Erie Canal Forum

When we cycled the Katy Trail, we ( 3 couples) flew into St Louis, rented bikes at the terminus, arranged a shuttle to the start (4 hrs) and cycled the 260 miles or so eastward. Stayed at airBnbs, BnBs & quaint hotels. Did the ghost tour of the Missouri State Prison; tasted wine in Hermann; ate some fine food, and some basic grub!

In charming St Charles, dropped the bikes, stayed the night, ubered to the Airport. Easy planning. (I'd be happy to share my detailed itinerary !) I can also share a great itinerary, for the C&O/ GAP trail !

My question: Has anyone done something similar on the Erie Canal ?
We are thinking Buffalo to Albany(averaging 45 miles per day)

My wife and I have biked Katy Trail, GAP/C and O and Erie Canal with different logistics.

Erie Canal - We rented an SUV (one way rental) in Connecticut, placed our bikes in the SUV and drove to Buffalo. Drove next day up to Niagara Falls and then dropped off the car in Buffalo. Then biked Buffalo to Albany, rented a car in Albany, placed bikes in car and drove home returning the car in Connecticut.

GAP/C and O - Flew into Pittsburgh Airport, took cab into Pittsburgh where we rented bikes and then biked to Washington. The bike rental shop in Pittsburgh had an arrangement with a bike shop in Washington so for an extra $50.00 rental fee, you could drop the rental bikes off in Washington and every two weeks or so the Pittsburgh bike shop would go to pick them up. We then took the train home from Washington.

Katy Trail - we had our own bikes packed up here at the local bike shop and shipped to the lawn mower repair place in Clinton, Missouri. I believe we used BikeFlights.com for the shipping, obtaining the labels ourselves. The lawn mower shop reassembled the bikes. We flew from New York to Kansas City, rented a car in Kansas City and drove to Clinton where we dropped off the car and then picked up the bikes. The car rental place drove us back to the lawn mower shop!

We biked to St. Charles, dropped off the bikes at a bike shop in St.Louis which packed them up and shipped them back to us in Connecticut using bikeflights.com again and we reassembled them ourselves. We flew home from St. Louis.

All these ways worked fine and were probably the cheapest and quickest logistically. Seems to me your best bet would be shipping your bikes to Buffalo - either your hotel (reassemble the bikes yourselves) or to a bike shop - rent a car in Buffalo - go to Niagara falls, bike the Erie canal and find a bike shop in Albany to ship your bikes back and then fly home.

We used hybrid bikes for all the trips.

All were great trips.

Enjoy.

Thanks for the input. We would prefer to rent/ not to ship our bikes. We always have rented, and bring our saddles/clip ins/ panniers. The Katy and CO/GAP are well set up for this.
I have read that the Amtrak is not the best option for transfer, so a one way van or car may be our best bet.

Sounds like you had the same experience in Missouri with the friendly and kind folks !! Loved that trip !

May I suggest the Loire River when (and if) travel opens up again ? You can rent your bikes at one end, drop them off at the other end, or towns in between.... and take the train back to Paris to fly home. Planning is very easy using their website. (Europe is much further ahead with cycle tourism than we are... )

Would like to do this Erie ! My next step is to see if there is a bike rental shop in Buffalo or Albany. Stay Well !

I'm interested in the trip on the Loire Valley.

What did you do with your suitcases while you rode? Or did you fly only with the gear you would use while you were riding?

Yankee John, We were lucky. Met friends from Guernsey (UK) who brought their Land Rover, on the ferry. We put our suitcases in their car. However, you could either leave the suitcases in your first hotel, most properties of very supportive of this idea.
Or, pay for a luggage transfer service.

Cycled this in 2011. It is amazing! and I would do it again.

Here's helpful links...

https://detoursdeloire.com/

https://www.loirebybike.co.uk/

Thank you for the links. Our 4 week retirement celebration trip to France was cancelled by COVID, hoping for fall of 2021.

Please note that it takes a bit of planning and flexibility in the more rural sections of the Erie Canal Bike Trail if you plan to stay in lodging. Hopefully some of the B&Bs will re-open post COVID.

Welcome.
I get it ! We had to cancel two 2020 retirement trips. May-Cycling Japan. Italy in September: Trekking Dolomites & Cycling Tuscany.

Italy is rescheduled..... we hope !

ThoseDaltons

Sounds like we have had similar experiences. We were scheduled to bike the Dolomites this past spring but cancelled due to COVID. We have biked with a large group in Tuscany. We have had two self guided rides in Europe - Danube River - Passau to Vienna, and then biked around Lake Constance. The Dolomites trip, Danube and Lake Constance all arranged through biketours.com who subcontract with the European bike companies. They make all the hotel reservations, provide the routes, provide the bicycles and move your luggage and will help out with transfers if necessary.

We will look into the Loire Valley. Plan on skiing in Park City next month but COVID dependent.

I am thinking about riding the Erie Canal Trail sometime in May 2021. I have the flexibility to go either direction. Not sure if it makes a big difference so I was wondering if anyone wanted to comment on the Pros and Cons of riding from Albany to Buffalo and Pros and Cons of riding from Buffalo to Albany. Thanks!

Prevalent winds are West to East. That's why Mt. Washington has the weather it has

I plan a solo ride on the Erie canal trail sometime between May and October this year (after Pfizer shots.) My wife will drive me and my bike to the starting point, Buffalo, from my son's home in Corning, NY. Upon reaching Albany I will rent a car, one-way, to drive back to Corning.

For my GAP/C&O canal ride in 2018 my friend and I left my truck in Georgetown (DC) and transported ourselves and our bikes (using a bike rack) to Pittsburgh in a rental car. Upon reaching Pittsburgh we left the bikes at the hotel then immediately went to a local UPS store to ship the bike rack home (too bulky to fit anywhere on the bike.) We then returned the car and got a ride back to the hotel.

For my rides along the Moselle, Rhine and Danube rivers in Europe in 2017, 18 & 19 I used FlixBus to get my bike to/from starting/ending cities/countries. The bus was less expensive and easier to load and unload bikes than the train system. You can download the FlixBus app, available in English, onto iPhone or Android. Make sure the bus/route you book is equipped with a bike rack (the app will tell you!)

I should mention that I have family in Germany with whom I can store my bike when not riding. The bike is inexpensive (329 Euro), "designed in Germany & made in China", but it has served me well without any issue, not even a flat!

So sad, I camped here during the canal anniversary in 2017. I found Holly so friendly with 3 people directing me to the campsite. I had planned to return here in 2022 after covid.

I had called Holley and was told some there were some people caused problems ad damaged the area.

Are there especially interesting tourist places to stop along the Erie Canal? Thanks.

This might be of interest.
https://bikeeriecanal.com/our-lady-of-martyrs-shrine-fultonville.aspx

Sorry if this has been asked before. I scrolled thru several pages, and could not find. Unfortunately this forum does not have a search option.
Is anyone aware of a shop that will rent us bikes ? Preferable in Albany, where we would like to end our ride.

I have looked at the websites of the two bike shops under services, but they do not advertise rentals.

Thanks.

Unfortunately I'm not aware of a bike shop that provides rentals. There was a shop in Schenectady the rented but it closed last year. You might want to contact the shops personally. Freeman's Bridge Sports in Scotia has become an excellent shop, and they might be able to provide bikes, although they aren't at the start of the trail.

Diane at Great American Bike Tours organizes bike tours on the canal and is a great resource and might have some ideas. She used to run a bike shuttle service on the canal.

Thanks ! I check those out !

If we cant find rentals, we might just do the C&)/ GAP again.......

There is a search button on the main page to the far right after the
mileage chart button

Campus Wheelworks in Buffalo offers bike rentals - https://www.campuswheelworks.com/repair-rental/bike-rental/

They also rent racks if you need them.

I'd give them a call - if they can't help you they may know someone who can. Very helpful staff there.

Thanks all, for the help.

I'll call Campus Wheelworks :).

From Today's Schenectady Gazette:

For decades, two sets of railroad tracks in Rotterdam Junction impeded people looking to take a long off-road bike ride between Schenectady and Amsterdam on the Erie Canalway Trail, which runs all the way to Buffalo.
“It was one of the worst gaps in the entire system,” said Ray Gillen, chairman of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority.
But the obstacles for riders are no more.
As part of developing the statewide Empire State Trail, the state has built a bike-pedestrian tunnel under the PanAm Rail tracks at the end of Scrafford Lane, rehabbed a century-old maintenance tunnel under the CSX tracks two miles west, and built three miles of new trail. Total cost: $8 million.
“Both of the new tunnels are open and there is now a continous off-road trail from Schenectady west all the way to Frankfort,” said Andy Beers, executive director of the Empire State Trail. “The (Scrafford Lane) tunnel is complete, and it is an amazing piece of engineering.”
Construction on the Rotterdam Junction trail wrapped up last month — one of the last pieces in the state’s three-year effort to construct the Empire State Trail, which runs continuously 750 miles, from Buffalo to Albany and from the tip of Manhattan to the Canadian border.
“The state spent $8 million in Rotterdam Junction. It’s a major achievement, and we’re grateful to the state for doing it,” Gillen said.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who unveiled the plan in 2017, announced last week that the Empire State Trail is completed. That means the entire system — some 75 percent of which is off-road — is open to cyclists, hikers, runners, cross-country skiers and snow-shoers. It meets the deadline Cuomo set four years ago to finish work by the end of 2020.

Developing the trail system has cost $293 million, with an initial $200 million state appropriation being used to leverage an additional $93 million in federal, state and local money, Beers said.
Completion is expected to raise the profile of the state’s bicycle and pedestrian trail system, and draw millions of new visitors, from around the state, other states, and internationally. That’s expected to lead to many millions in new visitor spending.
“I’ve already been contacted, this fall, by a company that organizes supported rides,” Beers said, speaking of companies that provide ride support, meals and accommodations for traveling cycling groups. “This is going to be a world-class destination.”
Along the Erie Canalway Trail, which runs 360 miles from Buffalo to Albany, the project has increased the amount of off-road trail from 80 percent of the ride to about 95 percent.
“I’d seen the condition of the trail and the need to close the gaps,” said Brian Stratton, the former Schenectady mayor who has headed the state Canal Corp. for the last decade. “The governor likes to do things bold, and when he decided to close the gaps he did it in a way that nobody could have imagined.”

AWESOME ! Thanks for the post !

I’d like to ride the trail starting in Albany and ending in Amherst (my family lives there). For anyone who has ridden the trail solo, would you say it’s safe for a woman riding by herself?

Yes, provided you are comfortable with solo adventure. You would get better advise if you informed us of how you were planning to overnight. Are you staying on the trail, B&B, motels, warmshowers?

Rent a SPOT LOCATER. you can let family know where you are and its got a 911 button for emergencies

I’ve done a few solo trips before so that’s not a problem. I’m assuming that B&Bs or motels are not far off the trail? I prefer a bed after riding all day and don’t want to lug around camping gear. I like the spot locator idea!

You will be fine then. Yes, there are all kinds of accommodations within easy reach of the trail. Last year there was a post here concerning wanting to complete the trail staying at Marriott properties (IIRC) along the way. The poster succeeded in working it out. If that can happen... merely looking for a nice bed should be pretty easy. [I was self-supported - worked out fine as well].

Have a fun planning and making it happen!

I rode the trail solo in early October and I felt good as a woman riding by herself. I mostly camped but stayed at a B&B one night and with a friend another. I'm sure it is different during warmer, busier times, but given that there are so many towns / parks / populated residential areas along the way, I never felt concerned for my safety. I also rode Albany to Amherst to visit family at the end, and I will say that the winds can be brutal but I'm glad I went that direction. I would recommend budgeting a little extra time though. The upside is you really get the gorgeous canal views in the second half. Have you done a solo trip before? This was my first and it was a great one.

Go for it Nina! As others have commented, you be fine as a solo female rider.

Good luck,
John

Recently remodeled temporarily closed due to covid guidelines. When reopened come visit and try Jake's 1/3 cheeseburger yummy!!

Recently remodeled temporarily closed due to covid guidelines. When reopened come visit and try Jake's 1/3 cheeseburger yummy!!

After riding Cincinnati to Cleveland next spring I’m thinking of taking the train to Depew and the riding east on the Erie Canal trail.

Is the road (Transit Ave) north to the trail super busy? Is there a decent shoulder? Any suggestions on alternate routes?

THX. Howard

I would not recommend Transit Road - between the train station and the trail to the north, a good chunk is a high-speed 6-8 lane suburban highway that would be extremely dangerous to walk or ride on, sidewalk included.

An alternate route, suburban traffic but manageable, would be Dick Road -] over to Union Road -] north to North Forest -] Elicott Creek Trailway -] trail at Tonawanda Creek.

However if you haven't been to Buffalo and don't mind a little extra time, I would ride down to Canalside in downtown Buffalo. It's a park centered around the former terminus of the Erie canal into Lake Erie. There is also a bit more to see downtown with some historic architecture, and just north of downtown in Allentown will be some non-chain places to eat and a bike shop if you need anything.

https://goo.gl/maps/GU6nJHB6r3P3rcwX8

From the Depew station, head down Dick Road -] west on Broadway -] south on Union to the Lehigh Valley Rail Trail heading east. You will find it on Google Maps.

From there, ride the trail down to the other end on William Street. William Street is a low traffic industrial street for the most part that will take you downtown. Once you are in the core there are several streets that will take you south of downtown to Canalside. From there you can start the official trail.

We took Amtrak to Buffalo Depew 2 years ago and opted to ride to the official train head. It added a lot of miles to the first day but worth it. A word of caution, not a lot of water on a hot day so be prepared. We passed a lot of nice trailside parks but none of the had water.

Agree with Joe about heading into Bflo. Transit Road is a rather busy N-S route without much of a riding shoulder. When you start out from Buffalo you follow the river up to Tonawanda and then follow the Erie Canal eastward. Regarding water... you are always a short distance from convenient stores or restaurants along the way.

Joe: Not aware of the Lehigh Valley Rail Trail in Buffalo -- didn't show up on Google maps as an option in BIKE mode either. I've ridden on it over in the Rochester area, but that's a linear trail over there.

wnybubba - I had never known the name of the trail until looking at it on Google Maps but it looks like it's also called "Cheektowaga Rails to Trails".

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/new-york/cheektowaga-historic-rail-to-trail?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-view-full-map

Sorry, looks like my first post lost formatting.

William Street from downtown to this trail is a good low-traffic connector from downtown to the eastern suburbs and country side.

Just a little south heading east is Como Park Boulevard which is a nice on-road ride into Lancaster. From Lancaster the "Lancaster Heritage Trail" takes you into into Alden, where the is very little traffic on the side roads.

Thanks Joe. All of your suggestions offer good advise. I live southeast of Bflo and haven't traveled too many trails in the city. However, on Friday when I was in town I crossed over the Heritage Trail -- one that I was unfamiliar with as well.

Drop me a line sometime if you want to get out and bike together. My email is my user-name here @gmail.com

Thanks guys. All very helpful

The last eastern segment that we have to ride is Rotterdam to Albany. We will use two cars. What is the address of the end of the trail and where can we leave a car for approx 3 hours Can find any published info. On the trails end/ start place

If you want to go a little further, when you end in Albany, take the Ped/bike overpass into Rennselaer and park at Riverfront Park on Broadway. Park has toilets and right across from Dunkin. The park is under the Dunn Memorial Bridge. I part there for the day when I take my club riding. Look for Signs for NY 5 & 9 Bike routes

Experienced 3 or 4 different employees at this store none of which ever had a mask on ,disturbing

Hello! I was planning to bike from Albany to Buffalo because that works better with my travel plans, but I've read about westerly winds being worse this way. Is that the case? Does it make much of a difference? I'm planning to ride the first week in October. I could rearrange my trip if that is advisable, so I'm curious!

Generally, the wind goes W-E but it’s not always the case and not guaranteed.

The only thing to do is keep an eye out for the forecast and see if there’s any pattern to the winds and change trip direction if it looks like you’ll get better winds going another way.

The prevailing wind is not much of a factor on the eastern part of the trail because it is heavily wooded and it mostly follows a low corridor with an escarpment on both sides so the wind tends to swirl in the depression. Much of the western part of the trail, roughly from Spencerport to Lockport, is elevated from the surrounding terrain and very exposed. It can really be a slog on a hot sunny day riding west into a strong westerly wind. Unfortunately the Army Corps of Engineers cut down most of the large trees in this section several years ago because they were a threat to the integrity of the canal. New trees are still small and not as close to the edge of the canal so there is little shade and little protection from the wind.

Thanks for this info! I think I'm going to keep my original route and prepare my legs for some extra resistance. Still open to comments if anyone else has perspective!

Bikegal, give us recap of your journey when you’re done!!

John

It's been a minute, but I did complete the ride from Albany to Buffalo! It was in early/mid-October, so the foliage was gorgeous. On the eastern part of the trail, the wind wasn't bad at all. On the western part, it was a slog. The wind was pretty aggressive and the ride was slow going. The views were lovely, but most of the open canal was brutal riding. Maybe part of it was the time of year and the weather, but it seemed like the prevailing winds were a strong force. I'm still glad I went east to west because that's the direction I needed to travel and the eastern part of the trail is especially scenic, but I would recommend west to east for wind.

i agree West to East probably better. Although I had tailwinds leaving Buffalo when I started that changed to headwinds for the second half. Nothing huge but slowed me a couple of mph.

Kane and I may have passed each other going in opposite directions!

It's been a minute, but I did complete the ride from Albany to Buffalo! It was in early/mid-October, so the foliage was gorgeous. On the eastern part of the trail, the wind wasn't bad at all. On the western part, it was a slog. The wind was pretty aggressive and the ride was slow going. The views were lovely, but most of the open canal was brutal riding. Maybe part of it was the time of year and the weather, but it seemed like the prevailing winds were a strong force. I'm still glad I went east to west because that's the direction I needed to travel and the eastern part of the trail is especially scenic, but I would recommend west to east for wind.

The winds are worse from West to East. That's why Mt. Washington has the worst weather

Does anyone know of backroads to take on the 20 mile route on 5s outside of Herkimer?

Not a direct answer to your question, but you would be following Bike Route 5. Nice bike shoulder lane on a state highway. I don't remember it being dangerous or uncomfortable at all. Admittedly, I'm fine on state roadways and have a decent rear view mirror so I know what's going on around me.

There are some beautiful roads with open country and Amish farms and little traffic on both the south (5S) and north sides but they are really hilly!

It’s funny that you commented on Route 5S outside of Herkimer. This past summer while biking the Erie Canal path, my friend and I ended up on 5S thinking we were on the canal trail. We biked the 2 most longest and steepest hills that I have ever biked. Finally at the top of the second hill we sensed something was wrong, thinking hills this big would surely not be part of the bike route. After studying google maps, we realized we were riding parallel to the trail path located several thousand feet below us. That was an exhausting day. We are not sure how we missed a trail sign (though we did serval times throughout our trip) but I still blame my biking partner thinking he saw a sign for ice cream just ahead.

With the bridge closed how does one access the Barnes Ave parking?

As of November 6 2020 the Canalway Trail over the Palmyra Ganargua/Mud Creek Aqueduct is barricaded and marked closed (the structure may be in danger of collapsing?). A detour utilizing Quaker Road is indicated, but that route is quite narrow without significant shoulders and no marked bike lanes.