Registration opens for 25th Cycling the Canal bike ride from Buffalo to Albany
Photos by Tom Rivers: Cyclists on July 11, 2022 travel along the towpath in Erie Canal through Orleans County. This photo shows a group headed east in Eagle Harbor towards the lift bridge. The Cycling the Erie Canal trek brings about 650 cyclists to the county each year as part of an eight-day, 400-mile journey.
Press Release, Parks & Trails New York
ALBANY – Registration is now open for Parks & Trails New York’s 25th annual Cycle the Erie Canal tour, an unforgettable opportunity to bike across New York State and take in the rich history of the legendary canal that transformed America.
The eight-day, 400-mile recreational bicycle tour from Buffalo to Albany is scheduled for July 9-16. There is also an option to ride only the first four days from Buffalo to Syracuse.
Cycle the Erie Canal participants will experience one of the best trails in America as they cycle through historic canal villages and discover the small-town charm of Upstate New York. Along the way, canal historians and local experts will introduce riders to the people, places, and things that make the Erie Canal so important to the history of New York and the nation.
Cyclists will pedal between 40 and 60 miles per day, and visit some of Upstate New York’s most iconic attractions, such as the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, and Fort Stanwix in Rome, a full-scale fort recreation from the French and Indian War.
This tour features the predominantly flat and traffic-free Erie Canalway Trail; the east-west leg of New York State’s longer 750 mile Empire State Trail, which is the longest multi-use trail in the nation.
The Canal Culvert impressed many of the cyclists last July 11. They stopped to get selfies with the big stone structure, which is the only spot where vehicles can drive under the Erie Canal.
The Erie Canalway Trail is 85 percent off-road. Cycle the Erie Canal offers unparalleled cycling for all ages and abilities. In 2022 the tour drew 650 cyclists, ages 10-73, from 40 states and 2 Canadian Provinces.
A recent study shows that the Canalway Trail System receives more than 3.1 million visits per year and generates an economic impact of $253 million.
Registration for Cycle the Erie Canal includes camping accommodations each evening with restrooms and showers; eight hearty breakfasts and six delicious dinners; two refreshment stops daily stocked with fruit, snacks and beverages; SAG support and baggage transport; daily cue sheets and marked routes; entertainment and historic presentations every evening; and guided tours of the Canal, historic sites, museums, and other attractions.
The registration fee for the full tour is $1,075 for adults and $580 for youths ages 6-17, and $750 for non-cycling participants.
For more information on Cycle the Erie Canal, visit www.ptny.org/canaltour, email eriecanaltour@ptny.org or call 518- 434-1583.
