Find the top rated birding trails in Albany, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Rode entire trail roundtrip on a sunny August day. It's a great trail with a great paved surface. Scenic, too. The southern trailhead (Wassaic) has a direct train connection to New York City, so it's just a matter of time before it's discovered by folks from the city for a day's ride.
Town of Millerton in center of trail had the best facilities for a mid-ride break. Copake Iron Works Museum at Taconic State Park and close to the trail also well worth a visit.
Biked end to end on a beautiful summer day. An absolutely beautiful paved trail with lots of water features to see - lakes to the south, river further north, and views of the mountains. Nice trailside pub in Adams and other eateries, including ice cream. Well-loved, with lots of walkers and skaters, as well as riders. Benches and picnic tables aplenty. One of the best trails I've had the privilege to ride. The only way it could possibly be better is if it was longer.
Correction to someone else's review: trail goes gently downhill south to north (not north to south) from Cheshire to Adams.
The trail is primarily shaded with a few places that are not. You are mostly surrounded by trees, with only a couple of bridges or water views. It’s nicely maintained packed gravel. Keep a watch for the signs that tell you where the poison ivy is.
Loved this trail easy to ride. Well paved and clean. Will do this again and again.
Awesome trail. Smooth surface and great views. Also lots of different places you can join the trail. We started a little further north to skip the more industrial part of the trail.
Beautiful views, well kept and wide trail. Olive to Boiceville has best views. "Road Bikes" are named to be on the road.
We are casual cyclists (no ebikes) and decided to take a short ride on this trail. We parked at the Nassau Lake Trailhead which has about 13 parking spots. We headed towards East Greenbush and cycled about 8 miles before turning around. The 8 mile section of the trail we cycled was paved and very well maintained. There was a slight elevation gain in this section but made for a nice downhill on the way back. There were no amenities on the 8 mile route. The trail had a couple of easy street crossings but was mostly off-road.
On the way back, we continued pass the TH parking for about 3 miles to the Village of Nassau to have a look. There is another TH in town next to a small park and across the street from an ice cream shop. This section of the trail in the village was flat. If we had the time, we would have gone further.
I would recommend this trail.
I did the entire trail, excepting the on-road portion in New York. Each section (the two in Vermont and the central part in New York) was quite different from the others, so I've broken my review into 3 parts.
The northern Vermont section (Poultney to Castleton) was in good shape and appears to get a lot of use, maybe 3 to 1 walkers to bikers. The surface of quarter inch gravel was not ideal, but enough has been brushed aside over the years that the ride was smooth and comfortable. It is well-maintained, mowed with no washouts or potholes, and just the right number of historical signs. It is generally well-shaded but probably the least scenic of the three sections.
The southern Vermont section (West Pawlet to West Rupert) was much more open and scenic, especially near Rupert, but Vermont's choice of quarter inch gravel surface is still generally in place so slows down the ride. A short detour to the general store in West Rupert for ice cream was a treat, as was a trail-side stream at the southern end to cool off in. The gentle slope made the northbound ride here more enjoyable than the southbound one. The trail was as well maintained as the northern portion. Ratio probably 4 to 1 bikers over walkers/joggers but fewer of both than the northern section.
The middle section in New York (West Pawlet to Middle Granville) was completely different. Parts of the surface were cinder (perfect for riding) while other parts were completely grass covered (and mowed) and as a result felt much like riding on someone's lawn - soft and slow. The scenery was less interesting, but the section in Granville was nice, with a park and B&B right on the trail. I didn't have time to explore the town, though. Despite the sunny Sunday, I saw few others using this part of the trail.
All in all, the trail was OK and has a lot of potential. With a better stone dust surface, I would have given it a 5-star. If the 4-mile break in New York between sections were completed, this would become a destination ride. With fall colors, it would be exceptional.
I disagree with the description that this trail is packed enough for skinny road tires. There are parts with thicker gravel and I was glad to have gravel tires on my bike and even then it was a bumpy ride. Nice scenery, not too crowded, good bathrooms. Overall loved it.
Biked this well kept trail start to finish. Well marked. There are a couple of challenging uphill climbs but doable by most people. Historical plaques along the route are very informative. There are some rest areas with benches. Highly recommend this trail. Looking forward to riding it again.
Parked in middle waked each way, nice leisurely walk.
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