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Reply to Empire State Trail

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Ray (webmaster) on 1/31/2021 5:57:13 PM:

As you probably know, New York State recently completed the Empire State Trail, a 755 mile trail system (!) reaching from Lower Manhattan to the Canadian border, and connecting to the Erie Canalway Trail at Albany.

If you’d like to explore the Empire State Trail, check out BikeEmpireState.com.

You’ll find an interactive Google map of the Empire State Trail, similar to the Erie Canal map here – which in my (not so humble) opinion is way more helpful than the Empire State map offered by the State.

There’s also a Mileage Chart Page showing distances between towns on all parts of the trail.

I wanted to get these first couple tools out on the web as quickly as possible, for anyone planning a spring or summer trip, but I will continue to add more tools like the ones you find here at BikeErieCanal. Hopefully this will help encourage people to get out and enjoy this amazing new resource.

Happy trails!

Yankee John from Braintree Vermont on 2/1/2021 2:58:26 PM:

Ray:

There are three different on-line resources for biking the Erie Canal Towpath that I have added to my favorites. All seem to be published by NY State agencies. It is a bit confusing. They are:

bikeeriecanal.com
bikeempirestate.com
empiretrail.ny.gov

Each one has different maps, etc. Can you clear up which website is targeted for which type of visitor?

Thank You

Ray (webmaster) on 2/1/2021 3:31:35 PM:

Hi Yankee John,

1. bikeeriecanal.com - this website is built and managed by TrailHub (my company), not the state of NY. It focuses on just the Erie Canalway.

2. bikeempirestate.com - this is also a TrailHub website, not NYS. It includes some redundant info from #1, but of course expands to include the whole Empire State Trail. We are still building out this site, but have already built two key features which the state site doesn't offer: an interactive Google Map with mile indicators, and mileage distances between towns.

3. empiretrail.ny.gov - this is the state of NY's website for the Empire State trail.

It may seem redundant to have multiple websites out there for a single trail, but I encourage you to check them all out and use whichever one works best for you. And most important, enjoy New York's amazing trails!

I appreciate your input and will keep striving to make BikeErieCanal.com and BikeEmpireState.com your "go to" sites for trip planning.

wnybubba from Bflo/ROC on 2/1/2021 3:49:49 PM:

Ray,

Great work here and on the other sites -- they are always my "Go-To" sites. Thanks for your continuing goodness!

I'm thinking of doing the Canalway Trail again this early summer (Bflo -> ALB) but adding the trek into NYC.

bikegal from Seattle, WA on 2/1/2021 8:28:55 PM:

Is it possible to make this forum searchable? That would be a huge value add! When I was planning my trip, it was difficult to find the information I was looking for or even know if someone had already asked the question and had the discussion.

Ray (webmaster) on 2/1/2021 10:56:25 PM:

Bikegal - glad you asked! If you look near the top of the Forum page, just above the "Start a New Discussion" button, you will now see a new link for "Search the Erie Canal Bike Trail Forum".

Enjoy!

bikegal from Seattle, WA on 2/1/2021 11:30:20 PM:

Thanks!

Yankee John from Vermont on 2/2/2021 7:01:07 PM:

Thank you for creating and maintaining this great resource. TrailHub looks interesting, will give it a try this summer.

It won't be difficult to do better than 'Rails to Trails,' I pulled my remaining hair out using their maps and aps on a Wisconsin/ferry/Michigan group ride three years ago. It seems R2T is only good at sending nice glossies and requesting donations and providing jobs for some folks in Washington, D.C.

Thinking about riding Buffalo to Alb to Canada this summer if COVID restrictions are relaxed and it's easier to find lodging. The Champlain part of the trail is mostly on roads, wish it had more trails, but most of them aren't too busy or too hilly.

John W. from Pittsburgh, PA on 2/6/2021 1:43:24 PM:

Really nice work Ray. Definitely thinking about Albany to NYC as a potential trip.

John

Tom Ham from Saugerties NY on 2/25/2021 10:07:29 AM:

Ray,
Great resource!

Thank you.

Chris from Long Island on 4/10/2021 10:11:51 PM:

Ray, Are you planning on adding a trip planner similar to the one on this site. I am having a really had time finding camping from Albany to NYC.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

Ray (webmaster) on 4/11/2021 12:14:54 PM:

Chris - yes, the Empire State website will eventually have a trip planner, although it will be a while.

However, I am currently researching camping options along the Hudson Valley section, and will have some info posted online within a week or so. I agree, camping options seem few and far between along that section, but I'll see what I can turn up.

I will update the "Empire State Trail - Hudson Valley camping" thread as soon as I have info to share.

wnybubba from Bflo/ROC on 4/11/2021 3:43:51 PM:

Thanks Ray. If you want any help, let me know. Email me if you wish.
-bubba
wnybubba@gmail.com

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