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6 DAY INN TO INN BIKE TOUR ON THE Erie Canalway

Ride 194 miles from buffalo to rome, ny.

Experience the famous Erie Canal by bike! Complete 194 miles on crushed gravel and paved trail as we ride from Buffalo to Rome, NY. You and your guides will follow the route of the historic canal and take advantage of the $200 million Empire State Trail investment.

Enjoy five nights in trail towns across Central NY and ride from the countryside to the city of Syracuse. Take time to view the historic locks and canals, or head straight to the hotel and explore the unique towns along the way.

BIKE TOUR SUMMARY

Day 1:   Meet your guides in Fayetteville, NY (outside of Syracuse) before shuttling to our first night’s lodging in Medina, NY. 

Day 2 – 37 miles:   Ride 37 miles from Buffalo to Medina. Along the way, you’ll have a chance to explore the famous ‘Flight of Five’. This is a staircase of five locks built to elevate boats through the 50-foot Niagara Escarpment. 

Day 3 – 53 miles:   Tackle 53 miles of riding on crushed gravel and paved trails as we pass through small towns on the way to Rochester. Along the way stop for lunch in Brockport, home to an array of Victorian buildings with 45 of them on the State and National Register of Historic Places. We’ll end the day at the trailside Del Monte Lodge. This is the perfect place to unwind after 53 miles in the saddle. 

Day 4 – 41 miles:   After a group breakfast, we’ll head into the central New York countryside as we travel towards Clyde, NY. Along the way, we’ll pass through historic small towns like Palmyra. This is the home of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, as well as where the Book of Mormon was first published. Next, w e’ll have a group trailside lunch and finish riding in Clyde. There is a section of the trail that is incomplete, therefore we’ll end the day with a shuttle to Seneca Falls. Here we will be spending the night in the birthplace of the women’s rights movement. 

Day 5 – 34 miles: Bike over and then experience a canal boat ride on the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, the only restored navigable aqueduct in NY. Regroup for a trailside lunch outside of Syracuse and then start riding on a brand-new trail. New York State invested $36 million into a 14-mile extension of the Erie Canal Trail making this day of riding possible. You’ll experience an elevated section of trail that boasts an amazing vista over Onondaga Lake. Be sure to look for Bald Eagles. From here the ride descends into Syracuse, surprisingly beautiful, this section of the trail was finished in 2020. It gives you the chance to ride through historic downtown Syracuse. See what’s possible when there is support for trail infrastructure.

Day 6 – 29 miles:   On our final day, we’ll complete 29 miles from Rome back to Fayetteville. The day will begin with a group breakfast before we jump in the van for a shuttle to Lock 21. After that, we’ll ride back to Fayetteville passing the Chittenango Landing Boat Museum along the way. Tackling day six in ‘reverse’ allows all riders to ride at their own pace and head for home on their own time schedule. 

2024 ERIE CANAL TOUR DATES

• 19th – 24th (sold out, join the waitlist )
• 2nd – 7th  
• 16th – 21st (sold out, join the waitlist )
• 14th – 19th (sold out, join the waitlist )
• 8th – 13th (sold out, join the waitlist )
• 22nd – 27th (sold out, join the waitlist )

Private Trips may be available on alternative dates for groups of 8 or more.  To arrange a private trip, please give us a call at 570.325.8430 and ask for Sierra.   

• Difficulty:  Easy/Moderate – Crushed gravel trail
• Trip Size:   Up to 12 guests, 2 guides
• Minimum Age:  13 years old
• Fully Supported from beginning to end

There is a $250 non-refundable deposit, per rider, required at the time of your reservation.

• E-bike rentals are available for an additional charge
• Conventional bikes and eBikes only; NO trikes, recumbents, or tandems. 
• For a detailed itinerary and FAQ, please call 570.325.8430 and ask for Sierra, OR send an email to [email protected]
• CLICK HERE to view our special 6-Day Erie Canal, 4-Day D&L, and 4-Day Hudson Valley inn to inn bike tour brochure.

ERIE CANAL TOUR RATES

• Individual with own bike – $1719.
• Bike rental (if needed)  – $199.
• e-Bike rental (if needed) – $399.
• Single supplement – $425. additional for those traveling solo

Rate Includes

• Biking on 194 miles of crushed gravel and paved trail
• Five nights of lodging 
• Professional bike guides
• Rest stops with snacks and water
• Welcome dinner 
• Breakfast on five days
• Lunch on three days
• Basic bike repair
• Luggage transportation to each accommodation
• Morning trail briefings
• Parking for the week 
• Shuttle from your car to the start of the ride – ride directly back to your car
• Entire trip is fully supported

RESERVATIONS & INFORMATION

For more information on our fully supported, six-day Inn to Inn Erie Canal Bike Tour, please give us a call at 570.325.8430 and ask for Sierra. Or, you can send us a request via email to [email protected]

Note: Please click here to join our waitlist if your preferred date is currently sold out.

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COUNTDOWN TO ANNUAL TOUR

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Cycle the Erie Canal Itinerary

Saturday 7/6/24

Buffalo: pre-ride events, nichols school 1250 amherst street buffalo, ny.

• Overnight camping available
• Saturday downtown ride
• Pre-Ride Niagara Falls
• Wine Tasting

Sunday 7/7/24

Buffalo to medina: 48 miles, overnight: medina central schools 1 mustang drive medina ny 14103.

• Ride along the Niagara River from Buffalo.
• Take a boat ride through canal locks, developed to allow boats to navigate the different elevations along the canal.
• At Lockport, explore underground sluiceways, caves, and the “Upsidedown Bridge” as you begin to ride 400 miles of Canalway Trail through charming villages and rolling farmland.
• Spend the night in Medina, a lovely village reminiscent of the historic era of the original canal.

Monday 7/8/24

Medina to fairport: 63 miles, overnight: center park west 1100 ayrault rd fairport, ny 14450.

• Relax at rest stops in friendly “port” villages such as Holley, Brockport, and Spencerport, where a unique “lift bridge” carries Main Street over the canal.
• Take a short excursion along the Genesee River bike path into downtown Rochester, with its spectacular waterfalls.
• Stop in Pittsford and visit Pittsford’s popular Schoen Place, where you’ll find boutiques, galleries, and cafes.
• Finish the day in Fairport and visit Packett's Landing Wharf

Tuesday 7/9/24

Fairport to seneca falls: 51 miles, overnight: mynderse academy, 105 troy st, seneca falls, ny.

• Watch bridge tenders raise and lower the famous Erie Canal lift bridges as you cycle through quaint canal towns.
• In Palmyra, visit the farmhouse of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion.
• Leaving the rest stop in Clyde we come off the Erie Canal Trail and head South towards Seneca Falls on rolling country backroads. Look for the Amish family that sell riders baked goods every year.
• At the end of your day, tour Seneca Falls, birthplace of the modern women’s movement. Visit the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Elizabeth Cady Stanton home. Dinner on your own—enjoy the local eateries.

Wednesday 7/10/24

Seneca falls to syracuse: 41 miles, overnight: burnet park 521549 burnet park drive, syracuse.

• Visit the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
• Take a break in the Village of Jordan and visit the Jordan Historical Society Museum, enjoy the flower gardens in the bed of the old canal, then continue on the towpath on an original aqueduct over Skaneateles Creek.
• Follow the canal towpath to Camillus’ Erie Canal Park and stop by the park’s Sims Store, a re-creation of a 19th century general store. Take a boat ride on a restored aqueduct.
• Have a bite and brew at a pub or coffee house in Syracuse’s trendy Armory Square and tour the Erie Canal Museum in the Weighlock Building.

Thursday 7/11/24

Syracuse to rome: 48 miles, overnight: fort stanwix, 200 n. james st., rome, ny 13440.

• Spend a leisurely day riding along the serene Old Erie Canal State Park.
• Visit the Chittenango Canal Museum and dry docks and the Canastota Canal Town Museum.
• See the location where the first shovel of dirt was turned for “Clinton’s Ditch."
• Tour Fort Stanwix National Monument, a restored fort where local battles shaped the outcome of the American Revolution.
• Dinner on own.

Friday 7/12/24

Rome to canajoharie: 61 miles, overnight: canajoharie high school 136 scholastic way canajoharie, ny.

• In Little Falls, explore the glacial potholes of Moss Island, a National Natural Landmark, and shop at restored Canal Place.
• Tour Revolutionary War General Herkimer’s home.
• Enjoy Canajoharie’s historic village and visit its world class art museum, The Arkell Museum.

Saturday 7/13/24

Canajoharie to schenectady: 46 miles, overnight: schenectady jewish community center 2565 balltown rd schenectady, ny.

• Ride alongside the scenic Mohawk River, the only water-level passage through the Appalachian chain of mountains.
• Stop at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, featuring sections of all three alignments of the Erie Canal.
• Tour historic Schenectady and toast your fellow riders at a celebratory dinner and program.

Sunday 7/14/23

Schenectady to albany: 27 miles, finish line: tbd, albany.

• View Cohoes Falls, one of the most powerful falls east of the Rockies and a major challenge for Erie Canal engineers.
• Visit Peebles Island State Park. During the Revolutionary War, American forces prepared defenses here to make a final stand against the British.
• Ride along the Hudson River and finish your tour in downtown Albany, New York State’s 300-year-old capital.

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Journey Back Home: Toronto to New York City Along the Erie Canal Trail (Video)

Last fall, Jordan Ross rode their bike from Toronto, Ontario, to their hometown of New York City, following a 1,300-kilometer route that included the Erie Canalway Trail. Find the video Jordan put together from the trip, photos, and a detailed guide for anyone interested in riding the route here…

Words, photos, and video by Jordan Ross (they/them)

At the end of last summer, I set out on a bicycle trip that would take me home, both physically and emotionally, back to the city where I grew up but had not visited in over a decade. This is my journey from Toronto to New York City.

This trip back home begins in Toronto, where I had flown from Vancouver a few days earlier to visit some family and explore more of the city. They call Toronto the New York City of Canada, and while it’s probably more similar to Chicago, it’s also the closest Canadian city to NYC in terms of diversity, energy, and urban landscape—all qualities I learned to value and appreciate growing up.

The first day of the trip involved departing the city, starting off pleasantly along the primary bike path, a scenic route along the coast of Lake Ontario. However, as the kilometers stretched out, the surroundings gradually lost their charm, with infrastructure and neighborhoods becoming less appealing as the sun slowly descended toward the horizon. One neighborhood was full of McMansions that all had a fountain in the middle of their wrap-around driveway. What housing and climate crisis?

In total, I cycled about 120 kilometers from Toronto to St. Catherines, where I had booked a nice inn, knowing I’d likely be exhausted and demoralized from all of the time spent riding next to the highway. The following morning, I made my way to Niagara, or more notably, Niagara Falls. If you’re like me, you probably won’t be in the mood to spend too much time in these overly touristy towns themselves, but be sure to get some views of these impressive thundering waters before continuing upriver to the American town of Buffalo, New York.

I decided to cross the border bridge at Niagara Falls itself and had no issues, being able to cut ahead of cars and make my way through immigration without a hitch. Though, in retrospect, you might want to continue upriver in Canada, crossing instead at Buffalo. I updated the route with this (seemingly) better option.

Following Buffalo, you will reach Tonawanda, the terminus of The Erie Canal and once a bustling hub of marine activity, commerce, and industry. Be sure to check out the Guud and Evul restaurant as well as The Vegan Grocery Store (yes, that’s its name). Additionally, consider visiting the Erie Canal Museum for insights into the canal’s rich history and its transition into the larger New York State Canal System.

Now, your journey along The Erie Canal Trail and Empire State Trail officially begins. You’ll find yourself whisked along well-maintained, fine gravel trails, marveling at the level of upkeep along the canal. You’ll begin to appreciate how valued the Erie Canal Trail is to New York State and the communities it passes through. As far as I know, the trails directly next to the canal system are all the responsibility of the New York State Canal Corporation, a public-benefit corporation that operates and maintains the Canalway as well as the 845 kilometers of canal and 57 locks, which act as giant water elevators for boats, allowing them to traverse the different canal elevations.

In terms of camping and lodging, after leaving Buffalo, I opted for a motel in Utica for one night and one hotel southeast of Albany for another. For the remaining nights, I camped in parks along the canal, often named something like “Canal Park” or “Towpath Park,” historically places where barge workers or tourists could tie up overnight or for a quick stop. Now, these parks are great resources for people on boats or the increasingly more common bike tourists like us. For example, the town of Clyde has a super expansive park that welcomes bike campers, complete with overnight-accessible washrooms, water fountains, a covered table area with electric outlets, and even free wifi.

However, not all towns will have Canal Parks as inviting or comfortable. Do further research to see what your best options are. If all else fails, setting up camp next to the Canal Trail seems totally reasonable, especially if you’re on a stretch with farmland in either direction, set up toward the evening, and, of course, leave no trace. I did this several times and felt totally safe, though feelings of safety can be subjective and often dependent on gender or race. Additionally, most of the locks permit camping, though the amenities tend to be limited with often not much more than a porta-potty. It’s important to note that locating rural trails becomes increasingly challenging as you approach larger towns or cities like Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany, primarily due to heightened population density nearer to the New York City metropolitan area.

A section of the trail that stands out to me as a highlight is the first western canal segment, especially leaving Lockport and going east up until Rochester. This section of cycling along the canal is super gorgeous in a simple, rural farmland kind of way. The stretches of farmland and fields were a welcome reprieve from the type of urban, car-dominated environment many of us are used to. I still think about one serendipitously placed apple tree, its juicy and delicious apples literally spilling out across the canal path.

As you pedal along, you’ll pass through dozens of towns along the canal, each with their own unique history and heritage but all connected by this centuries old megaproject. The Erie Canal involved millions of labor hours and tragically claimed the lives of roughly 1,000 people, the majority of whom were immigrants new to America.

Many of these towns uncreatively but appropriately incorporate “Port” into their names, with many of them having cute family-owned businesses like coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and even breweries. Keep your eyes peeled, follow your cravings, and you may find the perfect spot. Or, if you are like me, constantly be searching for “vegan food near me” every 20 kilometers on Google Maps.

One town that is certainly memorable, partly because it takes a slightly different naming approach, is Little Falls, a charming community nestled between gentle sloping mountainsides and along a river featuring what seemed more appropriately described as rapids rather than falls. The area of town that is specifically noteworthy is near the historic Stone Mill, now transformed into a hotel, coffee shop, and pizzeria with a woodfired oven, vegan options, and a great selection of local craft beer. There are also other businesses nearby like an art store, antique store, another inn, and a brewery. Little Falls also has a section of town popular with climbers, and I could see pairs of them roped up, clambering up the limestone cliff sides next to the canal’s banks.

As you leave Little Falls you can leave (or lock) your bike at the top of a short set of stairs and go down to see Erie Canal Lock E17. This is the biggest lock in the system in terms of the elevation difference of the two canal segments it connects, with a total of 40.5 feet. It’s also the only lock in the network that uses a guillotine-style locking mechanism. Imagine my face as we cruised underneath on the sailboat I was invited to board.

Leaving Albany marks the beginning of your home stretch, with just 300 kilometers left to traverse as you work your way down South along the Hudson River Valley, crossing the river twice. The second crossing takes you from east to west along the Walkway Over the Hudson, a historical rail bridge that has been restored and converted for pedestrian and cycling use.

As I approach New York City, the landscape gradually shifts to a more urban setting, and the sounds of trucks and vehicles become more pronounced. I found myself on bikeways alongside parkways (essentially highways with a greenwashed label). The final parts of the journey involved passing through smaller and medium-sized parks until finally arriving in The Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park. It was at this moment, amid the sunny concrete warmth of October, the echoes of handballers and basketballers, and the rhythmic rumble of the elevated subway, that I knew I was truly back home.

Toronto to New York City Route

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Buffalo NY on the Erie Canal Bike Trail

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Moscow to Kostroma via Elektrostal

Moscow to kostroma road trip planner.

Here's a sample itinerary for a drive from Moscow to Kostroma. If you're planning a road trip to Kostroma, you can research locations to stop along the way. Make sure you check road conditions to double check the weather. Find the best hotels, restaurants, and attractions based on the most talked about places recommended by Trippy members.

10:00 am  start in Moscow drive for about 1 hour

11:07 am   Elektrostal stay for about 1 hour and leave at 12:07 pm drive for about 1.5 hours

1:50 pm   Vladimir stay for about 1 hour and leave at 2:50 pm drive for about 1.5 hours

4:25 pm   Ivanovo stay for about 1 hour and leave at 5:25 pm drive for about 1 hour

6:31 pm  arrive in Kostroma

driving ≈ 5.5 hours

Where should I stop along the way?

Elektrostal Vladimir   (2 answers) Ivanovo

What are some things to do in Kostroma?

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Do I really have to go back home?

Yes, even this step is optional, because if you're on vacation who wants the trip to end? It's okay, you can start planning your next trip!

Want to plan the trip back? Get the reverse directions for a Kostroma to Moscow drive , or go to the main page to plan a new road trip .

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Don't forget about exploring your own hometown with a staycation. You can also find some cool day trips or get away for a weekend.

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