Explore the best rated trails in Canandaigua, NY. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Auburn-Fleming Trail and Hojack Trail. With more than 25 trails covering 560 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Enjoy a smooth ride along the Catharine Valley Trail, a well-maintained multiuse pathway that provides a comfortable and shaded biking experience through Upstate New York. High points include entering...
By the early 1800s, Rochester had earned the nickname of Flour City because of its numerous mills that allowed the young town to rapidly become the largest flour producer in the United States. The...
Snaking along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, the Irondequoit Lakeside Multi-Use Trail provides a smooth journey infused with the region’s rich natural and cultural heritage. The nearly 7-mile trail...
Travelers on the Lake Ontario State Parkway Trail will enjoy scenic views of wooded areas, surrounding bodies of water and wetlands. The trail parallels the north side of the Parkway, which runs along...
The Keuka Outlet Trail offers a sinuous route of nearly 7 miles between Penn Yan and Dresden in New York’s Finger Lakes region. The rail-trail follows a railroad corridor that traced a former canal...
The Cayuga-Seneca Canalway Trail is a 5-mile pathway beginning in Waterloo, New York and terminating at Seneca Lake State Park. The roadbed it uses was constructed by the Seneca County Railway...
Brickyard Trail offers a pleasant north-south route through the Town of Brighton, which sits on the southeastern outskirts of Rochester. Its name is a nod to the town's brickmaking industry dating...
The Manchester Gateway Trail is a scenic route used by walkers and cyclers that follows the Canandaigua Outlet through Manchester. It has also been used for skiing during winter months. The trailhead...
The North Branch of the Lehigh Valley Trail connects the campuses of the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology. The trail’s northern terminus is where the Erie Canal Heritage...
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The Pittsford Trail System, also called the Railroad Loop Trail, provides access to the Erie Canal, town of Pittsford, and shopping and business district in the quaint New York village. A short...
When complete, the Erie Canalway Trail will run for 360 miles in upstate New York—from Buffalo in the west to Albany in the east—linking many other communities along the way, including Rochester,...
The Erie Attica Trail lies in the Finger Lakes region of New York along the former railroad for which it's named. A glimpse of this past can be seen in the beautiful truss bridge that spans 220 feet...
The El Camino: Butterhole-Seneca Park Trail (often more simply called the El Camino Trail) runs diagonally through a neighborhood and industrial properties in northeast Rochester on an abandoned CSX...
The I-390 Bike Path is a 5-mile paved trail starting in Greece and ending at the Island Cottage Woods Preserves just south of Lake Ontario. The trail starts just after crossing Route 104 using the...
The town of Perinton, New York, has been hard at work improving the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Trail, and it shows. Since 1996, when the American Hiking Society designated Perinton as a Trail...
The Keuka Outlet Trail offers a sinuous route of nearly 7 miles between Penn Yan and Dresden in New York’s Finger Lakes region. The rail-trail follows a railroad corridor that traced a former canal...
Travelers on the Lake Ontario State Parkway Trail will enjoy scenic views of wooded areas, surrounding bodies of water and wetlands. The trail parallels the north side of the Parkway, which runs along...
Black Diamond Trail will one day stretch 15 miles to link four state parks in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Currently, 8 miles of the trail are open, which follow the Lehigh Valley Railroad...
The I-390 Bike Path is a 5-mile paved trail starting in Greece and ending at the Island Cottage Woods Preserves just south of Lake Ontario. The trail starts just after crossing Route 104 using the...
The North Branch of the Lehigh Valley Trail connects the campuses of the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology. The trail’s northern terminus is where the Erie Canal Heritage...
The Charlie Major Nature Trail follows an abandoned right-of-way that once carried trains along the old Skaneateles Short Line Railroad. The railroad served millworks in the area, including paper...
The Cato-Fair Haven Trail (a.k.a. Cayuga County Trail) travels a little more than 14 miles through forest, wetland and tree farm.
Enjoy a smooth ride along the Catharine Valley Trail, a well-maintained multiuse pathway that provides a comfortable and shaded biking experience through Upstate New York. High points include entering...
This is a flat 1.6 mile trail through woods, wetlands and farmland connecting Rt. 34 in the Town of Fleming to Dunning Ave. in the City of Auburn. It is an easy walk or bike through a very scenic...
By the early 1800s, Rochester had earned the nickname of Flour City because of its numerous mills that allowed the young town to rapidly become the largest flour producer in the United States. The...
When complete, the Erie Canalway Trail will run for 360 miles in upstate New York—from Buffalo in the west to Albany in the east—linking many other communities along the way, including Rochester,...
The Pittsford Trail System, also called the Railroad Loop Trail, provides access to the Erie Canal, town of Pittsford, and shopping and business district in the quaint New York village. A short...
The Manchester Gateway Trail is a scenic route used by walkers and cyclers that follows the Canandaigua Outlet through Manchester. It has also been used for skiing during winter months. The trailhead...
The El Camino: Butterhole-Seneca Park Trail (often more simply called the El Camino Trail) runs diagonally through a neighborhood and industrial properties in northeast Rochester on an abandoned CSX...
The Erie Attica Trail lies in the Finger Lakes region of New York along the former railroad for which it's named. A glimpse of this past can be seen in the beautiful truss bridge that spans 220 feet...
The Ontario Pathways Rail Trail is the crown jewel of the trail system managed by the organization for whom it is named in Ontario County, New York. Comprising two disconnected segments, including a...
Snaking along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, the Irondequoit Lakeside Multi-Use Trail provides a smooth journey infused with the region’s rich natural and cultural heritage. The nearly 7-mile trail...
This pleasant community trail connects suburban residences close to the shore of Lake Ontario with a school, a church and a commercial area in Webster, New York. Near the trail's northwest end, it...
Located in the majestic Finger Lakes region, the Lehigh Valley Trail is a well-used gem with a sparkling future. Wandering 16.4 miles through beautiful landscapes and rich greenery, the trail connects...
There are so many reminders from the heyday of the railroad age on the nearly 10-mile Auburn Trail that visitors might imagine they’re chugging through villages and countryside at the throttle of a...
Black Diamond Trail will one day stretch 15 miles to link four state parks in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Currently, 8 miles of the trail are open, which follow the Lehigh Valley Railroad...
Brickyard Trail offers a pleasant north-south route through the Town of Brighton, which sits on the southeastern outskirts of Rochester. Its name is a nod to the town's brickmaking industry dating...
This is a flat 1.6 mile trail through woods, wetlands and farmland connecting Rt. 34 in the Town of Fleming to Dunning Ave. in the City of Auburn. It is an easy walk or bike through a very scenic...
The Cayuga-Seneca Canalway Trail is a 5-mile pathway beginning in Waterloo, New York and terminating at Seneca Lake State Park. The roadbed it uses was constructed by the Seneca County Railway...
This pleasant community trail connects suburban residences close to the shore of Lake Ontario with a school, a church and a commercial area in Webster, New York. Near the trail's northwest end, it...
The Keuka Outlet Trail offers a sinuous route of nearly 7 miles between Penn Yan and Dresden in New York’s Finger Lakes region. The rail-trail follows a railroad corridor that traced a former canal...
The Erie Attica Trail lies in the Finger Lakes region of New York along the former railroad for which it's named. A glimpse of this past can be seen in the beautiful truss bridge that spans 220 feet...
When complete, the Erie Canalway Trail will run for 360 miles in upstate New York—from Buffalo in the west to Albany in the east—linking many other communities along the way, including Rochester,...
Enjoy a smooth ride along the Catharine Valley Trail, a well-maintained multiuse pathway that provides a comfortable and shaded biking experience through Upstate New York. High points include entering...
Snaking along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, the Irondequoit Lakeside Multi-Use Trail provides a smooth journey infused with the region’s rich natural and cultural heritage. The nearly 7-mile trail...
By the early 1800s, Rochester had earned the nickname of Flour City because of its numerous mills that allowed the young town to rapidly become the largest flour producer in the United States. The...
_50126_sc.jpg)
The Groveland Secondary Trail follows a portion of abandoned right-of-way of the old Groveland Branch of the Erie Lackawanna between York and Alexander. The York terminus begins just east of Main...
The I-390 Bike Path is a 5-mile paved trail starting in Greece and ending at the Island Cottage Woods Preserves just south of Lake Ontario. The trail starts just after crossing Route 104 using the...
The El Camino: Butterhole-Seneca Park Trail (often more simply called the El Camino Trail) runs diagonally through a neighborhood and industrial properties in northeast Rochester on an abandoned CSX...
Located in the majestic Finger Lakes region, the Lehigh Valley Trail is a well-used gem with a sparkling future. Wandering 16.4 miles through beautiful landscapes and rich greenery, the trail connects...
The Pittsford Trail System, also called the Railroad Loop Trail, provides access to the Erie Canal, town of Pittsford, and shopping and business district in the quaint New York village. A short...
The town of Perinton, New York, has been hard at work improving the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Trail, and it shows. Since 1996, when the American Hiking Society designated Perinton as a Trail...
The Ontario Pathways Rail Trail is the crown jewel of the trail system managed by the organization for whom it is named in Ontario County, New York. Comprising two disconnected segments, including a...
Travelers on the Lake Ontario State Parkway Trail will enjoy scenic views of wooded areas, surrounding bodies of water and wetlands. The trail parallels the north side of the Parkway, which runs along...
We rode the trail today. First (and only) piece of advice: Start in Dresden and ride toward Penn Yan. Your return trip to Dresden will be largely downhill. (We did not take this advice and we’re sorry.)
Most of the time this trail is really just a single wide dirt track (or, in the case today, some mud), but it widens at various points and includes paved surfaces, packed gravel, and (in a very few places, my least favorite) ballast. Still, we had no trouble on any of the surfaces with our hybrid bikes.
Whatever drawbacks it may have, this trail is a real pleasure overall: it winds along the river through quiet woods where you hear almost nothing but birds and bubbling water. It passes two waterfalls, both of them beautiful, and one of them, spectacular. It’s rise is gentle (with one or two minor exceptions). We will certainly ride it again when we’re in the Finger Lakes. If the trail were a bit wider and packed gravel, I would give it five stars, because those are the types of trails we prefer. If you’re more of a dirt track rider, though, you’ll find nothing to complain of here.
I intended to start my ride in Little Falls and even though I could see the trail here and there, I wasn't able to find a sign for parking. I kept going until I got to Herkimer Home where I knew there was parking. Behind Herkimer Home is the trail. I went west to Little Falls. The trail was excellent and well maintained. Parts of it were asphalt and parts were not paved, but I had no difficulties. The trail in this section was in better shape than I expected give this past winter and wet, wet spring.
I can't wait for the whole Erie Canalway Trail to finally be pieced together. What an amenity. Even though some pieces of the trail aren't far from the highway, the trail is enclosed by trees and vegetation so you don't see the cars and trucks. The vegetation also buffers out the noise.
The only thing that I would suggest and I hope that NYS Parks does is to put in mileage signs and some education signs along the way. I passed several manmade features that I wasn't sure what the original purpose was for. Maybe locals know their canal history, but visitors probably won't.
Loved the trail! Very well maintained with plenty of places to park your car. Starting in Fairport, NY and riding to the end (Pannell Rd.) and back was exactly 10 miles for us. Plenty of places to stop along the trip. Attached some photos entitled "Spring 2019"
Can’t add much to other reviews, very nice trail. Added benefit in Victor it passes by Twin Elders Brewing Co and within a 1/4 mile from Stumbling Monkey Brewing. Nice way to end a ride or take a break on the way. I bike with my dog, Stumbling Monkey is dog friendly so very inviting
This section is very fragmented. You have to walk on the road for long distances. It’s really too bad because there is so much canal history in this stretch I would love to be able to walk it.
This is a nice segment of bike trail, in both in terms of scenery, and making an important connection. However, the quality of the asphalt is terrible.
I have walked from Griegsville to just shy of East Bethany. I appreciated the fact that the railroad bridges were kept in good shape for walkers. Loved crossing the Oatka Creek and other creeks on the trail. It is a shame that the rocks (ballast) were not properly removed. The places this trail goes are truly lovely. Livingston County especially. I agree with the other commenter that it seems the only people that go on the Groveland Secondary are the very folks that aren't supposed to: ATVers. I stuck with it because I can't resist a trail, and like the places it goes. If the rocks were removed I would give it a high rating. I wonder what would it take to get this trail improved.
What a great way to get off the road and get on some crushed limestone. Watch that hole in the middle of the trail somewhere around half way.
If it is hot, take a dip in the canal, mmmmmmm... swamp!
Way exceeded my expectations! A very beautiful ride. Well maintained. And the free pumpkins along the way we’re a very nice touch. My only complaint is the lack of parking at the end of the trail near Horseheads. Can’t wait to go again. Thank you for everyone’s hard work in making this trail possible.
Yesterday we rode on the trail. The surface is very good, There are minimal elevational changes. I wish a couple of trailhead maps were posted for the Rush end of the trail. Mileage signage is excellent.
This is clearly a trail well kept and loved by folks who work hard on it. Bravo for their dedication!
Really a beautiful trail for a sunny October day. We saw a good number of other bikers, dogwalkers, walkers and runners. Everyone shared the trail politely. I see there is a "power trail" of Geocaches along its length as well, but it did not seem disruptive.
The name “Black Diamond” comes from the old railroad on which this trail resides. It is an amazing engineering feat how this trail provides a steady (easy) grade all the way up to the top of Taughannock Falls from lake level. The surface is crushed stone and the entire length is well maintained. It is a real delight (even on a hot day) due to the shade provided by the hillside trees. The trail goes North along the East side of the hill. There are several (8?) road crossings along the way that are well marked, although there is little road traffic.
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