12 Exciting and Fun Ways to “Bike Across New York State”

There are now dozens of ways for folks to bike across Upstate New York.  And you can thank our state’s railroad history for that!

One time, there were an uncountable number of long and short regional railroads traversing the breadth of the Upstate New York Region.  From the far southwestern corner of the state around Jamestown, to Plattsburgh in the North, Syracuse in Central New York and all along the Hudson Valley, trains chugged along their routes carrying goods and people from one end of the state to the other.

Now, of course, most of those railroads are but a distant memory to most of us.  But it is what those now long gone railroads left behind that makes this gallery so important:  the empty rail beds!

Bike trails have popped up in an ever-increasing number over the last decade or so as many New Yorkers head for the great outdoors (especially after a couple of years of Covid’s “Great Pause”).  And what better place to find a bike trail than an old, abandoned railroad bed.  The tracks are gone, the routes are already cut through the woods and fields, bridges have already been constructed over the streams and rivers, and (for the most part) the routes are flat and easy to pave and maintain

As you will see in this gallery of a dozen great bike paths around the state, most of them have their DNA in a former railroad route.  Each entry in this gallery has a direct link to the website of the bike trail with directions, information, accessibility, and amenities.

Go for a bike ride!  The trails are waiting for you!