designed to help you track, plan, or navigate your ride. With the app, you can easily plan your route, view maps and directions, and track your distance using GPS technology. The app is an excellent tool for anyone who loves to ride and wants to keep track of their progress and distance.

The Coffee Shop

The larger crowds in the village for the tractor parade created a more bustling feel to the town than our last visit.  As we crossed the tracks toward the entrance, we had to wait for several cars and a couple of tractors to cross the street in front of the shops.

Grizzly Bagels is part of the Callicoon Marketplace, sharing a space with several other shops. The marketplace has a mix of old cabinets and wood. With so many different businesses in the space, all naturally flowing into one another, it has a mishmash of styles. Edison bulbs on strings run back and forth across the ceiling, and several strip lights accent the lighting further.

Grizzly Bagels is right near the entrance, which has plenty of foot traffic. There was a line of people continuing to come in and get their bagels and coffee, so we had a bit of a wait until we were able to place our order.

The counter had a long glass case filled with assortments of bagels, while the space near the register had some weathered wood with a wooden bear relief mounted on the front.

True to its name, the menu mainly consists of bagels of every flavor and topping imaginable.  Whether you like a reasonably common variety like cinnamon raisin, salt, sesame, poppy, or everything, or something a bit less familiar like honey wheat, rye, or Za’atar to a flavor explosion like their rosemary & parmesan, or cheddar & jalapeño, you’ll find some bagel to enjoy. If you like your bagel toasted, they have a toaster to add texture.  The bagels are all handmade in small batches.  Check out this video for a behind-the-scenes look at how they are made.

While the bagel options were extensive, coffee options were limited to drip coffee and cold brew.

I chose a drip coffee and everything bagel with cream cheese.  Most of their business is takeout, so the coffee was served in a paper cup.  There were a few chairs on the corner of the counter, so we grabbed a couple to enjoy our refreshments.

The coffee was good and after a long wet ride was refreshing.  The bagel was outstanding.  Best I’ve had outside NYC.  Yes, we rode almost 150 miles to have it, but the roads in the area and the delicious bagel and coffee were absolutely worth the trip.

But, since our ride there and getting ready to publish this, Grizzly Bagels has closed the Callicoon location.  One can hope business was so good, they needed more space than the stall within the Callicoon Marketplace as they will open in a new space in Roscoe, NY in July 2024.  With how good the bagels were, I’ll be making a trip to visit their new location in Roscoe, NY.