I almost skipped this great trail due to the bad reviews, but it was quite nice. Beautiful forest, wetlands and a few peeks of farmland. Make no mistake, it's nothing like zooming down the Erie towpath on perfectly smooth stone dust, but it would be manageable for anyone with a little mountain bike experience. There were too many mud puddles to count (some trail-wide) on my ride. You could either blast through them like a ten year old and come back looking like a Tide commercial or practice your bike handling around the edges. Like any mtn. bike trail, you'll need to keep your eyes on the trail and be ready for occasional half-buried rocks. Try to go when it's dry and expect a slower pace with lots of maneuvering and it's a good ride. *** The first 1/2 mile or so starting at the Fair Haven Fire Dept. is awful. You can skip it by road riding on Fair Haven Rd (94) between the fire dept. and Simmons Rd at the sawmill (trail is 100 ft. from Fair Haven Rd. at this point). It's only a mile and not busy at all.

Group of four biked the trail on 9/16 and had a wonderful time. We started in Boonville and enjoyed the scenery and ended in Forestport. The Forestport end has some significant puddles, but the trip is well worth it. Bonus is the local Forestport Dinner nearby offering coffee and fresh donuts. Also picnic tables available along the river between the trail end and the village of Forestport.

2021: Biked the Erie Canal trail from Buffalo to Cohoes. Well worth the time. And mostly a very pleasant experience, with just a few caveats. Trail improvements are ongoing and signage along the trail is not always up to date, so check your route carefully, especially where it is on-road. The initial section from downtown Buffalo is grungy city streets, but that improves with a great, mostly off-road trail all the way to Lyons. Lockport to Spencerport is fairly exposed, but from there on to Lyons is generally pleasantly green and shaded. From Clyde to Port Byron and through Syracuse were onroad and not always clearly signed and were the least pleasant. From the east side of Syracuse all the way to Cohoes was a delightful and beautiful ride, with the exception of finding one's way onroad and with poor signage through Rome. All in all (despite my caveats) a good, local, human-powered bucket-list endeavor, with thanks to all the communities along the way and everyone maintaining and improving and filling the gaps in the trail.

Rode trail from Fair Haven to Cato (7/25/21). This trail is essentially an ATV trail. There are numerous spots that have deteriorated due to erosion. A 29r with front and rear suspension might enjoy pedaling this trail.

Signage coming into Rome traveling east, or leaving Rome traveling west, is non-existent. Expect to travel on busy city roads. Trail Links is a bit better than the Erie Canalway booklet in navigating this, but it’s still a challenge. Lots of construction in Utica and the trail east of Leland Ave is closed.

The trail in Cleveland has had serious construction while water lines are put down. East of Cleveland the trail is closed, but west is open but pretty bumpy due to ruts. We didn't find a designated parking area so we parked roadside. It was a nice enough ride, no other bikers but frequent ATVs. Lots of birds, open fields and woods but there are nicer trails. We had a surprise - the Grace Tyler Winery is adjacent to the trail and we took a break there.

The creek is pretty nice, but overshadowed most of the way by the adjacent noisy interstate. Also, much of the asphalt has tree roots running under it, causing the trail to be quite bumpy.

New off road section was created along Broadway in Albany after coming out of the tunnel. Watch for the signs for the Empire Trail also

Small section of this trail runs alongside sewage treatment facility (no bad smells, just interrupts the natural environment for a while). Nice views of the stream. Well maintained, easy walking.