Find the top rated bike trails in Howes Cave, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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This trail (14 mile section) was in pristine condition with surprising amount of wildlife (herons, deer, turtles) along the way. Park, falls and 1800's mill factory at the southern end was worth a stop. Maybe shaded 50% so suntan lotion a must. There's a parking lot in Nassau right next to the trail. As others have mentioned, very few bathroom facilities on route.
This mostly flat, well maintained trail goes though woods and across dykes. The scenery makes this a near perfect trail.
My experience did not match the glowing description and reviews for this trail. While I agree it can be ridden with a road bike as I did it makes for a very rough ride. The surface is clearly not crushed stone as advertised but rather gravel with 1/4 to 1/2” pebbles. Furthermore with the exception of a few hundred feet at the beginning (West Hurley) you don’t see the lake, the rest of the way you are in the forest, which on a hot day is nice but also almost completely blocks the view of the water. I ended up riding back via route 28A, which makes for a loop of a little over 30 miles and was not too busy with cars. If you do go this route make sure to take the Ashokan Reservoir Promenade, which parallels route 28A along the shore of the lake for about three miles. The only difficulty is crossing busy route 28 at the end to get back to the parking lot in West Hurley.
I've been riding many of the trails that make up the Empire State Trail system though out the years and the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail is one of the best in my experience.
I parked at the Stuyvesant Falls Trailhead and headed towards the Miller Road trailhead right outside of East Greenbush making for a 42 mile round trip. There are a fair amount of road crossings on this trail but all of the busier ones have crossing lights and I found that motorists were very courteous to me at every one. There is also a few short on road sections on quiet streets that are all very well marked. I was able to keep on the trail without too much confusion.
The trail is a mix of asphalt and tightly packed gravel and is in very good condition. My only complaints are a lack of benches and bathrooms directly on the trail. The trail is also not the most shaded so be mindful of that on a hot summer day. The towns along the trail all offered places to eat and resupply so that's always and option.
The trail is well marked it's a bit tough going on roads through parts of Lockport. Once back on the trail, is well maintained.
While short at 11 miles one way, this trail has a lot to offer. The view of the reservoir with the green Catskill Mountains in the distance is quite enchanting. Much of the ride is through the woods with plenty of shade. The surface is packed cinders and the ride is generally flat. There are plenty of port-a-potties at the trail heads. This is our second time on the trail, so we did view it as worth returning too. Our first trip, during a summer weekend, was quite busy. This time we were there on a rainy weekday in June, and there were minimal people.
We extended the ride by travelling an additional 20 miles on the rode to ride around the reservoir. Starting at the Woodstock Dike Trailhead, we headed east on a very busy Route 28, but only for less than a quarter mile. The rest of the trip had minimal traffic, although I should note it was a rainy weekday. I ‘m unsure how different it would be on a sunny weekend.
We then followed Basin Road to Dike Road where we enjoyed amazing views. Dike Road is on what I believe is the dam at the east end of the Reservoir, offering unobstructed views of the water. From there, we continued on Route 28A. We were a short distance from the Promenade when we encountered a rain storm approaching in from the west. We turned back, managing to get to the car right before the rain began. In total the trip covered 40 miles on hybrid bikes.
While we did not reach the Promenade on this trip, I would highly recommend visiting it. During a previous visit, we took a short drive from the Rail Trail to the Promenade. It was well worth the hassle of loading and unloading the bikes on the car. You will find gorgeous views of the revisor with the mountains in the distance. We even spotted a bald eagle soaring over the water.
It takes us 2.5 hours to drive from our home to the western trailhead. The journey is well worth it. We definitely will be visiting again.
In early June, we rode the section of the Erie Canal from Camillus to Syracuse. We also took a side trip on the Onondaga Lake West and East Shore Trails. Round trip, we biked approximatel 30 miles.
We parked at the June Reed Webster Park. The bathrooms were open. With that said, we have been there before and they have been closed. I would not count on them 100%.
The trail was in excellent shape. The Erie Canal section was hard a packed with small gravel. We did encounter hills, which we did not expect on a canal trail. They were small and manageable. Most of the hilly sections were paved, making them easy to navigate. The Onondaga Lake trails are paved and in fantastic condition. We only came across two small sections with tree root bumps.
This section of the Erie Canal Trail goes through the New York State Fairgrounds. It was eerie and strange to be at the Fair when no one else was around. Made for a unique experience.
The Onondaga Lake Trails were a pleasure with views of the lake, woodlands, birds, and flowers. We saw several bluebirds, which is not something we encounter routinely.
The Onondaga Lake Trails are part of the Onondaga Lake Park which has multiple bathroom facilities and picnic tables. We ate our lunch with a view of the lake and pickleball courts. There were a people playing, which provided our lunch time entertainment.
The only potential downside is the trail near Camillus is next to a garbage dumb. It is landscaped nicely with wild flowers in abundance and we did find a turtle on the path. We noticed an odor on our way back when the temperature was hotter. On the positive side, it is a productive use of the land.
We give this trail a thumbs up and will ride it again.
As others have mentioned, this is a rough trail. Although somewhat scenic, it requires a lot of vigilance to slog through the gravel and overgrown path. We have hybrid tires, so perhaps mountain bikes would offer a more comfortable ride. The high point of our trip was staying at the Stamford inn and eating at the Millpond Inn.
About a 45 minute ride on the Erie Canal path ,starting at the Medina lift bridge, through farmland and villages (Middleport, Gasport) herons that are absolutely not afraid of you! Beautiful in the fall!
This path would be great if work were done on it. Road bikes won’t make it. You basically need a mountain bike with suspension. I have a hybrid bike with suspension and wide tires but it’s still a difficult ride. The scenery is nice but you have to pay a lot of attention to the path.
This trail has beautiful scenery. While it’s lose gravel most road bikes with skinny tires are good. This is an awesome ride!!!
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