Explore the best rated trails in Amsterdam, NY. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Zim Smith Mid-County Trail and Spring Run Trail. With more than 19 trails covering 423 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Saratoga segment of the 71-mile Champlain Canalway Trail includes three disconnected segments near the Hudson River, from Stillwater Township to the town of Saratoga. The longest section is under...
Following the route of the former Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railway, the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail serves as a scenic oasis and community connector for residents living southwest of...
The Railroad Run trail runs for just a half mile between West Circular Street and Congress Avenue in Saratoga Springs. The trail is part of a growing network throughout the town and county. There are...
When complete, the Erie Canalway Trail will run for 360 miles in upstate New York—from Buffalo in the west to Albany in the east—linking many other communities along the way, including Rochester,...
The Cohoes Heritage Trail is less than a mile long but serves as a significant local connector: it provides a way for people to travel between the riverfront to the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway. The northern...
This asphalt trail is the legacy of an inter-urban trolley system operated by Schenectady Railway Company (SRC) in the early 1900s. To attract visitors on weekends, SRC built an amusement park at...
Just north of Albany, the Black Bridge Trail connects the communities of Waterford, Cohoes, and Green Island in eastern New York. As it parallels Delaware Avenue, it is sometimes referred to as the...
Visitors can expect a couple of easy climbs as they travel on the Warren County Bikeway through the southern Adirondacks for 10 miles between Glens Falls and Lake George. It’s well worth the effort,...
The Schuylerville segment of the 71-mile Champlain Canalway Trail rail runs between Schuyler House, past Lock 5 of the canal and does a loop around the island (Hudson Crossing Park). As of 2011, only...
The Albany-Hudson Electric Trail (AHET) follows a 36-mile course through the former Albany-Hudson Electric Trolley corridor from Hudson to Rensselaer in New York State. The electric trolley ran for 30...
The Glens Falls Feeder Canal Trail begins at the Feeder Dam in Glens Falls and follows the Hudson River through town to the Champlain Canal, then turns south toward Fort Edward. The 9-mile trail...
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The Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Rail-Trail (FJ&G) has one main section and one shorter section. The main segment runs for nearly 8 miles between Union Avenue in Johnstown and the intersection of...
Currently, the 1-mile Spring Run Trail extends between East Street just south of Excelsior Avenue and I-87, or the Northway, near Exit 15. Eventually, the trail will begin in Congress Park and run...
Popular with residents of Saratoga County who commute under their own power or love to exercise outdoors, the nearly 12-mile Zim Smith Mid-County Trail is considered the backbone of a growing trail...
Inland and east of the Hudson River, the Uncle Sam Bike Trail (also called the Uncle Sam Trail or Uncle Sam Bikeway) largely serves as a trail for residents of Troy. If, however, you are traveling in...
Currently, the 1-mile Spring Run Trail extends between East Street just south of Excelsior Avenue and I-87, or the Northway, near Exit 15. Eventually, the trail will begin in Congress Park and run...
The Cohoes Heritage Trail is less than a mile long but serves as a significant local connector: it provides a way for people to travel between the riverfront to the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway. The northern...
The Glens Falls Feeder Canal Trail begins at the Feeder Dam in Glens Falls and follows the Hudson River through town to the Champlain Canal, then turns south toward Fort Edward. The 9-mile trail...
The Railroad Run trail runs for just a half mile between West Circular Street and Congress Avenue in Saratoga Springs. The trail is part of a growing network throughout the town and county. There are...
The Schuylerville segment of the 71-mile Champlain Canalway Trail rail runs between Schuyler House, past Lock 5 of the canal and does a loop around the island (Hudson Crossing Park). As of 2011, only...
The Catskill Scenic Trail lives up to its name as it winds through a broad farming valley and small towns in New York's Catskill Mountains. The West Branch of the Delaware River is often in sight,...
This out-and-back rail-trail's beautiful natural setting and informative signage invite visitors to appreciate the importance of wetland habitats. Located just east of downtown Saratoga Springs, the...
The Saratoga segment of the 71-mile Champlain Canalway Trail includes three disconnected segments near the Hudson River, from Stillwater Township to the town of Saratoga. The longest section is under...
Ballston Spa's Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail spans 0.5 mile between Front Street and Prospect Street on what was once a railroad bed.
Inland and east of the Hudson River, the Uncle Sam Bike Trail (also called the Uncle Sam Trail or Uncle Sam Bikeway) largely serves as a trail for residents of Troy. If, however, you are traveling in...
Following the route of the former Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railway, the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail serves as a scenic oasis and community connector for residents living southwest of...
Popular with residents of Saratoga County who commute under their own power or love to exercise outdoors, the nearly 12-mile Zim Smith Mid-County Trail is considered the backbone of a growing trail...
The Hoosic River Greenway spans 2.5 miles along the river’s east bank through the Village of Hoosick Falls. The gravel pathway follows the former route of the Boston Hoosac Tunnel & Western Railway,...
This asphalt trail is the legacy of an inter-urban trolley system operated by Schenectady Railway Company (SRC) in the early 1900s. To attract visitors on weekends, SRC built an amusement park at...
The Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Rail-Trail (FJ&G) has one main section and one shorter section. The main segment runs for nearly 8 miles between Union Avenue in Johnstown and the intersection of...
Visitors can expect a couple of easy climbs as they travel on the Warren County Bikeway through the southern Adirondacks for 10 miles between Glens Falls and Lake George. It’s well worth the effort,...
The Albany-Hudson Electric Trail (AHET) follows a 36-mile course through the former Albany-Hudson Electric Trolley corridor from Hudson to Rensselaer in New York State. The electric trolley ran for 30...
Just north of Albany, the Black Bridge Trail connects the communities of Waterford, Cohoes, and Green Island in eastern New York. As it parallels Delaware Avenue, it is sometimes referred to as the...
When complete, the Erie Canalway Trail will run for 360 miles in upstate New York—from Buffalo in the west to Albany in the east—linking many other communities along the way, including Rochester,...
The Catskill Scenic Trail lives up to its name as it winds through a broad farming valley and small towns in New York's Catskill Mountains. The West Branch of the Delaware River is often in sight,...
The Schuylerville segment of the 71-mile Champlain Canalway Trail rail runs between Schuyler House, past Lock 5 of the canal and does a loop around the island (Hudson Crossing Park). As of 2011, only...
Popular with residents of Saratoga County who commute under their own power or love to exercise outdoors, the nearly 12-mile Zim Smith Mid-County Trail is considered the backbone of a growing trail...
The Saratoga segment of the 71-mile Champlain Canalway Trail includes three disconnected segments near the Hudson River, from Stillwater Township to the town of Saratoga. The longest section is under...
The Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Rail-Trail (FJ&G) has one main section and one shorter section. The main segment runs for nearly 8 miles between Union Avenue in Johnstown and the intersection of...
Visitors can expect a couple of easy climbs as they travel on the Warren County Bikeway through the southern Adirondacks for 10 miles between Glens Falls and Lake George. It’s well worth the effort,...
When complete, the Erie Canalway Trail will run for 360 miles in upstate New York—from Buffalo in the west to Albany in the east—linking many other communities along the way, including Rochester,...
Inland and east of the Hudson River, the Uncle Sam Bike Trail (also called the Uncle Sam Trail or Uncle Sam Bikeway) largely serves as a trail for residents of Troy. If, however, you are traveling in...
The Albany-Hudson Electric Trail (AHET) follows a 36-mile course through the former Albany-Hudson Electric Trolley corridor from Hudson to Rensselaer in New York State. The electric trolley ran for 30...
This out-and-back rail-trail's beautiful natural setting and informative signage invite visitors to appreciate the importance of wetland habitats. Located just east of downtown Saratoga Springs, the...
The Railroad Run trail runs for just a half mile between West Circular Street and Congress Avenue in Saratoga Springs. The trail is part of a growing network throughout the town and county. There are...
Just north of Albany, the Black Bridge Trail connects the communities of Waterford, Cohoes, and Green Island in eastern New York. As it parallels Delaware Avenue, it is sometimes referred to as the...
The Hoosic River Greenway spans 2.5 miles along the river’s east bank through the Village of Hoosick Falls. The gravel pathway follows the former route of the Boston Hoosac Tunnel & Western Railway,...
Following the route of the former Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railway, the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail serves as a scenic oasis and community connector for residents living southwest of...
Ballston Spa's Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail spans 0.5 mile between Front Street and Prospect Street on what was once a railroad bed.
This asphalt trail is the legacy of an inter-urban trolley system operated by Schenectady Railway Company (SRC) in the early 1900s. To attract visitors on weekends, SRC built an amusement park at...
Currently, the 1-mile Spring Run Trail extends between East Street just south of Excelsior Avenue and I-87, or the Northway, near Exit 15. Eventually, the trail will begin in Congress Park and run...
The Glens Falls Feeder Canal Trail begins at the Feeder Dam in Glens Falls and follows the Hudson River through town to the Champlain Canal, then turns south toward Fort Edward. The 9-mile trail...
The Cohoes Heritage Trail is less than a mile long but serves as a significant local connector: it provides a way for people to travel between the riverfront to the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway. The northern...
I did the loop from the Clinton Street parking area to North Chatham. The trail is nicely paved with new guardrails and clearly market. Several street crossings have the flashing light activation button to cross roads safely. There are a few convenience stores on the way in case supplies are needed, and there is an ice cream and lunch place on the trail in Nassau. There are a few sections you need to ride on the road, but they are back roads through neighborhoods not a lot of traffic
Not much to say about a trail in the middle of the city and only about a mile long but it does have some great views and a lot of history that includes the old Harmony Mills that ran on hydro power and the Canals that provided the hydro power. Now please understand that by Hydro Power I mean it was powered by water not electricity. The water turned turbines in the basement that was diverted by the Canals and the power was transferred by belts and pulley's to run the Mills. Later the water was used to generate electricity but not for many years. Back in the day Cohoes had numerous Mill's and was a major employer and manufacturer of textiles.
You can ride / walk this trail from Waterford Lock 2 about 6 miles North just before Mechanicsville. Packed dirt and an old lock. Road November 2021. couple of road crossings, well marked with signs .
Beautiful and well maintained…feels like it was built last night! Maybe could use a few benches but the real issue is the dangerous berms at the intersections mentioned by a previous reviewer. Truly horrible design! We saw a rider hit one hard. Fortunately he didn’t fall. They should be removed but in the meantime the curbs should be painted and potted plants placed on them to increase visibility. You will enjoy this trail just be safe.
I did this trail end-to-end yesterday as an out-and back from the southern end (no official parking at the trailhead but two supermarkets nearby could be utilized).
Overall in good to very good shape.
The non paved sections are OK for all type bikes except perhaps not for road bikes if the trail is wet.
The on-road sections are generally well marked by Empire State Trail (of which this trail is a part) signage.
Informative signage along the way.
It's not exactly a flat ride. My cycling app had it at over 1800 feet of elevation gain for the out-and-back.
Tip: About 6 miles from the southern end is the Hudson River Skywalk over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge with great views of the Hudson River and the Catskills.
As you come into Utica, there is a construction area that would benefit from some temporary signs. You ride down a small hill into a wide open area. Once you do this, you will find that there is no sign that should direct riders to go left. Going left will take you across railroad tracks, and to one of the locks. You cross the lock and rejoin the trail. If you make the mistake and take a right instead of going left, you will be forced to ride into Utica on a busy road. Other than needing a sign at this location in Utica, the trail is amazing. We road from Syracuse to Albany.
Loved this ride. We rode from Columbia Plaza in EG to Nassau and back. Casual riding took 1 1/2hrs to get to Nassau (and much longer to get back- as it was our first ride this year-do we were tuckered out!). Lol. Miller RD (exit 10) Schodack has a convenient store which is about 1/2 way. So a great “pit-stop”. As was “smilees” ice-cream in Nassau and a Taco place “Diablos ?”sp across the way in Nassau.
My wife and I tried this trail because it is a fairly short drive to Hoosick Falls. It is NOT your typical bike trail. It is gravel (hard packed crushed stone) but not difficult to ride on. We parked in a lot in town at the middle of the trail, rode north which was very nice and not too long. The north end is a bit desolate. We rode back and attempted to continue on the southern part, however it was not marked at all and we could not find any visible "access" point. We eventually made our way through the town and found a sign pointing us toward the trail.
This eventually brought us to the southern end of the trail near some little league ball fields. We rode northward again on gravel for about a mile when the gravel abruptly stopped. We spent 5 or 10 minutes contemplating whether to continue or not. Ahead of us was just grass, but not something that looked like a trail. After about 100 yards it became a mowed grass path which was definitely an old railroad bed, rather high with the river to our left and a ditch to our right. To say the least , it was NOT what we expected. This section was directly behind peoples homes and we were not even sure if we were on a trail at this point. It eventually went under a train bridge and came out where it was not marked at all, a few blocks from where our car was parked. To say the least, we wish we had read a review similar to this so we would have known what to expect. Hopefully this will help to inform someone else in the future.
Nice flat path for a run. Definitely not 3.5 miles as stated. It’s approximately 3.25 according to my Garmin.
2021: Biked the Erie Canal trail from Buffalo to Cohoes. Well worth the time. And mostly a very pleasant experience, with just a few caveats. Trail improvements are ongoing and signage along the trail is not always up to date, so check your route carefully, especially where it is on-road. The initial section from downtown Buffalo is grungy city streets, but that improves with a great, mostly off-road trail all the way to Lyons. Lockport to Spencerport is fairly exposed, but from there on to Lyons is generally pleasantly green and shaded. From Clyde to Port Byron and through Syracuse were onroad and not always clearly signed and were the least pleasant. From the east side of Syracuse all the way to Cohoes was a delightful and beautiful ride, with the exception of finding one's way onroad and with poor signage through Rome. All in all (despite my caveats) a good, local, human-powered bucket-list endeavor, with thanks to all the communities along the way and everyone maintaining and improving and filling the gaps in the trail.
We rode from this trail on hybrids and enjoyed the experience. Was pretty flat with a few spots of incline/decline. The pavement was generally good, with a few spots with bumps or cracks from weathering. There were a lot of road crossings so we had to be careful. Very scenic, we rode thru a couple of towns, and saw a lot of older abandoned factories (Louis Meyer Make Gloves). Seems like a great local resource.
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