Love Bikes? Love Brews?

New York State is fortunate to have such a well-developed network of local and regional trails. Complementing many of these trails are a growing number of high-quality breweries. We’ve done our best to highlight some trails and breweries with the hope you’ll be able to enjoy a ride along your favorite trail a little more. Remember, though, to always taste responsibly!

North Country

Warren County Bikeway
The 10-mile Warren County Bikeway is one of the oldest rail trails in New York State. It connects scenic Lake George and Lake George Village to the Glens Falls Feeder Canal Trail in downtown Glens Falls. Its paved surface and varying surroundings mean users can easily bike from beach to city, while enjoying beautiful scenery and Revolutionary and French and Indian War history along the way.

Thirsty travelers will have no problem finding a brewery as the Warren County Bikeway passes by three breweries: Adirondack Pub & Brewery at the northern end in Lake George, Davidson Brothers in Downtown Glens Falls, and Coopers Cave Ale Company right on the trail’s southern segment.

Rochester

Genesee Riverway Trail

The Genesee Riverway Trail offers users a unique perspective of Rochester and the Genesee River as it winds 14 miles between Genesee Valley Park and Lake Ontario. This paved and stone dust trail links the cross-state Erie Canalway Trail with important destinations such as the University of Rochester, Downtown Rochester, historic sites such as the Susan B. Anthony House, a ribbon of riverside parks, and beaches along Lake Ontario. What more could you want from a trail? Cross the Genesee River on the Pont de Rennes and pedal to the doorstep of the famous Genesee Brew House. Relive your college days by sampling Genny classics that include their Cream Ale and eponymous American-style lager.

Southern Tier

Catharine Valley Trail
This six-mile stone-dust trail travels between the southern shores of Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen and the Village of Millport. The Catharine Valley Trail is an easy trail to traverse, due to the fact that it follows the path of an abandoned rail corridor and towpath of the historic Chemung Canal. While the trail itself is a linear state park, it also connects to Watkins Glen State Park, which offers an impressive collection of 19 waterfalls and 200-foot cliffs. Efforts to extend the trail are underway, with the trail eventually expected to end six miles to the south in Horseheads, where it will connect to Mark Twain State Park.

Once you’ve finished exploring all the Catharine Valley Trail has to offer, take a short trip down the road to Elmira where you’ll find the recently-expanded Upstate Brewing Company brewery and tasting room.

Hudson Valley

Wallkill Valley Rail Trail

The ever-lengthening Wallkill Valley Rail Trail currently extends 22 miles from Wallkill to Kingston. Surrounded by spectacular scenery indicative of the impressive vistas Hudson Valley cliffs afford, a trip along this trail will take you across gorges, through pastoral fields, and into the historic and charming villages of Rosendale, New Paltz, and Gardiner. Along the way, you’ll travel over the Rosendale Trestle, a 940-foot bridge that carries the trail 150 feet above the Rondout Creek.

Immediately adjacent to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail’s intersection with Main Street in New Paltz you’ll find The Gilded Otter, a brewery pouring the aptly named Rail Trail Pale Ale.

South County Trailway
The South County Trailway is an 11.6-mile rail trail that follows a former New York Central Railroad line from Eastview to Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. As much of the route follows the Saw Mill River and runs adjacent to parks and preserves, trail users are treated to a calming environment uncharacteristic of the commotion associated with suburban New York City. The South County Trailway connects several communities along the way, including Elmsford, Ardsley, and several neighborhoods in Yonkers. In Eastview, the South County Trailway becomes the 22-mile North County Trailway.

Less than a mile from the South County Trailway in Elmsford is the new home of the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company brewery and tasting room. If a big selection is overwhelming, you may want to stay away, as they have a dozen beer taps ready to pour.

New York City

Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway
Six miles of the 14-mile Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway are currently open to runners, walkers, and cyclists. Once the entire trail is completed, it will connect an expansive network of public parks, playgrounds, and plazas from Greenpoint to Bay Ridge. The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway gives exposure to the remnants of the borough’s rich marine history by highlighting landmarks such as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Newtown Creek, the Waterfront Museum, the Gowanus Canal, and the Erie Basin.

For these reasons and more, you will likely find plenty to do along the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway trail. Luckily, you won’t have to go too far to find the Other Half Brewing Company. The brewery and tasting room are located along the proposed route for the completed trail and are just a short bike ride from the existing segments in Carroll Gardens.

Long Island

Bethpage Parkway Bikeway

The nearly seven-mile long Bethpage Parkway Bikeway features an asphalt surface and flat grade, making it an accessible trail for all users. The trail connects two of Long Island’s largest parks, the 423-acre Massapequa Preserve and Bethpage State Park, home to five highly-rated public golf courses. In addition to the connections it provides to these parks, the trail passes through several neighborhoods and communities.

One of these communities, Farmingdale, is home to one of the region’s newest and most innovative breweries, A Taste of Long Island Craft Brewery. While the year-old farm brewery is best known for its own beers, including its signature Farmingdale Natural Blonde Ale, it also hosts brewery incubator space for Long Island’s nascent craft brewing scene.

Statewide

Erie Canalway Trail

The 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail is New York State’s longest multi-use trail. The trail passes through some of New York State’s most scenic, historic, and culturally-rich landscapes. On many occasions, Erie Canalway Trail users are also treated to a front row seat to one of the world’s modern engineering marvels, with a system of operational, sometimes multi-level, locks that keep America’s original superhighway navigable as the surrounding elevation increases by more than 500 feet between the Hudson River and Lake Erie.

Even if you aren’t completing the entire trail in one trip, ending your ride with a cold beer in hand is easy since there are at least half a dozen breweries located on or near the trail between Buffalo and Albany. From east to west you’ll pass by the following breweries: C.H. Evans Brewing Company/ Albany Pump Station (Albany), Mad Jack Brewing (Schenectady), Matt Brewing Company/ Saranac (Utica), Erie Canal Brewing Company (Canastota), Lock 32 Brewing Company (Pittsford), and Resurgence Brewing Company (Buffalo).

Additional information on many of these and other trails in New York State can be found on our Trailfinder page.