2022 Empire State Trail Ride
At the end of September this past fall, we had the opportunity to ride the Empire State Trail from our front door at Evergreen Bicycle Works all the way down to The Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City.
For those of you not familiar with the Empire State Trail, it is a 750-mile route comprised of three main sections. The Erie Canalway Trail runs east/west and connects Buffalo to Albany. The Champlain Valley Trail and Hudson Valley Greenway Trail run north/south and connect the Canada Border to New York City.
While the Erie Canalway Trail is almost entirely off-the-road riding, about half of the north/south route is on-road riding. The majority of the on-road riding is located north of Fort Edward on the Champlain Valley Trail, which definitely influenced our decision to start from the shop rather than the Canada Border. The Hudson Valley Greenway Trail is mostly a collection of rail trails and bike trails.
The biggest deciding factor in choosing our route, however, was that we wanted a ride that would be equally doable by riders in our local area, as well as those coming up from New York City and other points south of Fort Edward. Done by riders in our local area, it’s relatively simple to navigate, and with a little bit of timing, it’s easy to catch the Ethan Allen Express Amtrak train back north from Penn Station after reaching the end-point of the Empire State Trail at The Battery.
Riders coming from New York City, and other locations south of Fort Edward, can take the Ethan Allen Express Amtrak train directly into Fort Edward and then start their journey - although it may be appealing to head north on the Feeder Canal Trail/Warren County Bikeway to visit Glens Falls and Lake George before starting their ride on the Empire State Trail. Of course, a send off breakfast at Mamma’s Cafe or a celebratory drink at Slickfin Brewing Company, both located in downtown Fort Edward, are also great ways to start your journey on the Empire State Trail.
For those needing any last minute supplies, we stock all the riding essentials as well as various nutrition products, and there is a Stewart’s Shop downtown. For convenience items (toothbrush & toothpaste, soap & shampoo, etc.) or for a larger snack/food selection, there is a Market 32 grocery store about 1.5 miles from our shop.
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We left from Evergreen Bicycle Works in the morning on Wednesday, September 28th and returned via the Ethan Allen Express Amtrak line in the evening on Tuesday, October 4th. At the end of each riding day, we shared a recap, along with some photos, on Instagram and Facebook. We have compiled those posts below, along with some additional data.
Distance
Canada Border to The Battery (NYC)
399.5 Miles
Fort Edward to The Battery (NYC)
251.5 Miles
Day 1: Fort Edward to East Greenbush
“Day 1 of our Empire State Trail ride was wet and tiring. We got a late start and didn’t leave the shop until around 11am. Riding to Schuylerville it was sunny and cool, but by the time we were riding through Stillwater, rain was falling steadily. We rode through pouring rain until it let up just north of Waterford. It started raining again as we were approaching Watervliet and continued until just before we crossed the river into Rensselaer. The sun came out for the last few miles as we made our way to East Greenbush.
In total we rode 53 miles over about 4.5 hours. Between riding through the rain, slogging along on the wet stone dust sections, and more elevation gain than we’ve ridden in quite a while, we were pretty tired by the time we rolled into our hotel.
The weather for tomorrow is looking to be rain free (fingers crossed), and most of the day will be off the road on the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail.” - September 28th, 2022
Day 2: East Greenbush to Hudson
“Day 2 of our Empire State Trail ride was a bit more relaxed. We made it through the day without any rain, and most of the riding was off the road on the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail. From our hotel in East Greenbush to our hotel in Hudson, it was just over 38 miles. Unlike the upcoming rail trails that follow the low grade of former rail beds, quite a bit of this trail followed the power lines and had about 1,300 feet of elevation gain - not a ridiculous amount, but still enough to remind us that our legs were tired from yesterday’s ride.
Not too long into today’s ride, we did have our first flat. We had the spare tube, tire levers from our Topeak Ratchet Lite DX+ tool kit, our Lezyne Micro Floor Drive Pump, and obviously the skills to get the job done, so it didn’t take take very long to get riding again.
In Valatie, we made a stop at Velo Domestique to chat for a bit and rest our legs. They are also located right on the Empire State Trail (and the Albany Hudson Electric Trail) and it’s definitely worth taking a minute to stop in.
Tomorrow we have about 30 miles of road riding before we pick up the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail which will take us to New Paltz. We plan to stay the night in either New Paltz or Poughkeepsie, but we’ll make that decision depending on how we’re feeling since continuing to Poughkeepsie will probably put us around 60 miles for the day.” - September 29th, 2022
Day 3: Hudson to New Paltz
“Day 3 of our Empire State Trail ride was quite interesting. It started off great and became increasingly frustrating as the day went on.
We started the day heading uphill on a somewhat busy road out of Hudson, but it wasn’t long before we were rolling through orchards and vineyards on quiet back roads. There were still quite a few hills, but it finally felt like our legs were strong. The weather was perfect - sunny & cool, but still warm enough to not need a wind shirt or jacket. After passing through a few small towns, we found ourselves on a nice section of bike trail leading to, and then through, the Bard College Campus. After another surprisingly enjoyable section of road riding, things started to take a turn.
To keep it short, we crossed a busy highway unnecessarily due to poor signage, Randy got his second flat of the trip, we had to detour to a bike shop to get a new tire and there was a pretty decent climb to get there, Kyle got run into by someone driving a pickup truck (it was very low speed and he wasn’t injured and his bike wasn’t damaged), and we had a hard time finding a hotel room (we eventually found one and only had to give up an arm and a leg to pay for it).
Overall, the first 2/3 of the day made up for the frustration and inconveniences of the last 1/3, but we were definitely worn out and tired by the time we reached our hotel. We totaled 51.3 miles and 2,306 feet of ascent.
Now we’re working on some strategic planning as we’re finding the hotel availability to be very limited where we’d like to stay over the next couple days. There’s rain in the forecast tomorrow, but we need to put in some miles to make our ride Sunday manageable.” - September 30th, 2022
Day 4: New Paltz to Poughkeepsie
“Day 4 of our Empire State Trail ride was more resting than riding. We were having a tough time finding an available room for tonight in any reasonable riding distance, so we decided to stay in Poughkeepsie for the day. It was only about 9 miles from our hotel in New Paltz to our hotel in Poughkeepsie, but between an 11am check out and a 3pm check in, we had some time to kill. Luckily, we happened to be riding over the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park during their Walktoberfest event. We stopped to check out the vendors, eat an early lunch, and sample some beer and wine.
We were able to check in about an hour early, and spent the next 5 hours relaxing in our room. We were also able to book our last two hotel rooms. We’ll be staying in Brewster tomorrow night and Yonkers on Monday.
After a great dinner and drinks just down the street at Mill House Brewing Company, we’re back at our room now and fading fast. We’re looking forward to our ride tomorrow which is all rail trail, almost completely flat, and with a hotel reservation waiting for us at the end of the day.” - October 1st, 2022
Day 5: Poughkeepsie to Brewster
“Day 5 of our Empire State Trail ride was our first day riding entirely on bike trails (minus the very short rides to get from and to our hotels). In Poughkeepsie, we started riding east on the Dutchess Rail Trail. The Dutchess Rail Trail transitioned to the Maybrook Trailway at Hopewell Junction and took us all the way to Brewster.
The whole ride today was on pavement and slightly uphill for about 2/3 of the way and then downhill for the last ~1/3. It was a mostly uneventful day (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) minus one stop for Randy to fix a flat. It was overcast and chilly, but with the right layers it made for a comfortable ride.
We left Poughkeepsie around 11am and rolled into our hotel around 4:30pm. We ended up ordering Domino’s to the hotel (we try to eat at local restaurants when we can, but all the 20% off commercials we’ve been seeing on the hotel tvs must have worked), and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.
We’ve reached the point on our trip where all the trails from here on out will be new to us. Tomorrow we’ll ride about 40 miles to our next hotel in Yonkers, and then Tuesday we’ll finish the trip with a ride to The Battery in NYC.” - October 2nd, 2022
Day 6: Brewster to Yonkers
“Day 6 of our Empire State Trail ride was our second day riding entirely on bike trails. We started on the Putnam Trailway leaving Brewster and continued onto the Westchester North County Trailway and then the Westchester South County Trailway. Much of the trail actually looked a lot like the northern sections of the Warren County Bikeway.
Fall seems to have set in quick in the last couple days. Today was overcast, breezy, and around 50°. Tomorrow it won’t be much warmer, and it looks like the rain has finally arrived. It should only be about 25 miles between riding to get to The Battery and then over to Penn Station. This will be our earliest start (we’ll probably leave the hotel around 9:30am), but we’re hoping to get over to Penn Station with time to change out of our wet clothes before boarding our train. If all goes well, we’ll be arriving back in Fort Edward shortly after 6pm.” - October 3rd, 2022
Day 7: Yonkers to The Battery
“Now that we’re home and have had some time to rest, here’s the recap for Day 7. Keep an eye out for a more in-depth blog post on our website coming soon.
Day 7 of our Empire State Trail ride was cold and wet. We woke up to a rainy view from our hotel room, and while it made for a peaceful morning as we ate breakfast, it didn’t do much for our motivation. We were already planning to get an earlier start than any of the previous day, though, and we didn’t have much choice if we wanted to be sure we would make our train out of Moynihan Hall (Penn Station) at 2:20pm.
The rain let up to a sprinkle just as we were leaving our hotel, and luckily it stayed that way for most of our ride into the city. After a short period of incline, the rest of the ride into the city was almost completely downhill or flat. Much of the trail from Yonkers through The Bronx bordered the interstate. We eventually crossed over onto Manhattan via the Broadway Bridge, and after a short stretch of road riding, we reached the last bike trail that took us all the way to the end of the Empire State Trail at The Battery.
Just after we reached The Battery, and as we were trying to figure out if there was a specific endpoint for the Empire State Trail, it began to pour and the wind really picked up. We quickly found someone to take a few photos, stopped at the last Empire State Trail sign for a few more, and then hurried on toward our final destination at Moynihan hall. The pouring rain and wind made for quite the ride, especially as we navigated the last few blocks of road riding, and of course the rain let up just as we pulled up to the station.
Once we got inside the station, we wiped down our bikes, reorganized our gear, and found a place to change into dry clothes. At that point, we had just enough time left to grab some snacks before boarding our train. Surprisingly, our train was on time, and we were back at the shop where we started just before 6:30pm.” - October 4th, 2022
Trip Totals
7 Days
22H : 32M : 52S Moving Time
263.16 Miles
7,660’ Elevation
Additional Information
Lodging
We opted to stay in hotels each night of the trip. Being able to shower and having a comfortable place to get a good night’s rest were important to us. For future trips, we will likely book a few days in advance to avoid any of the issues we ran into while trying to find rooms.
Food
We packed all of our nutrition items (gels, syrup, waffles, etc.) for the entire trip. If you’re paying full price for them anyway, there are some other places to restock along the way. Breakfast was included with our rooms at each of the hotels except for the one in Brewster. That morning we ate at a local cafe. For lunch, we ended up stopping at a Stewart’s or another convenience store most days. For dinner, we either ordered in to the room or went out to a local restaurant.
Gear
We stock most of the gear that we carried on this trip. What you ride with may be dependent on your bike and budget. Here is a brief rundown. We are happy to talk gear anytime - just stop in.
Bags - Swift Industries & Ortlieb
Chain Lube - mountainflow Dry
Computers - Garmin Edge 830
Fenders - SKS Edge AL
Lights - Cygolite
Lock - Kryptonite
Pump - Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HV w/Gauge
Saddles - Brooks B17
Tires - Vittoria Terreno Dry 700x33
Tool Kit - Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite DX+
Water Bottles - Shop Bottles, Nalgene, Bivo
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If you have any questions about the trip, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you’re local, we’d love to have you stop in, but you can always leave a comment here, use our contact form, or send us an email.
Keep in mind that because the Empire State Trail is made up of different rail trails and bike trails, it is possible to do each individual trail section on its own. Just a couple blocks from Evergreen Bicycle Works, you can ride a section of the Champlain Canalway Trail to Fort Ann, and it’s only around 12 miles one way. Although not technically a part of the Empire State Trail, the Feeder Canal Trail can be accessed just a couple blocks from our shop as well, and then linked with the Warren County Bikeway to take you right to the waterfront in Lake George. That ride is about 17 miles one way. For those rides, we have rental bikes available.
If you’re visiting Fort Edward, be sure to head over to Visit Fort Edward for a listing of local businesses and events to check out while you’re here.
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Thanks for reading about our trip. Maybe we’ll see you out there this year! - Kyle & Randy
