Find the top rated bike trails in Jefferson, 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.
Section from New Paltz (and maybe a mile or two below, I haven’t checked) to a mile or so north of the Rosendale Trestle is superb. Just after the Women’s Studio Workshop is an interesting historical furnace chimney. But then the trail comes apart - chunky gravel and hills I wouldn’t want to come down, leading to Williams Lake (saw lots of landscaping going on but no one using that end of it recreationally). I returned to the Women’s Studiovia the road.
Beautiful trail. Well maintained. Headed west from Henrietta first, a little secluded. Only went about 2 miles then headed east to lock 33. Felt safer going east. Full of exercise traffic… love to see that!
Nice trail a must do . From Kingston it’s paved at least 5 -6 miles the rest is easy ride great scenery !
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.
I tried this trail starting in two spots. First at the north end off 208. The first few hundred yards are good, but then it becomes overgrown. I went through the brush and mud for another few hundred yards, but turned around at a washed out culvert. Next I drove to the north end of the southern section off S road. This was better. Bumpy with roots across the trail. Foot tall grass in most places, but passable for a half mile or so. After the underpass there are several bridges in degrading condition. I didn't dare ride across, but walked these. There were also downed trees in two spots. A little over a mile in I turned around at another rotting bridge that had 3 large snakes (I believe Northern Water Snakes, but not 100% sure).
I wouldn't waste your time with trying this trail.
This mostly flat, well maintained trail goes though woods and across dykes. The scenery makes this a near perfect trail.
Had a great ride yesterday on the north end going from Kingston trailhead to just before Marbletown wooded trail. Marbletown south was a little muddy from recent rains. Ran into 3 folks on horses there too!
Started in Roxbury and fell a couple of miles short of finishing trail but headed back. A lot of mud towards Bloomfield section.Can't say enough about the views. Totally fine for any gravel bike or hybrid .
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 have not been on the northern part of this trail, but the southern part is years (and probably millions of dollars) away from being a great trail. There are short parts near Ellenville that have been rehabilitated and a tiny stretch near Port Ben that’s okay, but it’s mostly rough riding in the middle of no-where, without a person in sight . Trees are down. There’s trash (tires, old toys, abandoned cars, everywhere). The trail is poorly marked where it starts and stops; it ends abruptly in multiple places; and is generally not worth the trouble to navigate.
If you’re brave enough to start at Ellenville, the trail does not start in the park (as noted on the O&W website) - it start’s off Main Street down a road that leads to a municipal parking lot for snow plows. (Looks carefully, it’s very easy to miss.)
Let’s hope the dream of this trail becomes a reality sooner rather than later.
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.
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