camping on the trail

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Bill Mackay from Glasgow Scotland on 1/27/2023 5:58:02 AM:

Good morning all. I am in the process of planning to cycle the canal from Albany to buffalo sometime before the end of Autumn in 2024. I have family in buffalo I am going to visit. My intention is to camp on the trail. As I am flying in with my bike I do not actually want to carry a tent. In the campsites along the trail are there any that offer one night hire of tents.

Bill in Houston from Houston on 1/27/2023 5:18:03 PM:

That's not really a thing here, and certainly not frequently enough to cover you for the whole trip.

John W. from Pittsburgh, PA on 1/28/2023 4:24:56 PM:

Agree with Bill. I’ve not heard of tent rentals and certainly not in all the small towns you’ll be stopping at. If you’re set on not carrying any gear (or you don’t have a support crew carrying it for you), I would just “credit card camp” and stay at motels/BNB’s.

Bill Mackay from Glasgow Scotland on 1/29/2023 6:34:37 PM:

Thanks for both comments fellas, I have plenty of time to plan, so will now look at bed and breakfast along the route and weigh it again st carrying tent and sleeping bag.

Slainte Mhath

DK from Fultonville on 1/30/2023 10:42:53 PM:

You may want to buy a tent and sleeping bag in Albany. Then donate it to good will in Buffalo.

Bill Mackay on 2/1/2023 12:03:45 PM:

Good call on buying tent and then donating.
Cheers DK

Pat from Greencastle on 2/10/2023 8:35:29 AM:

Hey there! We are not rent campers, so won’t comment on that. But, September 2022, my husband and I rode the Albany to Buffalo thru trip. We were the ONLY riders going East to West. There are a few spots along the way that the tailwind you may benefit from when going West to East would be helpful, but I can honestly say that the last 130 miles or so into Buffalo were by far the prettiest! We are glad we chose this direction, although the vast major of riders go not.
I have our entire itinerary I can send if you want. We stayed at motels or hotels over the 7 nights.

Let me know if you are interested in our itinerary and I’ll be happy to send it along. If do, you might provide an email I can send it to

Pat Ness

Donna from Hudson Falls NY on 2/11/2023 7:08:44 PM:

Pat from Greencastle I would be interested in your itinerary lafrancedonna@yahoo.com thanks!

DK from Fultonville on 2/19/2023 11:28:09 AM:

If you haven't yet discovered this site.

https://empiretrail.ny.gov/activities/camping

Lots of good information and a free map to order.

https://empiretrail.ny.gov/trip-planning

Bill Mackay from Glasgow Scotland on 2/19/2023 7:17:04 PM:

Thank you Pat. I would appreciate having a look at your itinerary.
Bill

Williammckay596@gmail.com is my e mail

johnine mccartney from HOPEWELL JUNCTION on 2/27/2023 7:22:00 PM:

Thank you Pat, I would appreciate your sending me your itinerary. Can you tell me do you ride on city streets as you go through Syracuse? My email is Jmccartney@ithaca.edu.

Sarah from Watertown MA on 3/1/2023 9:07:49 PM:

Pat, I would love to see your itinerary too!
sarah.bansen@gmail.com

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