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 19 trails covering 407 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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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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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...
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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 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 Cato-Fair Haven Trail (a.k.a. Cayuga County Trail) travels a little more than 14 miles through forest, wetland and tree farm.
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 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 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 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...
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,...
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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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,...
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 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...
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 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 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 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,...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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...
Started out in Canandaigua, rode our bikes to Stanley and back. This trail is actually what the title says, because there is a hint of manure smell throughout most of this trail (not too over baring though), as it goes through farms and ranches where cows are. There are also a bunch of signs that somebody hung up in the Canandaigua area with Winnie the Pooh comments on them, which were entertaining. Most of this path was wide enough to ride, but at every street that we came to, there was a gate that we needed to be very careful going through due to it being very tight. The scenery most of the past was pretty much the same until we came to the bridge that went over Flint Creek which was very surprising to see. It took us about 4 hours to ride approximately 25 miles (round trip) because the terrain went from gravel to dirt to grass and very bumpy due to roots. We hardly saw any wild life except for birds and bugs due to being 82° in the early part of August. Over all, it was mostly pleasant and only saw 2 other bikers, and 2 walkers. Yes I would ride it again in the future, but not too soon as we are exploring different paths to ride.
The trail was perfect in late July 2019. A bit hard to find the beginning in Ithaca, but it's right behind (west of) the Ithaca Children's Garden. The route is a steady but gentle rise almost all the way to Taughannock Falls State Park, but of course that makes it sheer rolling pleasure on the way back. You can also enjoy a couple miles of extra trail, paved, along the Ithaca waterfront over to Stewart Park at the southeast corner of Cayuga Lake.
We startes in Amsterdam,we parked on a dirt section on Cleveland Ave,little further down is a bigger paved lot.We did a little detour on Bridge Rd,nice pedestrian bridge(flowers & a few interesting sculptures.) Rode into Riverlink Park. Small park,but a cute little detour. Most of the trail was paved,there was a section that was bumpy.Pretty flat. About 4-5 miles was crushed stone/dirt.If it rained heavy may get muddy.We enjoyed the trail,a few street crossings.Was a pretty quite trail on a sunday.Was a mix of shade & sun. We seen some wildlife,seen a fisher & what looked like a weasel,was so quick.,so that was cool!.We rode to Sparkers. There was a cooler of waters & there was bathrooms across the street.(Courtesy of the church)We rode about 44 miles there & back,with detour. The trail is broken up into sections,so we rode this section. Hope to ride the Buffalo section..
We rode this trail in two sections both in the Rochester New York area. Our first mini trip was a 20 mile run between Brockport and Rochester New York and the next day another mini run between Brockport and Albion New York. This trail rocks. Great views along the canal, Very friendly people in the many towns along the way who welcome cyclist. Many accommodations along the trail as well. Our favorite towns were Brockport and Albion. These are old canal towns that have kept there history. The trail offers great views is hugging the canal and offers some shade however the areas we rode were mostly open sunny areas. I have traveled on many canal trails and this trail did not fail. The trail is well marked has a town every 4 to 6 miles.We will return to do the entire trail soon.
My group of 4 started a bike trip from downtown Buffalo. Our plan included stops in Lockport and Brockport. The “canalway” trail out of Buffalo had many closed sections without properly marked detours. We were forced to figure out our own detours with the help of other bikers. Signs are desperately needed that give bikers proper detour paths (all on the road). As we moved east out of Tonawanda the trail improved and there were few detours. However, the NY Canal Corp is currently working on sections of the trail. They are adding a sand gravel mix that is very difficult t for riding bikes. All 4 of us had close calls with falling
This trail is ideal for you and your horse becoming accustomed to the many sites and sounds on the trail. It is flat and wide enough for two horses and riders to travel side by side if desired. The footing is crushed rock. Expect to cross short roads and wood bridges and to encounter a variety of wildlife including humans on their bicycles, pushing strollers or just walking.
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.
Rode the length of the Jim Schug Rail Trail, and then continued on a new extension of the trail from Dryden to Freeville that opened Saturday, 5/11/2019. About 14 miles round trip. I rode a hybrid. No issues. The Jim Schug section of trail was in great shape. No holes or debris on trail. Many wood bridges newly sealed. Many bikers and walkers. A few joggers. Lots of people fishing in the lake, ponds, and stream along side the trail. Saw 5 beaver dams, and lots of wildlife along the trail.
Note: Attended opening ceremonies for the trail extension and told plans are actively being worked to extend trail into Ithaca and connect with the East Hill Recreation Trail (which is another rail trail). Length of trail planned to be about 20 miles.
Easy grade to walk with sunny and shaded areas. It is good that cyclist now give audibles while passing hikers. Perhaps a few pet / waste containers and/or port-a-johns can soon be added.
I start at the parking area and run to middle settlement road and back, it is perfect if you like short runs. On warmer days there are lots of people you have to run around, but that's actually good thing! Glad to see people getting out and having a great paved trail like this really helps!
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