| Pocono Tours 2009 Scamp 'n' Rascal Cycling Adventures |
Our Eastern Hills and Pocono Tours
When it’s hot we head for the highlands. From the late 1800s until the early 1960s the
Pocono Mountains were the vacation spot for wealthy eastern city dwellers. Famous men
and women from around the world came here to relax, cool off and embrace the stunning
beauty of the Kittatinny Ridge and the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.
The entire area was studded with enormous world-class resorts and very posh, intimate
inns.
In more recent times, the Pocono’s reputation for luxury and beauty has been
overshadowed with inaccurate rumors of crowding and seediness. While we won’t deny
there are parts of the area that could use a good scrubbing, Scamp ‘n’ Rascal riders
never get anywhere close to the “dirty bits”. To the contrary, we believe that our routes
through these beautiful, lush hills are the very best riding of which we know….and we
know a lot!
Our wonderful mountains have more than 330,000 acres of public land laced with
wonderful back roads. Because Paul grew up in the Poconos and has lived here all his
life, he knows roads that other people never find. It’s not uncommon for us to be out
riding for four or five hours on these fantastic, canopied roads, spinning alongside cool,
burbling streams, passing freshets and waterfalls, finding breath-taking views at the top
of every hill and not see a single car the entire time. Not one. You may see wildlife. We’
ve seen turkeys, deer, foxes, beavers, Bald Eagles and even bears (from a distance) but
on many of these roads it’s rare that we ever encounter a car. Sometimes seeing wildlife
is more frequent than encountering a car!
And what of those luxurious resorts and posh inns? They’re still here and still every bit
as luminous as they have ever been. You just have to know where and how to find
them…which we do.
So in summer time, when the lowland air is sultry and you have to pedal your legs off or
be swarmed by mosquitoes, we say farewell to the farmers and their teams and head
into the Poconos. The air alongside the water is cooler than in Amish country, and the
dense canopy does a good job of keeping us out of the summer sun.
Early May, when the trees are peeking green but not yet leafed, is the best time for long
dramatic views of the ridges, rivers and valleys. Waterfalls are their most impressive and
tiny freshets will spill from nearly every ledge. It’s also a great time to see fawns and
count Bald Eagles. If we pass any nests we know of, we’ll be sure to point them out to
you. We’ve often seen fledglings perched on the edge stretching both their mouths and
their wings.
We always appreciate the Poconos, even in the dead of winter (snow shoeing and XC
skiing!) but in July and August the cool and the quiet add a certain piquancy to our
gratitude. That’s not to say it never gets hot here. It does. But it’s never nearly as hot
here as it is farther south or at lower altitudes. This is also when the mountains are their
most luscious. The Rhododendron is in bloom and there are wild flowers everywhere. As
busy as the world can be, the Poconos in mid-summer are simply peaceful.
Then there is October; the most amazing, incredible, glorious display of natural beauty
you can imagine: Leaf Peeping Season. Thankfully most of those leaf peepers in cars
stick to the well-worn roads that everybody knows, leaving the most beautiful, most quiet
roads all to us. October is the very best month to ride here. The air may be cool, or even
crisp in the early morning, but by the time you’re on your bike it is perfect. You can ride
all day in total comfort, without overheating. We can never find enough hours or enough
miles in October.
Pocono Tours for 2009
The Up River Tour
July 27 - Aug 1 and Aug 24 - Aug 29
6 Days - 5 Nights Maximum 20 people
5 Breakfasts, 3 Dinners
The hills that border the Delaware River have a long history as a premier resort
destination. During this week long adventure you'll see spectacular scenery as
you pedal the quiet back roads that criss-cross this designated Wild and Scenic
River. Along the way there will be lakes, streams and waterfalls, historic villages
and mansions, breath taking vistas and, most likely, sightings of wild life. That's
during the day. At night we'll stay in a delightful collection of intriguing and
historic inns, each chosen for its unique place in the history of these hills.
Maximum riding distance 300 miles, 1 layover day
Learn more
Down the Delaware
May 11 - May 15 and Aug 9 - Aug 13
5 Days - 4 Nights Maximum 20 people
4 Breakfasts, 2 Dinners
What a great idea! We’ll stage the cars far downstream, then travel by bus far upstream.
That way we get to follow the rivers as they carve their way down through the mountains.
Of course since we’re in PA there will be some hills, but still, we’re headed downstream.
The descents of every hill will be longer than the climb. How cool is that?! What’s more,
we’ll be traveling through some of the most beautiful landscapes on the east coast and
staying in inns and hotels as rich in history as the river towns in which they were built.
This tour is great for intermediate riders and above.
Maximum riding distance: 200 miles
Learn more
The Water Gap Weekend
May 7/8 - May 10, July 23/24 - July 26, Aug 20/21 - Aug 23
3 or 4 days 2 or 3 nights
2 or 3 Breakfasts, 2 Dinners
Get away for two, or for a few. There's so much great cycling here that we're giving you
some great weekend options. Play hooky from work and join us on Thursday for four
days of fantastic riding. Or come early on Friday so you can get in three days of sugar
sweet roads. Of course if your boss is a slave driver and you just can’t get away early,
come out Friday afternoon. We’re pretty sure if you ride with us Saturday and Sunday
you’ll forget you even have a boss. What’s more, we’re spending the weekend at the
swanky Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort on the banks of the Delaware river. This place is
packed to the gills with things to do, everything from golf and tennis to playing on the
river or lounging by the pool. Think of it as a weekend cycling summer camp. You can
even bring your non-riding partner along. That way everybody’s smiling when you get
back home.
2 night weekend –maximum riding distance 150 miles.
3 night weekend – maximum riding distance 215 miles.
Learn more
Milford Charm
Oct 2 - Oct 4
3 days - 2 nights Maximum 22 people
2 Breakfasts 1 Dinner
For such a small river town, Milford sure has some great things to see, places to stay
and tables at which to eat. Those are all among the reasons we’ve brought so many
friends here to ride. Riding from Milford you will see spectacular waterfalls and vistas.
You can climb to the top of New Jersey and see more than 100 miles in every direction
(the weather gods permitting, of course). You can ride to Grey Towers, the ancestral
home of Gifford Pinchot, a former governor of PA and the father of the modern day
environmental movement and spend hours riding through forests and along the
Delaware River. On this trip we’ve chosen to stay at the historic Laurel Villa a great B&B
with a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America making our meals. We hope you’ll
join us at this charming inn in this charming town, and ride along some of the most
beautiful and interesting…and charming… roads in our library.
Maximum riding distance 150 miles
Learn more
The Black Bear Century
Oct 17
One Day Event - 107 miles with 5 shorter options
Lunch and after ride meal
Here are the basics: We’ll start in Minisink in the heart of the Delaware Water Gap
National Recreation Area. The six route options (32, 41, 47, 65, 96, 108 miles) follow
roads that are scarcely used by cars, though often crossed by wildlife. There will be rest
stops to keep you stoked, breath taking views to keep you inspired, and a hot catered
dinner to fill you at the end. And we’ll do it all when the mountains are at their most
glorious. This is the first time we’re doing this so we’re nervous of making promises, but
certainly there will be t-shirts, and if enough people register there will be a band.
Learn more
To see an overview map of the Black Bear Century Click Here
The Black Bear Century Weekend
Oct 16 - 18
3 days 2 nights maximum 20 people
2 Breakfasts, 1 Dinner
Register early. Space is limited and rooms are very difficult to obtain during the
height of Leaf Peeping Season.
There are few resorts anywhere with more class, more history, more amenities or more
style than the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort on the Delaware River. Happily we’ve
managed to secure rooms there for the weekend of our Black Bear Century despite the
hotel selling out more than a year in advance for this busiest weekend of the year. The
Black Bear Century Weekend is absolutely perfect for riders with non-riding partners.
Shawnee is a full service resort with loads to do. You’ll have access to golf, canoeing,
rafting, kayaking, guided fishing trips, hiking on a variety of trails, including the
Appalachian Trail, tennis and swimming in their indoor heated pool. Nearby you’ll find
guided mountain biking and guided sight seeing. And then there are the LEAVES.
There will be optional rides on both Friday and Sunday of 30 – 40 miles each to help you
work the kinks out. Plus it gives us a chance to show off our beautiful countryside. Of
course on Saturday you’ll have the option to ride any of the six Black Bear Century
routes. This will be more than a century. This will be a vacation!
Maximum riding distance 200 miles
Learn more
When it’s hot we head for the highlands. From the late 1800s until the early 1960s the
Pocono Mountains were the vacation spot for wealthy eastern city dwellers. Famous men
and women from around the world came here to relax, cool off and embrace the stunning
beauty of the Kittatinny Ridge and the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.
The entire area was studded with enormous world-class resorts and very posh, intimate
inns.
In more recent times, the Pocono’s reputation for luxury and beauty has been
overshadowed with inaccurate rumors of crowding and seediness. While we won’t deny
there are parts of the area that could use a good scrubbing, Scamp ‘n’ Rascal riders
never get anywhere close to the “dirty bits”. To the contrary, we believe that our routes
through these beautiful, lush hills are the very best riding of which we know….and we
know a lot!
Our wonderful mountains have more than 330,000 acres of public land laced with
wonderful back roads. Because Paul grew up in the Poconos and has lived here all his
life, he knows roads that other people never find. It’s not uncommon for us to be out
riding for four or five hours on these fantastic, canopied roads, spinning alongside cool,
burbling streams, passing freshets and waterfalls, finding breath-taking views at the top
of every hill and not see a single car the entire time. Not one. You may see wildlife. We’
ve seen turkeys, deer, foxes, beavers, Bald Eagles and even bears (from a distance) but
on many of these roads it’s rare that we ever encounter a car. Sometimes seeing wildlife
is more frequent than encountering a car!
And what of those luxurious resorts and posh inns? They’re still here and still every bit
as luminous as they have ever been. You just have to know where and how to find
them…which we do.
So in summer time, when the lowland air is sultry and you have to pedal your legs off or
be swarmed by mosquitoes, we say farewell to the farmers and their teams and head
into the Poconos. The air alongside the water is cooler than in Amish country, and the
dense canopy does a good job of keeping us out of the summer sun.
Early May, when the trees are peeking green but not yet leafed, is the best time for long
dramatic views of the ridges, rivers and valleys. Waterfalls are their most impressive and
tiny freshets will spill from nearly every ledge. It’s also a great time to see fawns and
count Bald Eagles. If we pass any nests we know of, we’ll be sure to point them out to
you. We’ve often seen fledglings perched on the edge stretching both their mouths and
their wings.
We always appreciate the Poconos, even in the dead of winter (snow shoeing and XC
skiing!) but in July and August the cool and the quiet add a certain piquancy to our
gratitude. That’s not to say it never gets hot here. It does. But it’s never nearly as hot
here as it is farther south or at lower altitudes. This is also when the mountains are their
most luscious. The Rhododendron is in bloom and there are wild flowers everywhere. As
busy as the world can be, the Poconos in mid-summer are simply peaceful.
Then there is October; the most amazing, incredible, glorious display of natural beauty
you can imagine: Leaf Peeping Season. Thankfully most of those leaf peepers in cars
stick to the well-worn roads that everybody knows, leaving the most beautiful, most quiet
roads all to us. October is the very best month to ride here. The air may be cool, or even
crisp in the early morning, but by the time you’re on your bike it is perfect. You can ride
all day in total comfort, without overheating. We can never find enough hours or enough
miles in October.
Pocono Tours for 2009
The Up River Tour
July 27 - Aug 1 and Aug 24 - Aug 29
6 Days - 5 Nights Maximum 20 people
5 Breakfasts, 3 Dinners
The hills that border the Delaware River have a long history as a premier resort
destination. During this week long adventure you'll see spectacular scenery as
you pedal the quiet back roads that criss-cross this designated Wild and Scenic
River. Along the way there will be lakes, streams and waterfalls, historic villages
and mansions, breath taking vistas and, most likely, sightings of wild life. That's
during the day. At night we'll stay in a delightful collection of intriguing and
historic inns, each chosen for its unique place in the history of these hills.
Maximum riding distance 300 miles, 1 layover day
Learn more
Down the Delaware
May 11 - May 15 and Aug 9 - Aug 13
5 Days - 4 Nights Maximum 20 people
4 Breakfasts, 2 Dinners
What a great idea! We’ll stage the cars far downstream, then travel by bus far upstream.
That way we get to follow the rivers as they carve their way down through the mountains.
Of course since we’re in PA there will be some hills, but still, we’re headed downstream.
The descents of every hill will be longer than the climb. How cool is that?! What’s more,
we’ll be traveling through some of the most beautiful landscapes on the east coast and
staying in inns and hotels as rich in history as the river towns in which they were built.
This tour is great for intermediate riders and above.
Maximum riding distance: 200 miles
Learn more
The Water Gap Weekend
May 7/8 - May 10, July 23/24 - July 26, Aug 20/21 - Aug 23
3 or 4 days 2 or 3 nights
2 or 3 Breakfasts, 2 Dinners
Get away for two, or for a few. There's so much great cycling here that we're giving you
some great weekend options. Play hooky from work and join us on Thursday for four
days of fantastic riding. Or come early on Friday so you can get in three days of sugar
sweet roads. Of course if your boss is a slave driver and you just can’t get away early,
come out Friday afternoon. We’re pretty sure if you ride with us Saturday and Sunday
you’ll forget you even have a boss. What’s more, we’re spending the weekend at the
swanky Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort on the banks of the Delaware river. This place is
packed to the gills with things to do, everything from golf and tennis to playing on the
river or lounging by the pool. Think of it as a weekend cycling summer camp. You can
even bring your non-riding partner along. That way everybody’s smiling when you get
back home.
2 night weekend –maximum riding distance 150 miles.
3 night weekend – maximum riding distance 215 miles.
Learn more
Milford Charm
Oct 2 - Oct 4
3 days - 2 nights Maximum 22 people
2 Breakfasts 1 Dinner
For such a small river town, Milford sure has some great things to see, places to stay
and tables at which to eat. Those are all among the reasons we’ve brought so many
friends here to ride. Riding from Milford you will see spectacular waterfalls and vistas.
You can climb to the top of New Jersey and see more than 100 miles in every direction
(the weather gods permitting, of course). You can ride to Grey Towers, the ancestral
home of Gifford Pinchot, a former governor of PA and the father of the modern day
environmental movement and spend hours riding through forests and along the
Delaware River. On this trip we’ve chosen to stay at the historic Laurel Villa a great B&B
with a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America making our meals. We hope you’ll
join us at this charming inn in this charming town, and ride along some of the most
beautiful and interesting…and charming… roads in our library.
Maximum riding distance 150 miles
Learn more
The Black Bear Century
Oct 17
One Day Event - 107 miles with 5 shorter options
Lunch and after ride meal
Here are the basics: We’ll start in Minisink in the heart of the Delaware Water Gap
National Recreation Area. The six route options (32, 41, 47, 65, 96, 108 miles) follow
roads that are scarcely used by cars, though often crossed by wildlife. There will be rest
stops to keep you stoked, breath taking views to keep you inspired, and a hot catered
dinner to fill you at the end. And we’ll do it all when the mountains are at their most
glorious. This is the first time we’re doing this so we’re nervous of making promises, but
certainly there will be t-shirts, and if enough people register there will be a band.
Learn more
To see an overview map of the Black Bear Century Click Here
The Black Bear Century Weekend
Oct 16 - 18
3 days 2 nights maximum 20 people
2 Breakfasts, 1 Dinner
Register early. Space is limited and rooms are very difficult to obtain during the
height of Leaf Peeping Season.
There are few resorts anywhere with more class, more history, more amenities or more
style than the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort on the Delaware River. Happily we’ve
managed to secure rooms there for the weekend of our Black Bear Century despite the
hotel selling out more than a year in advance for this busiest weekend of the year. The
Black Bear Century Weekend is absolutely perfect for riders with non-riding partners.
Shawnee is a full service resort with loads to do. You’ll have access to golf, canoeing,
rafting, kayaking, guided fishing trips, hiking on a variety of trails, including the
Appalachian Trail, tennis and swimming in their indoor heated pool. Nearby you’ll find
guided mountain biking and guided sight seeing. And then there are the LEAVES.
There will be optional rides on both Friday and Sunday of 30 – 40 miles each to help you
work the kinks out. Plus it gives us a chance to show off our beautiful countryside. Of
course on Saturday you’ll have the option to ride any of the six Black Bear Century
routes. This will be more than a century. This will be a vacation!
Maximum riding distance 200 miles
Learn more
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