Now that the Empire State Trail is fully, end-to-end open in New York state, there’s an exciting new destination for bicycle tourists. It’s also no small achievement for the communities along the trail who have put their backs into making the new trail connections safe and comfortable to welcome cyclists. 

Two red barns in Craryville, New York, in the Upper Hudson Valley.

I have to admit I was (and still am) pretty excited about the state-spanning trail system when it was announced in 2017. The Empire State Trail will be the nation’s longest multi-use trail. The work has involved filling gaps in existing trails and creating long new stretches of trail linking New York City to Buffalo, mostly via the Erie Canal Trailway and assorted Hudson Valley bike paths.

Unavoidably, the trail system leaves out big chunks as New York State geography. Long Island, the Southern Tier, the beautiful bucolic hills to the west of the Catskills. The St. Lawrence Valley. The deep Adirondacks. These are some of the loveliest places in New York State, and they’re detached from the trail. You can’t win them all. 

Sunken Mine Road, an unpaved, hardpack road through the hemlock ravine in Fahnestock State Park.

Tried the Empire State Trail? Now Give Country Roads a Try.

But here’s the beauty of electric bikes for those of us who don’t want to sweat like a billy goat on our weekend rides: you don’t need to stick to rail-trails and the Empire State Trail when you’re on an electric bike. Electric bikes are great trail-flatteners. And seeking out bike paths with little to no elevation change is no longer a thing, because if an ebike can get you up over the next hill, those hills don’t matter any more. And if you’re worried about riding alongside heedless car traffic, you just need to ride where the cars don’t. 

When you look at it this way, bike routes and rides are all around you. You just need to know where to go.

I live in Tarrytown, a fairly dense commuter suburb of New York. There are paved bike trails that  originate less than a mile from my house. More like roads for bikes than trails, they’re still great connectors in communities, safe and comfortable places to exercise and take a walk. A ride through a forested tunnel — yellow in springtime, chaotic reds and oranges in fall — is still a decent way to spend the afternoon.

A dirt road outside Millbrook, New York.

But, honestly: a rail trail can be dull. After so many rides down the same straight, paved, shaded bicycle paths, nothing calls me to there anymore, except as a connection to another trail. After a while, one paved path looks like the other — only the towns they connect offer any interest. And more often than not, too, the rail-trails are out-and-back propositions. You ride to the end, you turn around and come back. A looping rail-trail is a rare thing.

But to get off the rail trails and onto the backroads is something different. There’s always something new on the old, old roads. A shaggy horse that you’ve never seen before stretches his neck over an old stone wall.  A tiny bookstore at the intersection of a forgotten road and another forgotten road opens its doors for the weekend. A coyote walks across a frozen pond. A dirt road bends around an allee of willows, out of sight.

Find More Out-of-the-Way Places.

These routes don’t need significant resources to be successful. They already exist. You don’t need to rebuild shoulders, or put up signs, or create rest stops along the way, because a dirt road through antique farmlands is already like a bike path, only prettier. It’s quiet, mostly car-free, and has its own places to pull over and catch your breath. And they exist in almost every out-of-the-way town that the Empire State Trail misses.

New York state has spent more than 200 million on the Empire State Trail. It was money well spent, I think, because the economic, health and recreational benefits are worth the price. The Erie Canal Trail alone is one of New York State’s best tourism attractors, and for good reason. At its best, that trail is an enchanting roll through history, as they say.

But you can extend that economic and health benefit to other places in the state. Places that would love to see you and have you sit down at one of their outdoor tables, visit beautiful in-town neighborhoods after your ride. Add a few dollars into the local economy.

Check out our favorite e-bike routes and rides on this website, and discover those hidden places in the Hudson Valley, Western Connecticut and the Catskills. Charge up, download a route for your RideWithGPS app, and follow the roads where they lead. 

Sunrise, Perkins Memorial Tower. The view is accessed via Perkins Memorial Drive in Bear Mountain State Park, New York. Ride your electric bicycle to the top, then cruise back downhill and enjoy a brew at the Bear Mountain Inn.