Hawk's Nest, NY-97

Driving

by Plot Along: Northeast

The Hawk's Nest is a stone-walled cliffside stretch of New York Route 97, the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, where the road is carved into the rock face high above the Delaware River. It snakes through a run of sharp, low-parapet curves with the river dropping away on one side. Carmakers love it: if you've seen a commercial with a coupe leaning through banked curves above a river, there's a good chance it was shot here, just northwest of Port Jervis.

The drive runs from Port Jervis, where New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania meet, northwest along the Delaware past the Hawk's Nest curves to the Roebling Bridge at Minisink Ford. That bridge, the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the country, was built in 1848 by John Roebling, who would go on to design the Brooklyn Bridge.

Fully paved and open year-round. The curves are tight and the stone walls are low, so it rewards a measured pace. It's a longtime favorite of motorcyclists, so expect company on summer weekends.

Learn more: en.wikipedia.org

Riverside Creamery
A riverside ice cream stand on the Delaware in Port Jervis, the kickoff for a run up NY-97 along the river.
Port Jervis
Where NY-97 begins, at the Tri-States point where New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania meet on the Delaware. The Park Avenue overlook here looks out over the river valley before the byway heads northwest.
Hawk's Nest Overlook
The heart of the Hawk's Nest, where the road clings to the rock face with only a low stone parapet between you and the Delaware far below, bending through the tight S-curves you've seen in car commercials.
Mongaup
A hamlet at the mouth of the Mongaup River, at the northern end of the dramatic cliff section where the road settles back toward the riverbank.
Roebling Aqueduct Museum
The museum in the old toll house at the Roebling Aqueduct, with parking and exhibits on the 1848 bridge and the canal it once carried over the Delaware.
Roebling Bridge, Minisink Ford
John A. Roebling's 1848 Delaware Aqueduct, the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the country and a trial run for his Brooklyn Bridge. A fitting turnaround at the north end of the drive.

Riverside Creamery

Port Jervis

Hawk's Nest Overlook

Mongaup

Roebling Aqueduct Museum

Roebling Bridge, Minisink Ford