Explore the best rated trails in Old Forge, NY, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Black River Trail and Sissy Danforth Rivergate Trail . With more than 10 trails covering 428 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.
This trail is finally completed and is one of the best rail-trails I have ever ridden. It connects the communities of Tupper Lake, Lake Clear, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. It's extremely popular, taking you through remote wooded areas with lake vistas, and just enough community connections for you to pick up a coffee, beer or sandwich along the way. It's still a work in progress with more signs, benches, tables and rest areas yet to be completed, but it's a diamond in the rough, and sure to be in the Rails to Trails "Hall of Fame" in the future!
This trail ROCKS! We rode from Saranac to Floodwood Outpost maybe 20 miles. The section we rode is not on the TrailLink map (yet). The Adirondack Rail Trail group has an excellent map of all the trail, from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake, well worth getting if you plan to ride this.
As we rode past Rat Pond, we encountered a moose swimming across the pond being chased by two angry loons. And as we found out latter, seeing a moose in the Adirondacks is a rare event.
The trail surface is gravel and well maintained on a nice gentle grade. Around wet or marshy areas there are wooden fencing in place. And at the trail access points there are porta-potties (clean!). All in all, this is a great trail.
We walked from the parking lot on 86 into Saranac lake Depo. What a wonderful walk. The trail is wide enough for everyone to enjoy. They were planting lots of new trees along the path. There were no bugs¿¿¿¿
X-county skied the trail. Found it was it was heavily used by snowmobiling which was ok 85% of the time because they shared the trail respectfully. The other 15% maintained high rates of speed when passing, enough so we found it best to stop and stand to the side when they passed. One in particular proved a point passing within 10” of us. Would not recommend for mixed use.
The newly opened section is about 15 miles between Saranac Lake Depot and Floodwood Rd. This section is very scenic, passing along the shores of numerous lakes and ponds. Charlie’s Inn at Lake Clear and Floodwood Outpost at Floodwood Rd are good spots to rest and refuel, in addition to numerous spots in Saranac Lake. Can’t wait for the third section to open next year.
Rode the Saranac Lake to Lake Placid section. Great access on both ends. Trail is very well maintained. Beautiful scenery. Can’t wait for the other two sections to open.
The trail is well marked it's a bit tough going on roads through parts of Lockport. Once back on the trail, is well maintained.
In early June, we rode the section of the Erie Canal from Camillus to Syracuse. We also took a side trip on the Onondaga Lake West and East Shore Trails. Round trip, we biked approximatel 30 miles.
We parked at the June Reed Webster Park. The bathrooms were open. With that said, we have been there before and they have been closed. I would not count on them 100%.
The trail was in excellent shape. The Erie Canal section was hard a packed with small gravel. We did encounter hills, which we did not expect on a canal trail. They were small and manageable. Most of the hilly sections were paved, making them easy to navigate. The Onondaga Lake trails are paved and in fantastic condition. We only came across two small sections with tree root bumps.
This section of the Erie Canal Trail goes through the New York State Fairgrounds. It was eerie and strange to be at the Fair when no one else was around. Made for a unique experience.
The Onondaga Lake Trails were a pleasure with views of the lake, woodlands, birds, and flowers. We saw several bluebirds, which is not something we encounter routinely.
The Onondaga Lake Trails are part of the Onondaga Lake Park which has multiple bathroom facilities and picnic tables. We ate our lunch with a view of the lake and pickleball courts. There were a people playing, which provided our lunch time entertainment.
The only potential downside is the trail near Camillus is next to a garbage dumb. It is landscaped nicely with wild flowers in abundance and we did find a turtle on the path. We noticed an odor on our way back when the temperature was hotter. On the positive side, it is a productive use of the land.
We give this trail a thumbs up and will ride it again.
This trail is relatively new. The trail is in great condition with part of it covered with crushed stone and part covered with asphalt. It is pretty much flat with slight up and down grades. The bridges and railings are all in excellent condition. There are numerous parking areas with access to the trail. I started in Lake Placid and could not find any signage indicating where the trail started or where the parking was.
About a 45 minute ride on the Erie Canal path ,starting at the Medina lift bridge, through farmland and villages (Middleport, Gasport) herons that are absolutely not afraid of you! Beautiful in the fall!
*PLEASE NOTE that the portion from Bridge Street to the Onondaga Creek, Syracuse NEEDS UPDATING on the Trail map, as connecting trail is now available and this isn't reflected in the map.* Today was our 3rd ride (each out and back) on this trail, completing the section from Port Byron to the Inner Harbor in Syracuse. Today's ride in nice weather was 21 miles round trip to the Camillus Museum from Syracuse. We enjoyed the museum and the newer section that is paved along the west side of Onondaga Lake from the Fair Grounds parking area to the south part of the lake. We did miss a turn heading up the hill to turn off the trail to the parking area so we could cross 690; not sure there was clear signage on that; there was going back down. We were able to go through the portion on the NYS Fairgrounds and noted that this is not open to biking during the colder months (I believe Oct-April 1); it wouldn't be hard to go around, but signage would be helpful on that, too. Signs for this portion of the Empire State Trail were quite good otherwise. Since we haven't had much rain in the past month, trail conditions were excellent on today's portion. Least favorite was the road portion (or "sidewalk ride") on Hiawatha Blvd as it was very busy. Parts of the portion we did today is hillier than most sections; it was not difficult for us "intermediate level" bikers, but parts wouldn't be the best for younger children or somebody who hadn't biked in a while.
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