Explore the best rated trails in Waterloo, NY, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Erie Canalway Trail and Railroad Bed Trail (NY) . With more than 40 trails covering 667 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.
I love this trail. There's a trailhead right down the street from where I go to school up in Rochester, and it makes for a great endurance ride on a late summer or early fall day. Typically, I'll pick up the trail head and ride south down to Wadsworth Junction, where I can then pick up the Lehigh Valley trail. Generally speaking I have nothing bad to say about this trail. It's pretty well maintained, has some beautiful scenery, and a lot of cool history scattered throughout. However, a word of caution: It was the Sunday before Columbus day, I had some time to kill, and I decided I wanted to take the trail down to the Junction point in Piffard (Not the same as Pittsford). At this point in time, I hadn't gone anywhere past Wadsworth junction yet, so I was pretty much riding blind. As I got further south past Wadsworth, the terrain got significantly more sketchy. Trenches, muddy conditions, and A LOT of hedge apples. Not to mention the sheer amount of leaves that had fallen making it hard to plot a line ahead. Against all odds, I made it to my destination, and back in one piece, having only wiped out once. The moral of this story is, while the trail is awesome, do not attempt with out proper preparation. If you're like me, and you like to ride a gravel setup for versatility, be warned that standard gravel tires are probably not enough for the southern part of this trail specifically, and you might want to swap them for something more grippy (e.g. a cx tire) if you plan on going further. Great trail! Ride with caution.
Rode the Catherine Valley Trail in September 2025. We began at the Tops grocery store in Watkins Glen and ended at a nice picnic area. The trail was mostly good shape except near the end where it was a little muddy and slippery. Nice trail would recommend.
Rode from Watkins Glen to the South end of Montour Falls. Map posted online is terrible. Trail is poorly marked. Several points between crushed stone path and paved public roads had no trail markings. Initial section from South end of WG is just a green tunnel. Nothing to see. Too much parking lot, highway, industrial area, downtown streets. Crushed stone section was well maintained.
This is a very good trail that needs maintenance. Chic the bridge and cut the fallen trees. The connection to the state park needs improvement Still worth the ride
This trail is on an old trolley line so the grades and curves are greater. The surfaces are as indicated on the description. The steep grade on the Dresden end needs a better surface. We rode on Cat Trikes and enjoyed the trail very much
We rode this whole trail (16+miles) on 9/14/25. The trail was amazing. There are a few spots with a significant amount of small gravel when my e-bike sunk into the gravel. Overall the trail was in great shape it the ride was truly enjoyable.
Have done this trail twice. Once last fall and September 2025. Nice trail that ends at north end of Seneca lake w nice lunch options in Geneva. There is a sign about a bridge being closed. It wasn’t but there were 2 holes that you need to avoid and need to be fixed. There also is a wooden switchback structure that gets you to a lower level that’s fun to ride (or walk). Follows the canal on one side and fields on the other.and very pretty in the fall
Driving across NY, wanted an exercise break, & got to see a Finger Lake . This rails to trail reminds one of the variety one can expect to see across the broader network of trails. If one parks at the southern end in Horsehead just off of interstate 86, it is really 27 miles up & back. The northern end is at Lake Seneca and Watkins’s Glen - a fun town with lots of little cafes and interesting stores. Along the way, one can see a beautiful waterfall, pretty churches, a canal, decrepit buildings, forests and marshes. Biking surfaces are definitely varied (grass, dirt, gravel, pavement, bridges) and depending on wetness, better done on tires with better treads. E-bikes were perfect on a moist day. My husband would have been happier if we had driven to a further north trailhead to reduce mileage and take up less time.
I’ve gone through the entire trail several times and it’s a relaxing ride the most part! The only issue is on the eastern most portion of the trail from Victor Rd. to Pannell Rd. where there’s a couple patches of the trail that has too much stones packed in certain spots which almost caused me to lose control.
We did the trail on a trip to the Finger Lakes. The trail surface was terrible. Evidently, someone decided that the trail surface needed some TLC. The problem was that the remedy was worse than the previous condition. I would describe riding the trail like riding an existing railroad bed with the ties inplace and a layer of talc on top. And that's with a gravel bike with 2.2" tires. When I got back to the car, there were 2 other riders loading their bikes and they both said how they had to turn around because the trail was so bad. The scenery wasn't anything special and there was constant noise from cars on highway 14 which paralleled the trail. Signage was also poor and there were numerous times that you weren't sure where the trail was. All in all not the worst trail but don't think I would ever come back.
As of August 2025, the northern route is impossible to traverse due to construction and trail closures with no indication of detours. While the entrance to the trail does indicate that the initial bridge is closed on weekdays, there is no indication of trail closures along the route on weekends. I generally bike south toward the Erie Canal trail, which is generally fine, but wanted to try the northern route to Lake Ontario on a gorgeous summer day. Unfortunate choice!
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