Find the top rated trails in Ithaca, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Cayuga-Seneca Canalway Trail is a 5-mile pathway beginning in Waterloo, New York and terminating at Seneca Lake State Park. The current stretch of trail kicks off near Lock 4 in Waterloo and...
The South Trail stretches over 2 miles between Ballina Rd. and New Woodstock in Cazenovia, New York. The trail sits on the former right-of-way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The rail-trail takes users...
The Catharine Valley Trail travels for 12 miles between Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen and Smith Road north of Pine Valley. The trail follows segments of the abandoned Northern Central Railroad and...
The East Ithaca Recreation Way on East Hill is primarily built upon the rail bed of the old Ithaca and Cortland Railroad, which later became part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The trail skirts the...
The South Hill Recreation Way follows the southern rim of the Six Mile Creek gorge from the outskirts of southeast Ithaca to Burns Road, near the Ithaca Reservoir. The gravel path follows the former...
The Lackawanna Rail Trail runs across Elmira—linking Eldridge Park with the city’s waterfront—and heads south to the hamlet of Lowman. The paved pathway spans nearly 9 miles and uses a former...
In the heart of New York's Finger Lakes Region is a rail-trail that is part natural wonder and part industrial archaeology, and the 7-mile trail Keuka Outlet Trail has a unique heritage. Technically a...
The Vestal Rail Trail runs for nearly four miles through the town of Vestal along an abandoned right-of-way once used by the Delaware–Lackawana & Western Railroad. Today, the 12-foot-wide trail is...
If you are near Corning, New York, and need a nice walk, check out this charming respite. The Painted Post Trail connects schools, playgrounds, other trails and residential neighborhoods west of...
A pleasant walk between wetland habitat and farmland, this short community trail sits atop a sewer line that Corning Glassworks installed to serve its Big Flats plant. Corning provided the crushed...
The Catharine Valley Trail travels for 12 miles between Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen and Smith Road north of Pine Valley. The trail follows segments of the abandoned Northern Central Railroad and...
If you are near Corning, New York, and need a nice walk, check out this charming respite. The Painted Post Trail connects schools, playgrounds, other trails and residential neighborhoods west of...
The Vestal Rail Trail runs for nearly four miles through the town of Vestal along an abandoned right-of-way once used by the Delaware–Lackawana & Western Railroad. Today, the 12-foot-wide trail is...
In the heart of New York's Finger Lakes Region is a rail-trail that is part natural wonder and part industrial archaeology, and the 7-mile trail Keuka Outlet Trail has a unique heritage. Technically 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...
The Jim Schug Trail offers a short, sweet excursion in New York's Finger Lakes region. The trail was known as the Dryden Lake Trail until it was renamed in 2002 in memory of the late town supervisor...
Shaped like a left-leaning V, the Ontario Pathways Rail Trail travels southeast from Canandaigua to Stanley, then shoots north to Phelps. The rural trail is the pride of an industrious community...
The Cayuga-Seneca Canalway Trail is a 5-mile pathway beginning in Waterloo, New York and terminating at Seneca Lake State Park. The current stretch of trail kicks off near Lock 4 in Waterloo and...
The East Ithaca Recreation Way on East Hill is primarily built upon the rail bed of the old Ithaca and Cortland Railroad, which later became part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The trail skirts the...
The South Hill Recreation Way follows the southern rim of the Six Mile Creek gorge from the outskirts of southeast Ithaca to Burns Road, near the Ithaca Reservoir. The gravel path follows the former...
The Ridgeway Trail skirts the banks of Willseyville Creek along the abandoned rail bed of the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad and the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. From south Willseyville the trail...
The Gorge Trail is makes for a scenic walk or mountain bike ride near the town of Cazenovia. The trail runs between the old railroad buildings on William Street and Bingley Road to the north. From...
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, Syracuse, Rome,...
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 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 South Trail stretches over 2 miles between Ballina Rd. and New Woodstock in Cazenovia, New York. The trail sits on the former right-of-way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The rail-trail takes users...
The Lackawanna Rail Trail runs across Elmira—linking Eldridge Park with the city’s waterfront—and heads south to the hamlet of Lowman. The paved pathway spans nearly 9 miles and uses a former...
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...
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 current stretch of trail kicks off near Lock 4 in Waterloo and...
The Ridgeway Trail skirts the banks of Willseyville Creek along the abandoned rail bed of the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad and the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. From south Willseyville the trail...
A pleasant walk between wetland habitat and farmland, this short community trail sits atop a sewer line that Corning Glassworks installed to serve its Big Flats plant. Corning provided the crushed...
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 Catharine Valley Trail travels for 12 miles between Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen and Smith Road north of Pine Valley. The trail follows segments of the abandoned Northern Central Railroad and...
The South Hill Recreation Way follows the southern rim of the Six Mile Creek gorge from the outskirts of southeast Ithaca to Burns Road, near the Ithaca Reservoir. The gravel path follows the former...
The East Ithaca Recreation Way on East Hill is primarily built upon the rail bed of the old Ithaca and Cortland Railroad, which later became part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The trail skirts the...
The Vestal Rail Trail runs for nearly four miles through the town of Vestal along an abandoned right-of-way once used by the Delaware–Lackawana & Western Railroad. Today, the 12-foot-wide trail is...
The Gorge Trail is makes for a scenic walk or mountain bike ride near the town of Cazenovia. The trail runs between the old railroad buildings on William Street and Bingley Road to the north. From...
The Jim Schug Trail offers a short, sweet excursion in New York's Finger Lakes region. The trail was known as the Dryden Lake Trail until it was renamed in 2002 in memory of the late town supervisor...
The South Trail stretches over 2 miles between Ballina Rd. and New Woodstock in Cazenovia, New York. The trail sits on the former right-of-way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The rail-trail takes users...
In the heart of New York's Finger Lakes Region is a rail-trail that is part natural wonder and part industrial archaeology, and the 7-mile trail Keuka Outlet Trail has a unique heritage. Technically a...
If you are near Corning, New York, and need a nice walk, check out this charming respite. The Painted Post Trail connects schools, playgrounds, other trails and residential neighborhoods west of...
The Lackawanna Rail Trail runs across Elmira—linking Eldridge Park with the city’s waterfront—and heads south to the hamlet of Lowman. The paved pathway spans nearly 9 miles and uses a former...
Shaped like a left-leaning V, the Ontario Pathways Rail Trail travels southeast from Canandaigua to Stanley, then shoots north to Phelps. The rural trail is the pride of an industrious community...
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, Syracuse, Rome,...
After the August storms, the middle 4-mile section is closed. You can work around it on 14 and jump back on, but better to call and check first. The first and last sections were great and I hope to be back when the trail reopens.
Fantastic bike ride. The bridge is out near the end at Penn Yan, but you can work around it on the streets and jump back on the trail on the other side. Great recommendation.
The trail itself is great, especially the middle section from miles 3-5. There one can experience some of the wildness our country once had. Tall dead trees brought to life by ivy. Roads and 'civilization' not noticeable.
Signage not good, many intersections of 'Black Diamond' and 'Stop'. Mile markers every 1/4 mile are handy.
Main issue: finding the trail. The southern Cass end is somewhat obscure, but the northern Taughannock falls end is even worse. Need a detailed map to locate it.
The Black Diamond trail should be continued northward. It would run through a T'burg farmer's land (Black Diamond Farm), and could be extended all the way to Rochester?
Thanks to the new Lakefront Park in Geneva you can get a longer ride. We rode from the parking lot next to the Ramada through Seneca State Park and picked up the trail there. A wooden bridge was built under 96A from the park. The only issue is that it is not marked and difficult to find. I asked a local while walking in the park and they were kind enough to help me out. If you follow the park road towards the marina there is a maintenance gate with a small sign that says Maintenance Lane. Bike through the gate and stay to the right. This will lead you to the path under 96A. I agree with the previous reviewer. Nice trail!
Beautiful trail, pet friendly! Plenty of places for dogs (and people) to get in the water to cool off!
Although this Bike Path is scenic, it is NOT maintained, it is continues wide cracks in the pavement and huge bumps. I already saw a couple bickers fall because of the neglected pavement. Not only do you risk a fall because of the neglect, you also risk damage to your tires as the bumps & cracks are severe. I have a Road Bike, and changed my tires because of the bumps, also note the bumps also can shift your gears.
We really enjoyed this trail with beautiful views of the outlet and falls. It is definitely doable on almost any bike except maybe a road bike. We did it on cyclocross bikes and had no issues. Varying surfaces from stone dust to crushed stone and single track but really not difficult or too rough IMO.
Certainly not per the photos. Long grass, big roots which create problems with biking. Very poorly maintained. Went to numerous trail entrances hoping for improvement to no avail.
I've ridden this section for more than 30 years with no flats. New aggregate has been laid down in this section over the last three weeks. It sparkles in the sun. I've had five flats on the new surface. Each was caused by a tiny glass shard, some clear some brown. The workers said they were putting down crushed limestone. It seems to there may be recycled glass in the mix. I'm running Schwalbe G one 700x60 tires at 30# rear 25# front. It's an admittedly light tire but I've had no problem with flats elsewhere including rough gravel roads. Go belted or tubeless on this section or be prepared to flat. Without the nice smooth new surface I'd have given this trail four stars.
Six older couples cycling from East Syracuse to Albany in May, just before the Canal opened. Advantage: Lots of camping. Disadvantage: no boats to watch in the locks and towns. The book was pleasantly wrong and needs a wee bit of an update with the wonderful new additions, trail re-locations, and especially attractions. There was much less on-road cycling than we had worried about. The drivers on the road were suitably accommodating. We camped some nights and stayed in motels as the mood and weather might indicate. When we got to Amsterdam, NY, however, we slept in a CASTLE!! The Amsterdam Castle, a mere 800' from the trail was amazing and worth the few dollars more than the chain motels we had stayed at. There was a breakfast and wonderful rooms. The artwork was worth a museum entrance fee. Everything was AMAZING! We enjoyed a nice meal at Parillo's Italian Restaurant (go through through the Armory Bar and Grill and take a left). Another fun culinary highlight of the ride was Mike's Diner in Fultonville. It's just under the highway on the left. Great food, great fun. Very entertaining proprietor and a fair price. Now, the areas that need improvement: Only one or two cross streets were signed. There were virtually no signs for important trail-side amenities, like, lodging, camping, ice cream, groceries, repair shops, ice cream, attractions, or restaurants with ice cream. [The Great Allegheny Passage really got that right.] ECT should take a look. There were no trail-side tool set-ups like on the Norwootuck or GAP trails. Those were nice. Some of the really cool attractions, like the first bike ridden cross-country, a huge high-wheeler, is in the second floor of a darling historical society in Henniker. Each local Chamber of Commerce should be all over this trail. As multi-day trails go, this one had the most to offer in scenery and museums, but they were often not in the book and hard. We only knew about them from prior research and our AAA Guide. Rome and Fort Stanwix not withstanding. We broke a chain on the tandem in Schenectedy. One bike shop, Plaine and Sons, fortunately has a mobile service van. We called them and explained the issue, and they don't actually use the van. It's basically just a sign. We went to NY Bike on Congress, where an efficient young man repaired the bike in less than five minutes. If an establishment isn't really going to support the trail, they should not be mentioned. My advice would be double your time from other trails of the same length and see the sights which lie not far off the trail. This ride is more of an adventure and less of just a bike ride. To just ride it is to miss the mark. Hope some of this helps. Happy trails.
Noticed the trail shortly after the highway was rebuilt in that area and finally got a chance to try it out. My wife and I parked near the Lowman end at a parking lot across the freeway. The ride was very pleasant with only a few joggers. We rode to Wegman's in Elmira for a late lunch and then rode back. Pavement was smooth with some small sticks (broken from nearby trees) laying around.
The nearest "restroom" on the Lowman end is about 1/2 mile south of the trailhead. There are two porta-johns at the fishing access ramp. There are no facilities along the trail as it runs between the highway and the river until it reaches Elmira where it follows the old RR right of way and crosses OVER a few busy streets on old RR bridges. Wegmans is at the western end and they do have restrooms available.
Not a real long trail, but nice nonetheless.
Get Your 2018 RTC TrailNation Jersey!
Download the TrailLink mobile app and take TrailLink with you!
Donate and Get a FREE 2018 RTC Guidebook!
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
