My TrailLink

White Plains Greenway
Short, but has railroadiana

The former New York, Westchester & Boston was an electric railway, with catenary poles running overhead its entire length. A short walk on this trail will confirm this, as there are humongo concrete blocks with steel bolts projecting from the top every few hundred feet. Just south of Ridgeway are the footings for a station.

The railway is only used for the southern half of the trail. North of that it goes through the White Plains composting facility. They don't seem to be using the railbed, but their fence goes around the outside. I see no impediment to doubling the length of the trail northwards. On the south, the railbed has been built upon. Maybe, though, they can lengthen the trail so it meets up with Reynal Crossing. That would open it up as an amenity to all the people who live on the south end.

It's a pretty trail, but should be rerouted to use the railbed, lengthened and eventually paved so that everyone can use it.

Bloomingdale Bog Trail
Wet and bumpy but worth it

I rode this trail in 2006. It is wet from beavers and bumpy from roots just as described, but it's a lot of fun and you get some gorgeous views. Definitely worth riding it, and don't let the water scare you. It's only water and just a foot deep.

Black River Trail
A well used, well loved trail.

You can tell from the number of people on this trail that it is well loved. Paved most of the way, with the State planning to finish the paving this year, it's a great trail for any off-road use that requires a hard surface.

My ride notes: http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1162393115.html

Jim Schug Trail
A trail that could be better

The Jim Schug Trail goes through attractive territory, with a bridge over a small creek, and several wetlands infested with chirpy, flying, bug-eating things. Oh, right, birds. They have signage at both ends of the trail, but no parking near the trailhead (park on village street nearby). Nice interpretive signs along the trail, with benches every half mile serving as mile markers. And yet ... I want more. The northern end of the trail is grass with a single track through some of it. Packed crushed rock would make the trail easier for bicyclists and strollers. The right-of-way goes on for another mile with no apparent obstacle to travel other than signage. Get permission, extend the trail.

My ride notes: http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1221944166.html

Gorge Trail
Nice views of the river

This trail folows the Lehigh Valley Elmira and Cortland Branch through a pretty gorge with nice views of the river. You start one block north of downtown Cazenovia at the train station, and go up to Chittenango Falls (the effective end of the Gorge Trail). About halfway up are some pretty ruins (on posted property -- stay off) between the trail and the river. Somewhere prior to Chittenango Falls is the official end of the Gorge Trail, but the signage permits you to bicycle to the Falls. Beyond that the trail is closed so that only hikers can use it (and there's no trailhead nor any evidence that hikers actually use it.)

Here are my ride notes: http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1221843892.html

Oswego County Trail
A nice trail, but

It's a nice trail, but when I rode it back in 2004, it did have a few problems with excessive ATV use. A little doesn't hurt a trail, but it doesn't take much for the trail to be turned into a series of mud pits, with exposed roots that ruin it for snowmobilers, and dug up rocks that ruin it for bicyclists.
http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1093621753.html

Cato-Fair Haven Trail
Cato-Fair Haven Trail?

I've seen this trail described elsewhere as the Cato-Fair Haven Trail. In particular, the county describes it as such here: http://co.cayuga.ny.us/parks/trails/cato-fh1.html

I rode it back in August of 2005, and published my thoughts on the trail here: http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1124975784.html

Wallkill Valley Rail-Trail
Interesting trail

Another reviewer pointed out that this trail is as wide as a gravel road. True! This railroad was initially built by the Erie, which used a 6 foot gauge. I rode it last year. Blog entry is here: http://blog.russnelson.com/bicycling/1193406384.html Tried doing something new: keeping an audio record of what I saw along the trail. It's 3.5 hours along. Ask if you want it. :-) I enjoyed the ride; you will too.

Northern Rail Trail
A sweet trail

I rode on this trail while my wife shopped at Patternworks, over in Center Harbor. Only had time to ride 7 miles of the trail. The eastern end of this trail stops at the county line. The railbed continuing east is legally accessible, and is probably usable by snow machines, but still has the ballast. I've ridden on ballast before and it's no fun. They have plans to replace it with rock dust in 2010.

I rode in the direction of Grafton and had a great ride. Encountered a few walkers, and the day before (driving in) saw a few other bicyclists. Not a busy trail, but a nice trail. Plenty of interesting railroad artifacts. Took photos of all but the whistle post east of Grafton, uploaded them to Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/russnelson/tags/northernrailtrail/

There's a nice treatment of a former at-grade crossing. They rebuilt the highway bridge over a stream just off the railbed, and left room on the side for the trail. So there's a slope down, a bit of rusty drainage, and a slope back up, but no cars.