Explore the best rated trails in Syracuse, NY. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Verona Beach State Park Rail Trail and Auburn-Fleming Trail. With more than 22 trails covering 414 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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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 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...
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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...
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,...
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 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 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...
While many other rail trails in rural New York have gravel or grass surfaces, which make them difficult to traverse for cyclists and users with disabilities, the Lenox Rail Trail offers over two miles...
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...
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...
Bear Trap Creek Bikeway follows the creek of the same name between Ley Creek Drive and the Mattydale Shopping Plaza. For most of its length it parallels Interstate 81, with a fence separating 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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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...
A public trail owned by Cortland County since the 1977 abandonment of a Lehigh Valley railroad line built by Ezra Cornell as the "Ithaca & Cortland" in 1872, this path crosses east to west from...
Bear Trap Creek Bikeway follows the creek of the same name between Ley Creek Drive and the Mattydale Shopping Plaza. For most of its length it parallels Interstate 81, with a fence separating 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...
While many other rail trails in rural New York have gravel or grass surfaces, which make them difficult to traverse for cyclists and users with disabilities, the Lenox Rail Trail offers over two miles...
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...
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 Cato-Fair Haven Trail (a.k.a. Cayuga County Trail) travels a little more than 14 miles through forest, wetland and tree farm.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
A public trail owned by Cortland County since the 1977 abandonment of a Lehigh Valley railroad line built by Ezra Cornell as the "Ithaca & Cortland" in 1872, this path crosses east to west from...
Bear Trap Creek Bikeway follows the creek of the same name between Ley Creek Drive and the Mattydale Shopping Plaza. For most of its length it parallels Interstate 81, with a fence separating 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 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...
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,...
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,...
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...
While many other rail trails in rural New York have gravel or grass surfaces, which make them difficult to traverse for cyclists and users with disabilities, the Lenox Rail Trail offers over two miles...
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...
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 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...
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...
We had planned to bike from Geneva to Seneca Falls on this trail, as suggested in a Facebook ad from the state parks department. Included a link to a map showing the portion from Waterloo to Seneca Falls. If you are thinking of doing this be advised that the trail does not exist. The map they offer you is apparently a planning map. Very frustrating the time wasted trying to find the trail in Waterloo before figuring out finally that the trail they promote does not exist. Trail from Geneva to Waterloo was nice enough but come on!
I rode the 22 mile 'V' on 7/21/20, starting at the free public parking lot in Canandaigua, down to Stanley, and up north to Phelps. From there I followed rt 488 back to the lot in Canandaigua for a 35 mile loop.
This definitely has the topography of a rail trail --mostly flat. But has a different vibe then the well manicured stone dust trails. Though the trail is 5 to 10ft wide, it is grass with a narrow dirt single track for most of its length. Some parts the single track were more grass then dirt. For that reason a it's not as fast a trail, but there are no roots or rocks that would slow down a mountain bike or even a hybrid. In fact, it appears there was a recent effort to mark and remove any roots that traversed the trail. It took me exactly 2 hours to complete the 22 miles on my XC MTB. I'm not in the best physical shape, but I have been cycling a lot lately and kept a decent pace.
The trail travels mostly through farmland, but heavily encased in tree cover for some great shade. You won't see much to look at other then the handful of railroad bridges, and very few other trail users. The 'Park' at Stanley is nothing more then a kiosk and a picnic table. Heading north from the turn in Stanley, you'll have a slight assist from gravity for most of the Eastern Leg. You can make up some time here. After a brief detour on rt 488, the trail starts again on the right. It is well marked with signs, as is all of the trail. Though there are numerous road crossings, the signs were always visible and I was never confused on where to go. The northern most part of the trail heading into Phelps had the most foot traffic. It was covered in fresh stone, not crushed enough to be pleasant, a bit challenging to ride through.
Overall it was a very enjoyable ride. If you like doing long rides for the exercise, but are bored by the canal trail, then you'll like this trail. Just don't bring your road bike. On the other hand, if you're looking for up and down MTB adventures with roots, rocks, drops, and narrow switch backs, you will definitely be bored here.
One tip...be careful going through the narrow gates. I snagged my hand on some thorns trying to squeeze through one of them.
This is a very clean, open trail! Paved and has a few places to rest! Great for strollers, bikes or wagons! We also saw 3 trains!!! Very fun!
Freshly paved and very accessible! We took a stroller and had no trouble! Walkway is clean and clearly marked. You do cross the road a couple times if you do the whole trail, but they are safe crosswalks!
Rode from Amsterdam to Fultonville And back had a great ride on a great day. Newly paved section starting about halfway to Fultonville stopped at the Schoharie Crossing historic site very interesting and great subs in Fultonville the new bridge and park in Amsterdam is very nice too....
This is a delightful trail crossing through the town of New Hartford, NY. It has two major sections; however, each of these is divided by busy roads with cumbersome crossings. (Thankfully there are stop lights, or it would be impossible). It can be used as one long trail, but it might be more pleasant in smaller pieces.
Note: a previous reviewer was confused by the location of "New Hartford Street." This is a distinct location, but the street is largely the home of the Town offices and garage.
Easy, flat ride. Well maintained. Starts in Waterloo and ends in Geneva at Seneca Lakes waterfront.
We started at the trailhead then asked over the bridge toward Wampsville. We stopped at the sheriffs office which was about 1/2mile down the path.the trail is crushed stone and passes wooded areas, the creek and some fields. We will be back to explore more. Only gave it four stars because it is dog friendly but has not trash receptacles and because there is only parking for four vehicles at the trailhead.
Perfect spot for inline or quad skating! There are rest points along the trail with benches and the train passes right next to you! The skate park is close and at the beginning of the trail which is nice.
The setting is beautiful and the shaded trail a relief from hot sun. Unfortunately the trail is beat up by motorized vehicle traffic and poorly maintained, so you have to pay close attention to dodging large pot holes and the cobbles used for repair. Would be vastly improved with stone dust vs runner crush and stones. Nice ATV trail and riders I met were very considerate.
The trail was great! We went in the beginning of spring so the trees were just budding, which gave us tons of sun. Probably a bit more shady in the summer. The water is a really pretty light green blue color. And the remnants of the old mills are awesome.
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