Experience the famous Erie Canal by bike! Complete 194 miles on crushed gravel and paved trail as we ride from Buffalo to Rome, NY. You and your guides will follow the route of the historic canal and take advantage of the $200 million Empire State Trail investment.

Enjoy five nights in trail towns across Central NY and ride from the countryside to the city of Syracuse. Take time to view the historic locks and canals, or head straight to the hotel and explore the unique towns along the way.

BIKE TOUR SUMMARY

Day 1:  Meet your guides in Fayetteville, NY (outside of Syracuse) before shuttling to our first night’s lodging in Medina, NY. 

Day 2 – 37 miles:  Ride 37 miles from Buffalo to Medina. Along the way, you’ll have a chance to explore the famous ‘Flight of Five’. This is a staircase of five locks built to elevate boats through the 50-foot Niagara Escarpment. 

Day 3 – 53 miles:  Tackle 53 miles of riding on crushed gravel and paved trails as we pass through small towns on the way to Rochester. Along the way stop for lunch in Brockport, home to an array of Victorian buildings with 45 of them on the State and National Register of Historic Places. We’ll end the day at the trailside Del Monte Lodge. This is the perfect place to unwind after 53 miles in the saddle. 

Day 4 – 41 miles:  After a group breakfast, we’ll head into the central New York countryside as we travel towards Clyde, NY. Along the way, we’ll pass through historic small towns like Palmyra. This is the home of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, as well as where the Book of Mormon was first published. Next, we’ll have a group trailside lunch and finish riding in Clyde. There is a section of the trail that is incomplete, therefore we’ll end the day with a shuttle to Seneca Falls. Here we will be spending the night in the birthplace of the women’s rights movement. 

Day 5 – 34 miles: Bike over and then experience a canal boat ride on the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, the only restored navigable aqueduct in NY. Regroup for a trailside lunch outside of Syracuse and then start riding on a brand-new trail. New York State invested $36 million into a 14-mile extension of the Erie Canal Trail making this day of riding possible. You’ll experience an elevated section of trail that boasts an amazing vista over Onondaga Lake. Be sure to look for Bald Eagles. From here the ride descends into Syracuse, surprisingly beautiful, this section of the trail was finished in 2020. It gives you the chance to ride through historic downtown Syracuse. See what’s possible when there is support for trail infrastructure.

Day 6 – 29 miles:  On our final day, we’ll complete 29 miles from Rome back to Fayetteville. The day will begin with a group breakfast before we jump in the van for a shuttle to Lock 21. After that, we’ll ride back to Fayetteville passing the Chittenango Landing Boat Museum along the way. Tackling day six in ‘reverse’ allows all riders to ride at their own pace and head for home on their own time schedule.