The Shoreline trail is approximately 17 miles long from Buffalo Harbor State Park to Main Street in the City of Tonawanda.  Here, the Shoreline Trail crosses into Niagara County and continues along the Niagara River for another 13 miles to Niagara Falls. However, the Empire State Trail turns east and runs along the Erie Canal using trails owned and maintained by the Towns of Tonawanda and Amherst. This section of the Erie Canal is  also known as Tonawanda Creek and is the waterway that contains the canal. The trail goes along the creek as an off-road path, or utilizing lower-traffic on-road segments. The trail then crosses Tonawanda Creek and exits Erie County. 

The trail follows the alignment of the Barge Canal throughout its entire journey through Monroe County. Although the original canal alignment once went through the heart of downtown Rochester, the Barge Canal was designed to bypass New York’s major cities’ downtown areas, and as a result, the bike path does not go into downtown Rochester. Instead, the trail skirts the southern edge of the Flower City, and here the path becomes asphalt paved. For the first 7 miles the path is also located immediately next to the “Outer Loop” expressway, which means the roads surrounding the trail are very busy and services can be hard to access unless you want to ride on busy roads. However, as you move around the city to the south, the Erie Canal crosses the Genesee River at a unique 4-way intersection of waterbodies. Here, amidst a beautiful urban park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, you can switch to the Genesee Riverway Trail which will take you directly to downtown without the need to ride on any roads. If you have the time, it is worth going into downtown (or perhaps stay there overnight), since it will give you a good understanding of how this city’s urban fabric was formed around both the canal and a series of waterfalls that once provided power to build Rochester’s industrial might. We also recommend you check out this video which shows how Rochester adapted (or failed to adapt) after the canal was relocated and the city began focusing on highway construction and urban renewal. 

As you keep heading east you will eventually escape the boundaries of the Outer Loop and head into a series of delightful villages with attractive waterfronts directly along the canal, such as Pittsford and Fairport. In addition, Bushnell’s Basin, a hamlet in an unincorporated portion of the Town of Perinton, boasts the oldest original inn on the Erie Canal. You can still get a meal there, just like you could in the heyday of the canal. 

Just as the original and Enlarged Canal went directly through downtown Syracuse, the Empire State Trail also does this. You enter downtown from the shores of Onondaga Lake using a wonderful urban bike path called the Creekwalk. It’s narrow and windy, but it showcases the industrial past of Syracuse. In downtown you are immediately greeted by Clinton Square, one of our favorite public open spaces in the state.  This was the focal point of the canal in Syracuse and the plaza helps you envision what the canal may have looked like. You can also easily stop by the Erie Canal Museum where there is more to experience. When you add in all of the downtown restaurants and hotels Syracuse ends up being an ideal stop on the trail.

East of downtown Syracuse the route of the Enlarged Canal was destroyed to allow for the construction of Erie Boulevard. Fortunately, this road has an excellent bike path. Once you pass over I-481, you break free of the highway noise and you are riding in the exceptionally peaceful Old Erie Canal State Historic Park.  This is a largely unbroken stretch of riding adjacent to the Enlarged Canal as you bike across the highest elevation on the trail: the Rome Summit Level, 

between Syracuse and Rome.

The Erie Canal corridor through Herkimer County is one of the narrowest sections since it passes just south of the Adirondacks. Unfortunately this means the noise of the NYS Thruway is never far away. But it also means you will pass a number of dramatic views. There are also several historic sites as well as a series of villages along the river that offer a perspective of the industries that once flourished here as well as the industries that remain. Passing through Ilion, you can see the Remington Arms gun factory which continues to manufacture guns. They have a museum as well. In the Village of Herkimer and the City of Little Falls, there are many examples of historic architecture as well as modernist urban renewal construction that was once intended as an effort towards revitalization. Each place you pass has services to keep you on your way. 

Little Falls also has a nice marina right on the water that is only a short detour from the main part of the trail, as well as access to both historic and modern lock structures.  A small canal that was once located here around the rapids in the Mohawk River actually predates the Erie Canal. But it was destroyed when the Barge Canal was constructed. Learn all about it from the great interpretive signs that are along the trail.  The Herkimer Home State Historic Site in the Town of Danube is also worth a visit as you make your way towards the eastern end of the county. This is where General Nicholas Herkimer once lived during the Revloutonary War.

The City of Amsterdam is the largest municipality you will pass through during your time in Montgomery County. While a magnificent pedestrian/bike bridge was recently constructed to take you across the Mohawk River into downtown, much of the landscape here is dominated by railroad tracks and highway ramps making it difficult to bike around. There is, however an Amtrak station on very edge of the city which is a useful amenity. Amsterdam also has an interesting hotel called Amsterdam Castle which is located inside a renovated armory. After Amsterdam its a straight shot down the bike path to Pattersonville, which is the next place of interest, although it is in Schenectady County. 

Otherwise, the off-road portion of the MHBHT ends at the south end of Cohoes. From here the MHBHT uses an on-street route through the Town/Village of Green Island. You will need to cross a highway at a signalized intersection and then the trail ends unceremoniously in an industrial park.  But you can keep cycling along the MHBHT as it takes an on-street route through Green Island, eventually becoming an off-road path again into downtown Albany. 

The modern Barge Canal ends (or begins) in the Village of Waterford where the Champlain Canal also begins. But the old Erie Canal used to go right into downtown Albany. Those stretches of canal are long gone, having been filled in to construct the waterfront highway that efficiently whisks you into Empire State Plaza. But interpretive signage along the MHBHT tells the story of the canal that was once here. Downtown Albany also has a lot to explore.