Buffalo to Albany or Vice Versa

We chose Buffalo to Albany for a few reasons:

1. Proximity to Niagara Falls - Neither of us had been there and we figured we'd add this to the beginning or end of the trip. While you can easily bike to Niagara, we chose to rent a car and visit in the evening.
2. Flight Options - Flying into Buffalo was a better option for us than Albany or another NY airport. Transportation to and from Mile 0 and the airport was short and easy. 
3. Elevation - Honestly, this wasn't a huge deal for this trip since the difference in elevation from Buffalo to Albany is under 600 feet. But going from Albany you would have a very small uphill grade that probably wouldn't even be noticeable.
4. Wind - For the most part, you'll have more of a tailwind riding to the east. We encountered some wind but I don't recall it ever really being an issue. We did have a chat with a rider going the other way and he said he was fighting a noticeable headwind on most of his journey. 
5. Bike Rentals - We found a vendor who supplied us with rental bikes, packs and some tools needed for the trip. Not to say there aren't vendors in Albany who can supply equipment if needed. 

Hotels, AirBNB's or Camp?

We chose to stay in hotels along the entire trail. We noticed that most of the smaller towns did not appear to have short-term rental options, but near Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and perhaps a few other towns, this may be an option.

Compared to the GAP and C&O Trail, camping doesn't not seem as well supported. But if you don't mind doing some stealth camping, it seemed possible. There are some options along the way and some towns even provide some good support (Restrooms, water, etc.) to camp, but it wasn't on our radar so I can't really speak to these options in detail.

Which towns to stay in and how to plan... or not!

Doug and I both prefer to have the freedom of choosing how far to ride and where to stop for the night without having any pre-planned hotel arrangements. This doesn't work for every adventure and we were warned that for the Erie Canal trip, it was not advisable to "wing it". 

We did plan our first night in Lockport, but except for that, our only constraint was to be in Albany for our train back to Buffalo on a certain day and time. We did do a bit of research and did some loose planning taking problem areas into account, but other than that, we winged it.

Overall, we didn't experience any problems finding a place to stay. Two towns we stayed in were Weedsport and Canastota and the choices here were limited, but neither town presented a problem. My recommendation is for these towns to book a reservation and don't just ride into town hoping to get a room. We booked ours same day once we knew that was our destination for the day. 

We completed our trip in June and we didn't encounter any events or anything that filled up hotel rooms, so all good there. Be sure to research and be aware of any events or holidays that may book up rooms in advance.

Food, Water and Other Support

Finding food and beverages was not a problem along the trail. Sure there may be 20-30 sections without much, but these are easy to plan around. We ate breakfast at the hotel when that was an option and lunches and dinners were in a town.

We both carried snacks and capacity for about 45 ounces of water. We cycled in June and we encountered nice cool weather so we didn't need additional fluids. If it was hot or humid, I'd probably grab some electrolyte drinks along the way and use that bottle to increase liquid capacity.

Amtrak

Upon arriving in Albany, we used Amtrak to get back to Buffalo and return our bikes. Getting to the train station from Albany was fairly straight forward and easy. There was a lot of bridge construction going on, but it didn't present any problems. 

Important - Make a reservation early!!

There are only a limited number of bicycle spots available on each train and they fill up quickly. We encountered a group of 5 guys who were unable to get return reservations so they took turns driving a support car along the entire canal while the other 4 bicycled. It didn't seem to ruin their enjoyment of the trip though. (If you guys are reading this journal, thanks for helping us out with some chain lube)

Helpful Resources

There are a lot of resources online, but we mostly just used the following:

Empire State Trail Site - Great site created by New York state with maps and other information. At the time I wrote this, you can request a free paper map at this link.

Parks and Trails Map - I used this map a bit to understand various options and support along the way. Great way to familiarize yourself with the trail. 

Buffalo Bike Tours - This is the bicycle tour company we used to rent our bikes and packs. If you are local or will be using your own bikes, this really won't be relevant for you. But seeing as we were flying in from Phoenix, we decided to rent.

This company primarily does day or hourly rentals, but they were able to provide us with what we needed for ride from Buffalo to Albany. The owner was incredibly friendly and I have a feeling as the Erie Canal bike touring becomes more popular, services for long-distance riders will mature.

Questions?

Got a question about the path, planning or our tour, let me know.