Can I Ride An E-Bike on the Empire State Trail?

The answer —  as you may have guessed — is yes and maybe.

In July 2020, New York State finally passed legislation governing the use of  electric bikes. Class I and Class II “E-Bikes” are allowed on roads posted at 30 mph or less. And local governments can set their own rules regarding the use of e-bikes that would supersede the state government’s legislation.

For electric bicyclists who want to ride the Empire State Trail, the rules as written amount to two things.

One, all electric bikes, including pedal-assist bikes, cannot ride most of the Champlain Valley stretch of the EST, as most of that route is on roads with a posted speed limit of more than 30 miles per hour. And, in fact, there are stretches of the Hudson Valley section that are on-road along roads with above-30 speed limits posted.

Two, an e-bike cyclist would have to be familiar with local laws along the part of the trail they’re riding, in order to comply.

As the website for the Empire State Trail says, 

On off-road trails E-Bikes are allowed only when approved by the state or local government entity that owns the trail. Trail users need to check local regulations and policies to learn if E-Bikes are allowed on a particular trail section.

And that’s the sticky part. It’s a puzzle for e-bike riders, most of whom ride quietly, maintaining a speed typical of your average bike.

A one-lane, iron bridge crosses Big Flat Brook in the Delaware Water Gap.

No Motor Vehicles?

You will find “No Motor Vehicles” signs at the crossroads of many rail trails in New York State. Given how many ATVs, minibikes and other gas-powered motor vehicles are in the more rural parts of the state, I can see why this sign would be needed. But does “No Motor Vehicles” mean “No Gas-Powered Motor Vehicles”? Were these signs really intended for e-bikes?

So how do you know the rules for riding electric bikes on the newly-opened Empire State Trail, as you ride from town to town? These rules aren’t posted on the website for the Empire State Trail. You could call individual town/village halls and ask, but I would be surprised if any trail section owners have adopted rules banning pedal-assist (Class 1) bikes — or any class, for that matter.

As one reader put it in an email — she’s coming from Australia to ride the Empire State Trail — “I can’t even begin to imagine where I would look to check all the individual parks/reserves along a 700km route.”

Personally, I cannot imagine being out for exercise on a beautiful Upstate day, riding a Class 1 (pedal-assist) bike, and getting stopped by a police officer to enforce a local code. This assumes that the Empire State Trail is being patrolled for pedal-assist bike violations, that the local government has decided to ban pedal-assist bikes on the Empire State Trail — despite their legalization statewide. It assumes a level of pettiness that I don’t believe exists. And it assumes that all those “No Motor Vehicles” don’t simply mean, “No gas-powered motor vehicles”.

But most of all, I don’t believe anyone intends to ban electric bikes. Least of all a state that has spent 750 million on infrastructure that was built to attract tourism and keep the population healthy.

In short, I don’t recommend ignoring any posted rules specifically banning e-bikes on trail sections. But until I find out that electric bikes of all classes are banned on the Empire State Trail, I’ll ride my silent electric bike on the pathways, travel at about the same speed as your average non-electric bike, and blend in perfectly with everyone else out for a nice ride.