Find the top rated trails in Syracuse, 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.
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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 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...
This unique in-city trail was built on portions of the former Ontario and Western Railway Line through the City of Oswego. The Ontario and Western Railway ran its last train in March of 1957. The...
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...
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The Philip A. Rayhill Memorial Recreational Trail is part of the New Hartford & Whitestown Rail Trail system (NH & W). The 4-mile asphalt trail links the two towns and roughly parallels Route 840...
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 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 Mohawk River Trail is a pleasant, shared use pathway connecting residential sites, local parks & schools, historical sites and business districts within the city of Rome, New York. At its southern...
Verona Beach State Park is located on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake. Shaded picnic areas and the campground are adjacent to the beach with an excellent view of the water. The lake, Black Creek,...
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 first mile of the nearly 12-mile planned Oneida Rail Trail opened in September 2014 between Hubbard Place and Lenox Avenue on the west side of Oneida. The trail runs through woodlands on an old...
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,...
The Philip A. Rayhill Memorial Recreational Trail is part of the New Hartford & Whitestown Rail Trail system (NH & W). The 4-mile asphalt trail links the two towns and roughly parallels Route 840...
The Oswego County Trail follows an abandoned right-of-way of the old New York Ontario & Western Railroad between Cleveland and Fulton. The trail passes among scenic countryside on a sometimes rough...
Verona Beach State Park is located on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake. Shaded picnic areas and the campground are adjacent to the beach with an excellent view of the water. The lake, Black Creek,...
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 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 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 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 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 Mohawk River Trail is a pleasant, shared use pathway connecting residential sites, local parks & schools, historical sites and business districts within the city of Rome, New York. At its southern...
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...
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...
This unique in-city trail was built on portions of the former Ontario and Western Railway Line through the City of Oswego. The Ontario and Western Railway ran its last train in March of 1957. The...
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 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.
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...
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 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...
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...
Verona Beach State Park is located on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake. Shaded picnic areas and the campground are adjacent to the beach with an excellent view of the water. The lake, Black Creek,...
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 Philip A. Rayhill Memorial Recreational Trail is part of the New Hartford & Whitestown Rail Trail system (NH & W). The 4-mile asphalt trail links the two towns and roughly parallels Route 840...
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 Oswego County Trail follows an abandoned right-of-way of the old New York Ontario & Western Railroad between Cleveland and Fulton. The trail passes among scenic countryside on a sometimes rough...
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,...
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 unique in-city trail was built on portions of the former Ontario and Western Railway Line through the City of Oswego. The Ontario and Western Railway ran its last train in March of 1957. The...
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 first mile of the nearly 12-mile planned Oneida Rail Trail opened in September 2014 between Hubbard Place and Lenox Avenue on the west side of Oneida. The trail runs through woodlands on an old...
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 Cato-Fair Haven Trail (a.k.a. Cayuga County Trail) travels a little more than 14 miles through forest, wetland and tree farm.
The Mohawk River Trail is a pleasant, shared use pathway connecting residential sites, local parks & schools, historical sites and business districts within the city of Rome, New York. At its southern...
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...
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.
I tried to ride the South Cazenovia Rail Trail in early June 2013. Unfortunately, the rail-trail has some extremely wet spots in it, edge to edge of the railroad cut. It's more of a snowmobile trail, really. I can't see how any wheeled vehicle, or even pedestrians could make it the length of the rail-trail. And don't even ask me about the mosquitoes. All those puddles make it mosquito city.
Last summer, a group of 10 friends did the trail from Buffalo to Albany. Before we started the trail in Buffalo, we ride our bikes to Niagara Falls in Canada. Great experience and wonderful ride, except for walking the bike over the border.
The "trail" between Buffalo and Albany has some gaps but in general is ok. There is a small section before Rochester where the trail is in horrible condition. The good thing is that there are good hotels in Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester (Marriott) so you can accomodate your trip to stay in a nice hotel after a long ride. There is only one stop where you have to sleep in a run-down motel, but, hey! No trip is perfect!
My wife and I rode out tandem from Cass Park to the north end at Taughannock Falls. Starting at Cass Park, the trail has a long, steady (but gentle) climb for about 4 miles. The surface is crushed stone like it says, but the size is like fine gravel (think fish tank). Although I didn't ride with them, I plan to switch to my MTB slicks to reduce the rolling resistance. There is a small parking lot near the northern end, by the falls, where we found a picnic table to eat a bag lunch at. There are otherwise no services or restrooms along this trail. The return ride back to Cass Park was a bit faster, being downhill most of the way.
Was going to begin at maple ave as it’s closest to home, but didn’t feel comfortable parking here. Clearly marked for motorized vehicles and probably great for that and locals but wouldn’t leave my car here unattended. Maybe try a different starting point.
The Ontario Pathway is exactly that; a pathway. It is a wide grassy path with a narrow-worn bike path. I was not expecting such a primitive trail. It is a beautiful trail that is under a canopy of trees that travels through lush farms. On our ride, the weather was great but the trail could be a problem in wet weather.
The Ontario Pathway seems to be lost in time. I felt I should have been riding a balloon tire Schwinn instead of my hybrid. It was a great experience but a little more strenuous that we expected.
Compared to other trails we have ridden on with our mountain bikes this one was very dug up and rocky.
This is a uniformly wide trail of hard packed stone and very little elevation change. 80 or 90% in the shade due to the very thick canopy running next to the canal that connects Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. The water itself is in view about 30 or 40% of the time and it is gorgeous. This will be a great trail to ride in the fall, just a few weeks from now. Note that the actual mileage is 4 1/2 miles and is really only accessible from the Waterloo entrance. Very large parking lot right next to one of the locks. Note that will be instructions say that you go down half Street after going over the bridge from the north, there is no Huff Street sign at the corner of Route 96 and 12 Huff but there is a round Cayuga Seneca trail sign pointing the way. Once this route connect to Seneca lake state park it will add about three more miles for a total of 7 1/2 one way or 15 round trip which will be great. Seneca Lake State Park and the Geneva waterfront are fully along the north end of Seneca lake right on the water
As other reviewers have noted, this is an absolutely beautiful shaded trail. It is slowly, ever so slowly, being developed by a not-for-profit organization of volunteers. These volunteers need someone to help them prepare grant applications to New York State's current method of funding, the Consolidated Funding Application as well as to private foundations making grants in New York State's Finger Lakes Region.
Without a significant infusion of funds this Trail has no chance of reaching its potential as a major tourist destination as well as an outstanding recreational facility for residents of Yates County.
Walking the trail is a wonderful experience biking it not so wonderful.
Some sections of the Keuka Outlet Trail are now single track and double track trail surfaces. Fine for walking, not good if you are bicycling on an non-suspension bicycle. The Penn Yan Rotary & other organizations have placed very nice benches along the KLOT/KOT.
I bicycled the entire Trail on a folding (20" wheels & tires with a well defined but not mtb tread) touring bicycle without suspension but I'm a very experienced bicycle who wears well padded bike shorts!
The Keuka Outlet Trail is much smoother, even in the gravel and single track sections than the NPS's C&O Trail between Cumberland MD & Hancock MD.
I recommend the KOT or KLOT as a walking trail with much to see (waterfalls, remains of mills) and admire along its route. Go to the Yates County Chamber of Commerce office for a map & brochure of the Trail. Make a contribution to the "Friends of the Outlet, Inc." to improve the trail surface. There are "lock boxes" along the Trail for you to make contributions but a nice sized check would certainly help.
Ran from the trail intersection and Freshour Rd to Canadaigua YMCA. Beautiful tree canopy made sun protection unnecessary. This portion of the trail was about 50/50 wide enough to run on the path vs. in the grass.
About 3/4 had a taste in the mouth manure smell. Not sure time of year, wind direction or weather its a common occurrence.
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