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.

We rode from this trail on hybrids and enjoyed the experience. Was pretty flat with a few spots of incline/decline. The pavement was generally good, with a few spots with bumps or cracks from weathering. There were a lot of road crossings so we had to be careful. Very scenic, we rode thru a couple of towns, and saw a lot of older abandoned factories (Louis Meyer Make Gloves). Seems like a great local resource.

We completed this trail ride in July 2021, two adults and two kids(9 and 8). We were very concerned with the lack of local vehicles not following right of way laws. We became frustrated after only going a few miles(from north parking area into Town of Gloversville) and crossing at 17 different Road crossings. This stop and go was tedious and took enjoyment out of the ride.

It seems as though automobiles have the right of way with many poorly marked crosswalks throughout this trail. If you are willing to surrender the right of way you will enjoy surviving this picturesque 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.