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.

I rode from the viaduct to Thompson (13 miles) then Thompson to Carbondale (26 miles). From the viaduct to Ararat road was mountain bike trails (hopefully with suspension). Beautiful scenery. From Ararat rd parking area south to Carbondale was a developed rail-trail. So many beautiful things to see! The constant up hill grade from Carbondale definitely adds to the ~20 mile ride.

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 ride from Simpson to Ararat was great. The ride uphill is doable. My wife and I did it and she is 60 and I’m 59. Stopped in Union dale at general store. Nice people. Ride back was quick downhill. Surface well maintained.

Beautiful Winter Trail - - - Brian Z does an awesome job of grooming.

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

I rode my hybrid bike (no suspension, drop bars, 700c tires) from the trailhead at Simpson to Luciana Park in Lanesboro. I carried two 24oz water bottles, a full gallon of water in a jug, and some tools/spare parts (which were fortunately unnecessary). I tracked the ride with Strava, and all the data presented here is based on information recorded there. Before reading the rest, let me say that this is the first trail I've completed, and I plan on trying to do it again next year (unless I get too busy trying other trails)

I did the ride from south to north because the trail is a really nice crushed gravel from Simpson to Ararat. This section of the trail is 18.6 miles long and mostly uphill (starting at 1146' above sea level at Simpson, and peaking at 2057' in Ararat). All in all, I barely noticed the uphill climb for most of the length of the ride. There are some nice spots to stop and take pictures, including a few bodies of water, some bridges, and there is the sandwich shop in Union Dale that's got really good food.

North of Ararat, the trail is much rougher, and much easier to deal with going downhill (Luciana Park is 919' above sea level, 19.8 miles north of the trail's high point). There are sections that have been greatly improved from loggers leveling the trail to get their equipment through, but there were also spots I had to get off my bike and walk.

I think the northern half of the trail has much more to offer as far as the scenery goes. Especially between Ararat and Starrucca, and of course the Starrucca Viaduct (at Luciana Park) is worth seeing at least once. Hopefully the northern half of the trial is upgraded sooner rather than later.

Overall, the trip took me 5+1/2 hours, including about an hours worth of breaks spread throughout (including a meal break in Union Dale). I did end up drinking a little over a gallon of water over the course of the ride. Due to the lack of suspension or padding, my wrists were fairly sore by the end of the ride.

After reading the mixed reviews here about the trail being super bumpy and overrun by ATVs, my husband and I weren’t sure what to expect. We decided to risk it and really enjoyed the ride on our hybrids. We took a 24 mile there-and-back from Stamford to Bloomville in late October 2020. Weather was a bit chilly, and we saw a few walkers, who seemed like locals, one other biker, and one motorcyclist. No problem finding the trail in Stamford — it’s right at the Depot.

Pros: (1) The scenery is really nice and has a great variety. We also biked on the Ashkogan trail while vacationing in the Catskills, and while that trail is better maintained, there is a lot more to see on this ride. You basically go through farmland, by streams, through small communities. (2) It’s very flat and easy riding.

Cons: (1) The trail is decently maintained, and not nearly as bad as some reviewers have suggested, at least between Stamford/Bloomville. There were a few bumpy sections, and some sections overgrown with grass. It had rained the day before, and there were a couple of muddy patches. If you want to barrel through as fast as possible without watching the trail, this isn’t for you. But if you want to keep a moderate pace, the trail is just fine. At no point did we need to get off our bikes or find it so bumpy that it was not rideable. I would say that 85-90% of the trail is in quite good shape — kind of like biking on a country lane. (2) There are a few sections near Bloomville where the trail passes right by backyards of small houses with a lot of trash and junk in them. Just not the nicest vibe. (3) We encountered one guy on a motorbike cruising down the trail at probably 30 mph. From other reviews, seems like motorized vehicles might be more frequent at some times than others. If that’s the case, that would definitely have changed this from a really fun ride to one that I wouldn’t enjoy.

Trail near Amsterdam is pretty scenic and has potential to be really nice, however, the trail both East and West of Amsterdam was very bumpy in spots with many tree roots pushing thru the old pavement. Some sections need to be repaved.