Empire State Trail Bike Tours
What tour is right for you?
We try to make our tour options as flexible as possible to accommodate a wide range of cyclists. To find the tour that's right for you, the best place to start is to ask yourself:
- How many days do I want to ride? Have I figured out where in New York I would like to go?
- Am I coming alone or with one other person? Or am I coming with a group?
- Do I want a ride just for me or or my group? Something where I am more or less on my own, but perhaps with some services? Do I want bag shuttle? Do I need help shipping a bike? Do I need a rental bike?
- Do I prefer to go on an organized tour, where accommodations and meals are taken care of?
Self-guided and private tours
Types of services
You may be interested in riding the Empire State Trail alone or with a group of friends, and not as part of an organized tour. To do this, you will need to think about the following:
- Do you know where you want to ride and how many days?
- Do you know where you want to start and end? How will you get there?
- Do you want to use your own bike or rent a bike?
- Do you want bag shuttle services to move your bags while you ride?
- Do you know where you want to stay along your ride? Will there be services and good places to eat?
- Are you familiar with all of the places you can visit while you ride? Are there particular attractions or experiences that you are interested in? Are there particular foods or local products you would like to try?
- Would you like a reliable GPS program to help you navigate the route and provide you with information while you ride? (Just following signs while you ride may not be enough because signs are always missing!)
If you are not at all familiar with New York, you should expect to spend about 30 to 50 hours planning out your tour so that you can be organized enough to satisfy the above questions. If you have some familiarity with New York, perhaps it will take you a few hours less. If you do not want to spend this time, you should consider our Tour Planning Services and we will figure everything out for you and get you set up with the right itinerary, maps, information and GPS. A tour planning package gives you the ability to ask questions so that you have a full understanding of your tour before you begin it. Otherwise, there are free webites like BikeHudsonValley.com as well as a county-by-county description of the trail on our website for people who want to take the time to plan things out on their own.
Am I making the right choice?
If you are concerned about getting the right type of tour please contact Lukas at lukas@gothambiketours.com. As the owner of the company, Lukas talks directly to all potential customers for all tours and can answer your questions. After you talk to Lukas, he will send you a written proposal of the services that were discussed so that the scope of work and pricing are clear.
This is a small family business, and we pride ourselves on our quality tours and our relationships with our customers. Our main focus is to promote bicycle tourism in New York State and we will do everything we can to give you the freedom to experience New York the way you want to, by paying only for the services you need. Our collaborative process is intended to build trust and respect, reduce haggling, and keep the focus on the bike riding.
Why use Gotham Bicycle Tours?
Gotham Bicycle Tours is the only New York-based bicycle tour company offering both regularly scheduled bicycle tours and custom tours to the public on the Empire State Trail. (NYC DCA License # 2062201). We are not a large bicycle tour company running tours all over the world. We only run tours in New York and New Jersey and our experience and knowledge make us stand out as the best choice if you are looking to do any type of bicycle touring in New York.
There is a lot of information out on the internet about biking on the Empire State Trail. But as explained on our trail description page, not all information is consistent or useful. At the minimum, you should expect to spend 30-50 hours planning your tour if you do it yourself and you may make a mistake that causes aggravating stress during your tour. If you do not want this, we can provide you with a detailed and well-communicated tour plan that includes GPS with options to add on bag shuttle services and one-way bike rental. We also offer private tours for groups and regularly scheduled tours that anyone can join. Our TripAdvisor reviews provide detail about the quality of our services.
Organized tours
The easiest way to do a bike tour on the Empire State Trail is to join one of our regularly scheduled tours. These tours are offered throughout the season and offer a range of choices to accommodate all types of cyclists.
- Multi-day tours that depart New York City and go north. These tours are 6 days in lenghth, but you can come for fewer days to focus on the parts of the trail that you are most interested in or have time for. These tours run in June, August and October.
- Single-day rides where you can explore a particular section of the Empire State Trail and enjoy local food and beverages. These tours run every month, April through October.
In addition to Tour Planning Servcies to help you figure out your itinerary, you may also be interested in some level of support while you ride. Consider the following:
- Do you want to be out on your own and responsible for yourself each day? Do you want to carry your bags the entire time as you move from place to place? In this case Tour Planning Services may be enough.
- Do you want to be out on your own, but you would like it better if your bags could be taken by vehicle to the next place you will stay? In this case, our Self-Guided Packages offer Baggage Shuttle in addition to Tour Planning Services
- Are you biking with a group of friends where you would like more support? Perhaps someone who is personally responsible for taking care of your group, moving your luggage and providing assistance with mechanical breakdowns. This support could include checking in several times each day for rest stops and assisance with booking reservations for special meals or local attractions. In this case, a Private Tour may be a good option.
Click on any of the above links to learn more about each service. You can also email Lukas at lukas@gothambiktours.com or call 917-748-1119 for additional guidance.
