Chester Valley Trail

Chester Valley is a 14 miles paved trail located outside of Philadelphia. It runs from King of Prussia to the Great Valley and Exton. The next phase of the trail is currently being designed and will extend the trail another 4 miles to connect to the Schuylkill River Trail.

The website for Chester County has more information.

Update

The trail has been extended and as of March 2023 reaches the Schuylkill River Trail. A trail junction center is planned for the intersection of the Chester Valley Trail with the Schuylkill River Trail. Learn more about this future center here. 

A video of my ride on the extension may be viewed here.

McDade Recreational Trail

The McDade Recreational Trail is a 32 mile trail that is part of the Deleware Water Gap National Recreation Area between Pennasylvania and New Jersey. It is a bit hilly but most inclines are short. There are a couple of gaps in the trail. Overall I would say it makes for a nice visit but would probally not return over and over again.

For more information visit the National Park Service website. If you decide to visit this trail you should allow some time before or after your ride to check out some of the beautiful waterfalls in the area. Dingman's Falls are very close but there are others.

Buffalo Valley Rail Trail

Buffalo Valley Rail Trail is a 9 mile trail between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg, PA. The trail opened for public use in November of 2011. The trail traverses mostly agricultural lands and is remarkable flat and straight. There are a significant number of road crossings but almost all are private driveways with very good visibility. Users are asked to respect privacy and not to photograph the local residents.

For more information visit the website dedicated to the trail. Alternately, visit the Facebook page for users of the trail.




See a video of one of my rides on this trail here: https://youtu.be/9USAwhZn78A

Northwest Lancaster County River Trail

This ride was a very pleasant mix of river views, parks, farmlands, rock cuts and even a bit of small town PA. The paved trail runs along the Susquehanna River for about 12 miles. It passes through several parks. The trail is well marked with plenty of access points, restrooms and picnic benches.

There is a break in the trail in Marietta but most of that is slated to be completed in spring of 2017. Another 3 miles on the north end should be added in 2018. The White Cliffs of Conoy are located along the trail. The cliffs are less than two miles from the Koser Park trail-head. While the cliffs are neat to see if you are biking the trail, don't make a special trip. For more information about the trail visit the Susquehanna Heritage website.

Onondaga Lake

Lake Onondaga near Syracuse, NY was very polluted for many years. Recently great strides have been made to clean it up. The results have been good with wildlife returning and recreation now a part of the community. Part of the clean up included a trail around the lake. This trail is about 2/3 done and makes for a very enjoyable ride. I would love to stop by again when the remaining portion is completed. You can find additional information at Onondaga County website.

Update: I rode this trail again in June of 2024. The trail has two distinct sections, the east shore trail and the west shore trail. I start on the west shore since it is just off I-690. Since my last visit they have added a nice parking lot with boat launch facilities. New to me is an extension of the trail from this location (43.073005, -76.205753)  almost to the Destiny USA mall (formally Carousel mall), the largest mall in NY. This new section of trail includes a spectacular bridge over some water and railroad tracks.

The older section of the west shore trail traverses a natural area with trees and intermittent views of the lake. This section of trail had a surprise in the form of an amphitheater built directly on the trail. This is unfortunate for trail users since, in addition to destroying the natural habitat it as means the trail is closed during events. The trail runs through the amphitheater. The situation is made worse since the west shore trail is now part of the Empire State Trail used by many bikepackers for long, multiday trips.

The east shore trail generally unchanged. It passes through a nicely maintained public park and along a grassy beach. There are great views of the lake with residential properties along much of the opposite side of the trail. The trail itself is split with a meandering paved trail close to the lake for pedestrians and a wider straight trail a bit further from the water for cyclists. Both trails are paved. The cycling trail is also used by walkers, runners, dog walkers and so forth but without issue since it is very wide (20 feet I would guess). No cars are allowed except for a couple of crossings near the marina. 

view from new bridge

new bridge

amphitheater

bridge connection east and west shore