Where to Ride - Mostly Pavement Edition
Where will you ride next?
Here are some of our favorite paved and sorta-paved routes in the Capital Region:
Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail also known as Empire State Trail - Super popular and for good reason! The Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail is easy to access, beautiful, paved, and almost entirely separate from car traffic. It is the Capital Region section of the greater Empire State Trail system that crosses New York State from Albany to Buffalo and from NYC to Montreal!
Interactive Map: https://empiretrail.ny.gov/albany-whitehall/albany-peebles-island-state-park
Printable Maps: https://www.canals.ny.gov/trails/schenectadymap.pdf / https://www.cdtcmpo.org/mhbkmap.htm
Find out more about how we can help travelers with their Empire State Trail trips here: https://www.downtubebicycleworks.com/empire-state-trail-erie-canal-visitor-info
Parks and Trails NY offers annual guided tour events along the Erie Canal and the Hudson Valley sections of the Empire State Trail if you’d like to make some new friends while you explore New York State!
Helderberg-Hudson Trail - Starts at a parking lot in South Albany and goes for 9 flat, car-free, paved miles to Voorheesville following the old D&H rail line.
Uncle Sam Bike Trail - 7 mile trail with Hudson River views connecting North and South Troy and from there to the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail over the Troy-Menands Bridge. 3 miles are off-road on the Uncle Sam Rail Trail along the former line of the Troy & Boston Railroad. Other segments are either off-road or on marked shared roadways with bicycle infrastructure.
Champlain Canalway Trail - Another part of the Empire State Trail system, 5.5 miles off-road on a stonedust/gravelly surface. The trail runs north on the towpath adjacent to the historic Champlain Canal and passes by wetlands, woods, and abandoned stone canal locks. You can start this ride from Peebles Island, check out the buildings and Revolutionary War era earthworks there.
Zim Smith Trail - Paved, 11.5-mile multi-use trail connecting Ballston Spa to Mechanicville through the towns of Ballston, Malta and Clifton Park, the village of Round Lake and Mechanicville. One part that runs through a golf course has an interesting cage over it that makes us feel like we’re in Jurassic Park.
Saratoga Battlefield National Park - Paved loop trail shared with slow-moving cars that goes by several Revolutionary War monuments, not too long but very cool if you enjoy learning about history.
Albany-Hudson Electricity Trail - 36-mile trail running from Rensselaer to Hudson. 85% of this trail is off-road (car-free) rail trail that is mostly paved asphalt (except a few sections in Columbia County that have stone dust). The other 15% of the trail is comprised of short, marked on-road connections where the bikes ride next to car traffic on the shoulder.
Riding to Thatcher Park and back. This is definitely on roads with cars but once you get south of Albany you can start finding quieter roads. From New Scotland Ave in Albany, make a right turn onto Krumkill road and have fun from there, something along these lines: https://goo.gl/maps/CKsA2GpA9jjFfC3u9 Easy to do a pit stop at Indian Ladder Farms or other of the many little farm stands during the summer. Quite the climb so great for interval training as well.
We also highly recommend joining the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club to meet other local riders and learn about many more routes! You can join them for one ride prior to becoming a member if you wish as well. https://www.mohawkhudsoncyclingclub.org/
For more fun rides, join Albany Social Cycling every Thursday night at 6pm at the Washington Park Playhouse! More info here: https://www.facebook.com/albanysocialcycling/ or here: https://www.instagram.com/albanysocialcycling/
