Explore the best rated trails in West Hempstead, NY. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Norwalk River Valley Trail and Ridgefield Rail Trail. With more than 71 trails covering 505 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.
_178196_st.jpg)
Although just a mile long, the Beach Channel Drive Greenway in Queens offers expansive views of Jamaica Bay and the beautiful Marine Parkway Bridge as it traces the border of Jacob Riis Park. On the...
_178196_sc.jpg)
Built on the former Erie Railroad main line, the 15-mile Heritage Trail runs through the small Orange County towns of Goshen, Chester, Monroe, and Harriman. The shaded trail runs through different...
The Jones Beach Boardwalk traverses Jones Beach State Park, running parallel (and south of) Ocean Parkway. The pleasant pathway offers views of the beach and the ocean. Although bicycles are...
The Ramsey Bike Path is a recreational path built on the former Paterson to Suffern trolley line right-of-way. The path extends along a north-south route from one end of Ramsey to the other....
Like Wantagh State Parkway, Ocean Parkway was built in the postwar 1930s to provide access to the crown jewel of the state park system, Jones Beach State Park. Unlike the former road, however, this...
The South County Trailway rolls 14.4 miles through one of the most densely populated parts of New York, but its route through pocket woodlots, parks, and golf courses and along riverbanks makes it...
The Fort Washington Park Greenway brings residents and visitors to Washington Heights right up to the edge of the Hudson. The mile-long trail begins near the pier at the end of Dyckman Street and...
The Saddle River County Park Bike Path is a beautiful suburban trail that winds alongside the Saddle River. Most of the trail runs through moderately dense suburban development, with residential and...
The Battery Bikeway is a only a half a mile long but it is an important link in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway system, connecting the East River Greenway with the Hudson River Greenway to form a...
In the early 1830s the Morris Canal opened across northern New Jersey, from Phillipsburg on the Delaware River to Newark, and later to Jersey City on the Hudson River. It provided a thoroughfare for...
This shared-use path was built as part of the improvement of NY State Route 347 in Suffolk County. SR 347 is a 15-mile arterial between Hauppauge and Port Jefferson, and the trail is envisioned to...
Roosevelt Island Greenway, a little-known gem in the Big Apple, was named after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1973. To reach this scenic pathway, board New York City’s only aerial tram,...
When complete the Green Brook Multi-Use Trail will meander for 7 miles through the communities of Plainfield and North Plainfield, New Jersey. The trail will connect major regional trails and parks as...
It’s hard to believe that a noisy locomotive once ran through here, given that stillness is a defining characteristic of the Middlesex Greenway. Even when people pour onto the trail from the adjacent...
The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway is a 1.5 mile walkway along the bank of the Hudson River in Jersey City. The walkway offers stunning views of Manhattan as well as access to a number of ferries and...
The old New York Central rail line that ran from the Bronx to northern bedroom communities in Westchester and Putnam Counties carried commuters during the workweek, but on the weekends tourists...
When Jones Beach State Park opened on Long Island’s South Shore in the late 1920s, a series of scenic parkways was built on infill dredged from nearby towns to connect New Yorkers to the new public...
This bike-ped path in Roselle Park, Union County. The bike path is nestled at the bottom of the railroad embankment carrying New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line. Stretching between Galloping Hill...
The former “Old Put” commuter rail corridor that ran from the Bronx to northern bedroom communities in Westchester and Putnam Counties is popular once again, only this time it’s for people riding...
The Hutchinson River Greenway offers a convenient alternative to the Hutchinson River Parkway, which it closely follows. Although adjacent to the busy thoroughfare, trees have been planted along the...
When completed, the Norwalk River Valley Trail will run from Danbury to Long Island Sound in southwestern Connecticut, for a total of about 27 miles. Currently, several disconnected sections totaling...
You might expect a 4-mile rail-trail that passes through three downtowns to be excessively urban, but the quaint town centers on the Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail are compact and surrounded by...
New York City's East River Greenway offers views of the East River, Queens, Brooklyn, and the iconic bridges that connect these boroughs to Manhattan. The paved pathway traces the waterfront on one...
The Jones Point Path occupies an abandoned motor vehicle route (old US Route 9W). The path provides bicyclists with a relatively safe bypass to a dangerous section of busy US Route 9W near Bear...
Although just a mile long, the Beach Channel Drive Greenway in Queens offers expansive views of Jamaica Bay and the beautiful Marine Parkway Bridge as it traces the border of Jacob Riis Park. On the...
The EPCAL Alternative Transportation Path loops around the 2,900-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton (hence its name: EPCAL) on New York’s Long Island and links to the Town of Riverhead’s 65-acre...
The New Springville Greenway stretches just over 3 miles, primarily paralleling Richmond Avenue on New York's Staten Island. A highlight of the paved pathway is its proximity to Freshkills Park, a...
<p>This trail is the legacy of the first elevated roadway in the United States, constructed by William K. Vanderbilt in 1904. Vanderbilt created the parkway to get to his family’s estate in Long...
Splayed over 1,146 acres in northwest Bronx, Van Cortlandt Park has a lot going on. The park is New York City's fourth largest and is home to the oldest municipal golf course in America. There are...
This bike-ped path in Roselle Park, Union County. The bike path is nestled at the bottom of the railroad embankment carrying New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line. Stretching between Galloping Hill...
At 2.6 miles, the Staten Island Greenbelt Multi-Purpose Trail offers a nice jaunt for joggers, walkers, and cyclists alike. The crushed-stone path is 6-feet wide and runs from Rockland Avenue to...
The Jack Harrington White Plains Greenway was recently renamed to honor a long-time member of the city's conservation board. The trail's corridor follows the former New York, Westchester & Boston...
The tree-lined 22.5-mile Henry Hudson Trail is the definition of scenic variety. Traversing both urban and natural environments, the route passes wetlands, streams, fields, and the Garden State...
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk follows Staten Island's eastern shore from Miller Field -- a recreational area for sports, picnicking and bird watching -- to Fort Wadsworth. Highlights of the...
The John Kieran Nature Trail is a short loop that borders Van Cortlandt Lake and its associated wetlands. It is a wonderful site for bird-watching. The trail also passes several sites of significance...
When complete the Green Brook Multi-Use Trail will meander for 7 miles through the communities of Plainfield and North Plainfield, New Jersey. The trail will connect major regional trails and parks as...
Roosevelt Island Greenway, a little-known gem in the Big Apple, was named after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1973. To reach this scenic pathway, board New York City’s only aerial tram,...
Tallman Mountain State Park Bike Path is partially paved and bisects the Tallman Mountain State Park. The route provides a motor-vehicle-free way for bicyclists using US Route 9W to connect with...
This 2.1-mile long paved path runs directly adjacent to (about 30-40 feet off of) the Boulevard in Mountain Lakes, NJ, and follows the exact route of a former trolley line operated by the Morris...
In the early 1830s the Morris Canal opened across northern New Jersey, from Phillipsburg on the Delaware River to Newark, and later to Jersey City on the Hudson River. It provided a thoroughfare for...
The Mosholu-Pelham Greenway connects several parks and recreational opportunities in New York City's north and central Bronx neighborhoods. A portion of the trail is also part of the growing East...
Spanning more than 70 miles, the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail is the longest completed multiuse trail in the state and is described by many as the crown jewel of New Jersey trails. A...
The Saddle River County Park Bike Path is a beautiful suburban trail that winds alongside the Saddle River. Most of the trail runs through moderately dense suburban development, with residential and...
Like Wantagh State Parkway, Ocean Parkway was built in the postwar 1930s to provide access to the crown jewel of the state park system, Jones Beach State Park. Unlike the former road, however, this...
You might expect a 4-mile rail-trail that passes through three downtowns to be excessively urban, but the quaint town centers on the Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail are compact and surrounded by...
The Jones Point Path occupies an abandoned motor vehicle route (old US Route 9W). The path provides bicyclists with a relatively safe bypass to a dangerous section of busy US Route 9W near Bear...
At first glance, there’s no evidence that an aqueduct ever existed along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. The trail is often a singletrack dirt pathway that winds through communities and trees and...
The Mohansic Trailway is a rail-trail providing an important link between the North County Trailway and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park. The trailway occupies a short-lived spur of the New...
While not a "rail-trail," the Hook Mountain/Nyack Beach Bikeway is a very scenic trail along the Hudson River in Rockland County. The southern half of this trail is flat and runs right along the...
The Raymond G. Esposito Memorial Trail travels from one end of the village of South Nyack to the other in 1 mile but greatly expands its reach by connecting with the Old Erie Path and a new shared-use...
This shared-use path was built as part of the improvement of NY State Route 347 in Suffolk County. SR 347 is a 15-mile arterial between Hauppauge and Port Jefferson, and the trail is envisioned to...
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk follows Staten Island's eastern shore from Miller Field -- a recreational area for sports, picnicking and bird watching -- to Fort Wadsworth. Highlights of the...
New York City's East River Greenway offers views of the East River, Queens, Brooklyn, and the iconic bridges that connect these boroughs to Manhattan. The paved pathway traces the waterfront on one...
The Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail stretches just over 3 miles along Long Island’s north shore. Construction was completed in two phases with the first trail section opening in 2009...
Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue Greenway parallels its namesake roadway for just over a mile from Marine Parkway Bridge to a connection with the Shore Parkway Greenway Trail. The two trails are part of the...
_160375_sc.jpg)
The Patriots' Path covers roughly 35 miles of terrain and is open to mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and hiking. The multi-use trails links parks, open space, recreational...
Prepare to be whisked into the past when you take the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway. The paved trail follows a short-line railroad corridor from the coastal city of Manasquan to a village at Allaire...
The New Springville Greenway stretches just over 3 miles, primarily paralleling Richmond Avenue on New York's Staten Island. A highlight of the paved pathway is its proximity to Freshkills Park, a...
The Briarcliff-Peekskill Trailway is a 12-mile linear park that runs from the town of Ossining north to Westchester County's Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill. The trail is built on land...
Although just a mile long, the Beach Channel Drive Greenway in Queens offers expansive views of Jamaica Bay and the beautiful Marine Parkway Bridge as it traces the border of Jacob Riis Park. On the...
I did the southern part of the trail from Massapequa park to Bethpage park. While the scenery and lakes are nice, the trail needs repair. There are many cracks and bumps especially near the beginning of trail. Also there are several road crossings but cars were careful to yield to cyclists.
This trail is great for biking but there are a lot of people who use it for walking.
It is perfect for quick morning ride with nice view.
My friend and I rode from Millwood on the North County Trail and just kept going. We ended up on the Putnam Trailway for a total of 46 miles. There are several decent hills on this segment of the trail. There are some street crossings but they are not very busy roads. You eventually come to the end of the trail, which is clearly marked. Near the end of the trail is a large reservoir. The trail is completely paved with just a few bumpy spots. We rode on 10/10 and the foliage has not changed much yet.
Level easy trail quiet and very pretty. Tricky entrance and exit onto busy road. Short easy trail. Wear boots muddy areas.
We started at Tait road entrance around 4:30 pm. Path was leafy but dry and good with great views.
Great trail. We took the fork to piermont and went over the TZ bridge. Awesome ride
The southern half of the trail is great - smooth, not too steep, and mostly shaded. The northern half, until you reach the North County Trail, is terrible. Cracked, potholes, and sunken spots that are hard to see for almost the entirety of the trail.
I rode the northern section of this trail on my gravel bike - from Matawan towards Atlantic Highlands - as the end piece of a 66 mile Monmouth County tour this past Saturday.
It was the worst part of the ride, by far and away, and I am including in that the section of NJ 34 I had to traverse.
There are 30, count 'em, 30 road crossings in 10 miles. Each of which requires a full stop, unclip, dismount. Parents with young children beware, the crossings are almost all at very busy roads requiring extreme caution as NJ drivers are loathe to stop for pedestrians.
There are approximately two "interesting" view moments, the rest is residential backyards and a lovely look at IFF's superfund site in Union Beach. The asphalt trail surface has been heaved by tree roots for more or less the entire length resulting in wonderful undercarriage smashing speed bumps.
Avoid this trail - at least the "northern" section - and look elsewhere. I can heartily recommend Sandy Hook and the Bayshore trails as wonderful alternatives in the same area.
I am an experienced cyclist who doesn't mind hills and other challenges. My wife is a casual rider who likes mostly flat, but not boringly flat, rides.
I drove almost an hour to scout out this trail for one of the leisurely rides we like to do together. After literally two minutes, I turned around and rode back to my car.
This trail is NOT suitable for occasional cyclists, beginners, older riders, or younger riders. In fact, I don't really know WHO it is good for, as for someone like me who can live with a few hills, it is way too short.
Perhaps if it, at least, led somewhere scenic or lined with coffee and pie shops, it might be worth the effort. However, it appears to start in the middle of nowhere and end in the middle of nowhere.
I gave it two stars instead of one on the chance that it might get better after the first thousand feet I covered. You'll have to find out for yourself. I'm not going back.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails conservancy
(a non-profit) and we need your support!
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
_160375_st.jpg)
