Pratt

Evidently, this has been completed. Does anyone have any experience with it? Are maps available?
I did the Erie Canal Towpath a couple of years ago; it could use better signage.
The overview looks good, NYC to Canada intersecting wth Albany to Buffalo.

Papa Tom

There has been some discussion about it on the "Bicycle Riders of Long Island" group over at Facebook (I started the thread), but nothing too encouraging yet. It seems like a major part of the off-road portion comprises the Hudson Valley bicycle paths we all know and love but have already ridden. A lot of the rest is still on-road.

During some trips to the Kingston and New Paltz areas two years ago, I saw pieces of this and thought it looked neat. None of it seemed to be going anywhere special, though. I suspect it's just going to be one of those rites of passage, like Montauk Point is for cyclists here on Long Island.

John N

Papa Tom, so it more of a route than a trail?

csport

Route composed of trails.

Here is the map: https://empiretrail.ny.gov/map

Some of the trails like Maybrook trail, sections 9 and 10 on the map are newly constructed, regional discussion about its opening: Maybrook Trail
There is a backroad route which exits the Putnam trail, bypasses Brewster and leads to Hopewell Junction, it is a bit hilly. The new Maybrook trail is a nice addition.

I did the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany last September, and they were repaving parts of it/paving dirt sections with gravel.

From Albany to Canada it is mostly on road, but Buffalo to Albany to NYC is mostly off road.

csport

Hopefully they improved the signage. This interactive map helped me a lot when I rode it last September: https://www.ptny.org/bike-canal/map/

bktourer1

Try this: Empire State Trail (ny.gov)

Pratt

When I was preparing for the Erie trip I wanted a map of NY State Bike Route 5. When I finally got in touch with someone in government, he was able to send me a map out of old stock. It had Pataki's picture on it. I wondered why Cuomo didn't like bicycles.

indyfabz

From one of the links posted above:

“In 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched the Empire State Trail to promote outdoor recreation, encourage healthy lifestyles, support community vitality, and bolster tourism-related economic development.”

But thanks for playing.

John N

Thanks. By "trails", I mean off-road routing, i.e. rail trail or separate paths for bikes only. I see a lot of the route south of Troy is comprised of trails but no so much north of Troy where, to me, it is more of a Route (on road routing) than a Trail. Still, glad you guys got it.

indyfabz

I think the map and legend clearly show trail vs. on-road.

Papa Tom

I just traced this map all the way up to Buffalo and I have to say, despite my earlier knee-jerk reaction, this project looks freakin' amazing. I am really overwhelmed by it all, especially seeing how much of it is paved or gravel off-road.

I only hope that COVID and my health give me an opportunity to explore the sections I haven't already ridden, and ultimately, that I can piece together a week or two to ride the whole thing.

bktourer1

Anyone seen these yet?
Albany-Hudson Electric Trail

Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail

Russ Roth

Really Cuomo just helped link together the existing trails that were already there and being worked on. I'd give more credit if he'd had more of the routes north of Albany made off-road, mostly it seems like they copped out so they could claim to have linked the state. The Albany to Schenectady section was old 26 years ago and the small section missing in Colonie has been missing just as long. I sat in on a planning meeting for the Clyde section that would link Rochester to Syracuse 10 years ago as they'd just finished the areas between Clyde and Newark through Lyons.
Having worked in shops along the Canal from the 90s till 10 years ago much of the East/West has been in existence and steadily extended for the last 30 years. Maybe some of the North/South lines were a result of Cuomo but I'm guessing most is just the continuation of plans that have long been in place and progressing. It's just under him the results are really starting to pay off.

Papa Tom

I sense that you are trying to make some kind of political statement here, but I'm not going to bite. I don't care if credit goes to Andrew Cuomo or Perry Como (look him up if you're too young); I think this is a great addition to our NYS bikeway network.

Russ Roth

Only thing political, if that, is that we shouldn't be giving any politician any credit for something that was started decades before him just cause it was finished during his time, most of it isn't an addition, just a compilation. Mostly because in crediting this to any governorship we lose sight of all the small groups across the state who have made this all possible and that's the part I don't like.
Political would be that the Tappen Zee shouldn't be denigrated by being renamed for his ahole father but that's a different conversation for elsewhere.

indyfabz

Don't believe there is much/any available former railroad right of way for such an endeavor. The old D&H (now CP) runs up the NY side, and the terrain to the west gets steep. My top speed crossing the country was close to 49 mph descending into Ticonderoga. As such, creating more off road routes would likely be a lot more difficult (and expensive) to do.

I have taken Amtrak up to Montreal via that line. If that were to ever go away it would make the ultimate bike trail in the NE, with parts of it hugging the shore.

Papa Tom

OK, so it IS political. I guess I missed the post where I made any reference to any politician. I just said I like the damned bike trail. NEXT THREAD....

indyfabz

https://ulstercountyny.gov/planning/...l-west-phase-4

Steve B.

I feel that the current state administration is mostly just making noise about this trail. They have really not done much except put out publicity fliers and lay out a very small amount of money in signage. The publicity on this reads like they built the whole friggin thing from scratch and that didn’t happen, they merely chose existing paths and roads and Voila ! A new bike path.

I will give them credit for funding AND overcoming a lot of local resistance to get the Ocean Parkway trail to Captree built. It’ll open someday.

Russ Roth

It was impressive how fast they managed to build that and then its just stalled out, I really want to ride the whole thing.

niliraga 

I did a day ride this fall to see how the ride from NYC to New Paltz would go; this "missing link" between Brewster and Hopewell Jcn was the only significant on-road time I had to spend, so this new Maybrook section that connects the two is going to be a fun new discovery for this coming spring...

Papa Tom

In the early 1980's, when I was just starting in the music business, I used to trek from Long Island all the way up to Hopewell Junction - a bungalow colony called Sylvan Lake - to play gigs for fifty bucks. There was absolutely nothing up there at the time, so I couldn't even spend what was left of the fifty (after gas and tolls) on a sandwich. Has Hopewell Junction built up at all since then? I'm asking because, if I do this ride, I'm going to need a place to stay and a place to eat.

Pratt

I've seen the website, but haven't seen any mention of the availability of actual hard copy maps. Am I missing something?

indyfabz

Try searching Google Maps.

Papa Tom

Of course I can do that. I'm just wondering if anybody who lives or vacations up that way has any inside info.