In June of 2023 I embarked on a lifelong goal to bike from Buffalo to NYC on the Empire State Trail. I chronicled my journey, including selecting gear, building an itinerary, and a day by day journey of my ride. After biking 12 days from Buffalo to NYC, I have learned a lot about cycling and trails, especially in the state of New York. I hope you enjoy my chronicles:
My last day was 56 miles, from Mahopac to the Battery in Lower Manhattan. In this area, the Empire State Trail follows an old railroad line from Putnam County to the Bronx known as the New York and Putnam Railroad.
As I crossed into Westchester County I began biking on the North County Trailway This section of the trail was recently repaved and great to ride on. One important caveat (as shown in the video below) is at each intersection there are pinch points where you must bike through a very narrow area. In some spots I had to get off my bike and walk through this spots.
This nice lady I spoke with on the trail was wearing some cool sunglasses made by Kapvoe.
The trail goes through Downtown Yorktown Heights and there is a great trail side cafe in this here. I did not stop but it looked good, and lots of cyclists eating there.
Past Yorktown I crossed over the Croton Reservoir. I found the sign on the bridge a little ironic because you might not survive if you jumped off here.
Past the reservoir the trail continued through Westchester County. Many areas were in the old railroad right of way, but others are on road. The section shown below did not feel very safe to me, especially considering how close I was to the guide rail. Falling onto a guide rail does not look like fun. It's better than fully on road, but it was loud near the cars.
In Elmsford, the trail goes on road very briefly between the North County and South County trailways. I had to get off my bike and walk this section because of the heavy traffic and a cattle fence thing in the photo below, quite annoying. There is a small sign for the Mario Cuomo Bridge but I cannot vouch for it being useful in any meaningful way. There are a couple of stores in Elmsford where you can get a sandwich or water, but the whole area did not feel very appealing.
Past Elmsford there was one port-a-potty but aside from that there are no bathrooms in westchester county on the trail.
In Ardsley there was one hotel on the trail called Ardsley Acres. Unfortunately from the looks of the crowd milling around outside, it seemed to either be a shelter or a flop house. After googling, I found out that the Ardsley Acres is now housing migrants. There was security patrolling the grounds. This was unfortunate because this looked like a great location for potential cyclists. I do not recommend staying here.
I biked through Yonkers and there wasn't a ton to see. Some sections of the trail go through park areas, and some parts go through houses. There is a big sign as I entered New York City in Van Cortlandt Park.
I enjoyed riding Van Cortlandt Park because it felt more wooded and serene than the section in Westchester County. Unfortunately I ran over a chipmunk here, and when I turned around he was already "toes up".
After the trail ends I meandered around the park until it spit me out at Broadway near 242nd street. There is a water fountain here. This is the only water fountain I encountered after Highland, nearly 90 miles away. The planners of the empire state trail need to do a better job on water fountains.
After Van Cortlandt park the trail goes onto NYC streets in the Bronx and I skirted the eastern edge of Manhattan College. A lot of double parked cars made biking around here not that fun. Crossing over the Broadway Bridge into Manhattan is a little scary because the roadway is metal decking.
The Empire State Trail goes near Baker Field in Inwood and then down Seaman Avenue to Dyckman Street. At Dyckman Street I ascended a large hill to get near Washington Heights and the George Washington Bridge. After a brief steep descent near the Little Red Lighthouse, I was on flat ground all the way to the end of my ride. The smog at this time was quite uncomfortable.
Biking from Washington Heights to Harlem was a breeze down the bike path. In Harlem near 125th street there is another water fountain. It was sort of ironic that the trail goes 90 miles without a water fountain, but there are at least 8 water fountains from the city line to the end of the empire state trail. It made me wonder why the rest of the state doesn't invest more in water fountains in their parks.
Biking past Harlem through Riverside Park on the Upper West Side was fun, through an area called Cherry Walk. Biking this in the spring is beautiful here because the cherry trees are in blossom. Sometimes tree roots can be a problem here, but it seemed like a relatively smooth ride in most spots.
Once I got below 59th street, the path was directly next to the west side highway. 59th street to the end of the Empire State Trail was my least favorite section to bike on. It was EXTREMELY CROWDED. The bike path was filled with tourists and buses trying to cross, as well as cargo bikes, people learning to ride bikes, rollerbladers, joggers and other people just standing around. It left a very sour taste in my mouth. Due to a terrorist attack in 2017 there are bollards and barriers everywhere to get on the bike path. It is a generally sucky experience. There is some movement on perhaps closing a lane of the west side highway to add additional bike capacity. I am in favor of this.
Right near the finish line of the Empire State Trail I passed through Battery Park City which had some nice plantings and landscaping on the path. Notice there are joggers here, which I had to watch out for.
The Empire State Trail ends at the lower tip of Manhattan at the Battery! My friend Gary met me at the end and was able to snap this cool photo.
About 100 feet before I reached the end of the trail, there is this cool commemorative signage showing the entire trail.
The info on these signs is worth reading, and I was exhausted by this point.
Here is a photo of me doing my thing at the end of the trail!
After finishing I had a burger at PJ Clarke's in Battery Park City, and then crashed. All in all it was a great trip and I'd recommend it to anyone!
In my final installment, I will put together a list of suggestions and improvements for the
Empire State Trail!
Updated: Sep 18, 2023
Kingston to Mahopac was going to be one of my longest days so I woke up at the crack of dawn to get started. As I left the hotel I caught a glimpse of a beautiful sunrise. Smog makes for great sunsets, and also sunrises! My first leg was from Kingston to Hopewell Junction, 48 miles.
The City of Kingston is broken up into three distinct sections. From my hotel north of Kingston I biked through East Kingston and then through the waterfront area. These areas have a cool beachfront and also the Trolley Museum of New York!
After the waterfront area there is a very steep climb up into the "Midtown" section of Kingston. This neighborhood had a great bike path, and a bunch of hispanic businesses. Past Midtown, the Empire State Trail cuts through the Stockade District, one of New York's oldest neighborhoods. In fact, Kingston used to be the Capital of the State of NY. I wanted to stay in Midtown or the Stockade District but hotel prices in these areas were nuts! (~400/night)
After cutting through the Stockade District I ended up at Deising's Bakery for breakfast. Their baked goods are awesome and I had a great Western Omelette on a roll with a side of hash browns. The roll was excellent.
Past downtown Kingston the Empire State Trail connects into the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. This section runs from Kingston to New Paltz and was a delight to ride on.
The rail trail has a good crushed stone throughout and includes multiple bridges. I did not stop in Rosendale but there were some signs promoting businesses which looked good. The view over the Rondout Creek was cool.
The trail was so smooth in spots I was able to go with one hand on my bike and facetime my cousin Nick!
The rail bridges on the Wallkill Valley Trail kept it interesting throughout the ride.
The Empire State Trail skirts the northern part of New Paltz. Once completed, the trail will be rerouted through downtown New Paltz. Currently the trail goes through a somewhat hilly area north of Downtown and I missed seeing most of New Paltz. This was such a long day I did not have time to deviate from my ride. Some people split the Albany to NYC leg into 4 nights instead of 3. I would recommend spending 4 nights to do this trip if you wanted to check out some of these towns in more detail.
East of New Paltz the trail parallels State Route 299 heading towards Poughkeepsie. The trail here is paved and is a fun ride. There are some nice seating areas with signage and parking.
The section near Highland is part of an old rail line that connected Ulster and Dutchess Counties, with an interesting history. There are some cute old restored rail stations and railcars in Highland. Fun!
As I got closer to Poughkeepsie I entered the Walkway Over the Hudson, a former railroad bridge turned into a bike and pedestrian path. This is one of the jewels of the Empire State Trail and a large tourist attraction in its own right. On the Highland side there is a clean bathroom to use, as well as a water fountain. The next water public water fountain after Highland is nearly 90 miles away in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx!! Make sure to tank up on water here.
Usually when you go over the Walkway you can see way into the distance downstate, and sometimes the skyline of Manhattan. Unfortunately, this day coincided with some serious smog from the wildfires so my visibility was very limited. It also smelled like smoke on the walkway.
Past the Walkway, the Empire State Trail cuts through the northside of Poughkeepsie and then heads into suburban Dutchess County to Hopewell Junction. The Dutchess Rail Trail was completed over 10 years ago so there are some roots heaving the pavement up in spots. As I got closer to Hopewell Junction I did see some signage displaying distances, but yet again, there were different than all other signs I saw on the trail.
While the rail trail goes through Hopewell Junction, it seems like another failed opportunity for trail oriented development. Hopewell Junction seemed to turn it's back on the trail and I had to spend some time googling places to find a place to eat nearby. There was one lame looking bar called Daddy O's near the trail which I avoided. I went off the trail briefly to get some prepared foods at Frankie's Superette, a good local grocery deli nearby. While the food was good, the area was not bike friendly, even for the half mile it took to go off the trail. Hopewell Junction you can do better!
My next leg was from Hopewell Junction to Mahopac (35 miles). East of Hopewell Junction the trail goes through a long rural section called the Maybrook Line. This connects Hopewell Junction to Brewster and was one of the largest missing links in the Empire State Trail. Warning: east of Hopewell Junction is one of the longest uphill stretches on the Empire State Trail. Standing sentinel on my ride was the imposing Green Haven Correctional Facility.
There are very long stretches of wooded uphill past the prison without any rest stops or places to buy food. Some cool geology of the area and interpretive signs help break up this forlorn stretch of rail trail.
The good news is after ascending the large uphill in Dutchess County, the trail is mostly downhill towards New York City. In southeastern Dutchess County I entered an area called The Great Swamp. The rail trail goes right through most of this, and is quite beautiful in spots. By this time I was nearly 60 miles into my trip and it was very hot. These stretches of the Great Swamp do not have a lot of tree cover.
The Maybrook Line ends in Brewster in Putnam County. There are some on road areas here, and I stopped at Kobacker's Market for a large bottle of water. Kobackers Market is the only grocery store on the directly on the trail between New Paltz and Elmsford. Eastern Dutchess County has no stores near the trail.
While I stayed a friend's house in Mahopac, numerous other people I know have stayed at the Comfort Inn Brewster. People have said to me it can be tricky to access from the trail on a bike. The Putnam County area is sorely lacking a trailside hotel. This could be an great opportunity for a hotel development in the area, IMHO! Past Brewster I entered Putnam Trailway, the northern section of a rail trail that goes all the way into New York City.
Most of the Empire State Trail have plantings in the medians at intersections. Putnam County decided to plant trees in these spaces, which was a mistake. Many of these areas had uneven pavement due to tree root damage. This was mildly annoying, and trees should not be planted in these strips. Nice shrubs or flowers would be beautiful and not damage the pavement!
The Putnam Trailway has a bunch of short hills and be ready for a bunch of up and down sections. It was unusually hilly for a rail trail. I headed past Carmel and some lakes in this area and the terrrain was quite pretty.
I stayed at a friend's house in Mahopac, which was a nice respite from hotels along the way. We cooked some steaks and I crashed early.
Stay tuned for Day 12 - Mahopac to Lower Manhattan, my final day of the trip, for my big push to finish line!
