Great American Bike Tours calls this ride "pure cycling ecstasy" offering over 400 miles of cycling along the Historic Erie Canal with dozens of lovely lift bridges, aqueducts, locks, canal parks and more. Not to mention the beautiful and scenic countryside of Upstate NY, the incredible Finger Lakes, the Revolutionary War history of Central NY, and the amazing beauty of the Mohawk Valley and the Capital Region!

Link to Great American Bike Tours Home Page

Tour Includes: All lodging; transport from/to hotel; complete on-ride support; ride guides; daily luggage transportation (inc. bike box from Buffalo to Albany if needed); pizza night, canal dinner cruise, dinner social in Amsterdam, end of tour dinner celebration, fun activities and more!

Extras included in group quote:

• Free Airport transportation to/from hotel - 1-2 group pickups/drop offs will be arranged. Individuals traveling on their own mush provide their own transportation.

• Free standard bike rental. E-bike rental 50% discount. Link to Bikes & Gear

• 4 Additional Lunches, 1 additional dinner.

• Optional Niagara Falls Explorer - See Below

Deposit & Payments: Each guest will pay a $500 non-refundable (but transferable) deposit on or before February 15, 2023. The balance will be paid to the tour provider in 2 equal payments due at 120 and 45 days prior to tour start date.

Link to Register: https://www.cycletheusa.com/shop/custom-tours -- After registering, you will receive a detailed info packet via email. The email will include a link for you to submit your guest information such as roommate (if any), bike rental needs, dietary restrictions, if you will join the optional Niagara Explorer, etc.

Tour Pricing Based on Group Rate :

Pricing below is per person and based on double occupancy. Your total trip cost is dependent on the final group size. You should base your decision to participate in the tour on the minimum group size price.

Group Size	Per Person Dbl. Occ.	Optional Niagara Explorer
20 (Minimum)	$2,989	+ $259
21 - 30	$2,789	+ $239
31 - 36	$2,689	+ 229
Single/Private Room	+ 800	+ $100

Tour Itinerary

NOTE: If you will join for the optional Niagara Falls Explorer you’ll arrive one day early on Sept. 11th. The Explore tour will take place on Sept. 12th and we will return to our hotel in Buffalo where you’ll have dinner on your own, with orientation to follow at 7PM. Your additional night of lodging is included in the cost for this pre-tour event. Please see separate itinerary for at bottom of page full details.

Sept 12 : Arrive Buffalo

7:00 PM Orientation at hotel

Lodging Hampton Inn Downtown : Delaware Ave. Buffalo, NH

If you arrive Buffalo early, check in then spend some time at Canalside where you can explore this vibrant waterfront complete with a Naval and Military Memorial Park.

Sept. 13 : Buffalo to Lockport

8:00 AM Bike Fitting (for those using our rental bikes)

Cycling 33 miles

Lodging Lockport Inn & Suites

Our cycling begins in Buffalo with a beautiful ride along the Niagara River and the Tonawanda Waterfront where we enter the Gateway to the Erie Canal. We stop for lunch at a lovey trailside Ice Cream and sandwich shop before continuing on to wonderful Lockport with the impressive Flight of Five Locks, and oh yeah, Lake Effect Ice Cream! After visiting Flight of Five, we’ll make our way to charming Lockport Inn and Suites!

Sept. 14 : Lockport to Brockport

Cycling 45 miles

Lodging Hampton Inn Brockport

Leaving Lockport we enjoy easy, scenic cycling on the awesome ECT we pass through the charming communities of Medina, Albion (and lunch) and Holley. In Holley we take time to drop the bikes for a short 1/4 mile hike to lovely Holley Falls, before continuing on to Brockport our stop for the day.

Sept. 15: Brockport to Palmyra

Cycling 46 miles

Dinner Pizza & Movie Night

Lodging Best Western Palmyra

Today’s ride of 30 miles with a gentle downhill slope makes for an easy, relaxing day and the opportunity to enjoy the charming waterfront villages of Pittsford and Fairport. We’ll stop for a leisurely lunch in Fairport where you are invited to jump in a kayak and spend some time paddling on the canal. From Fairport we continue making our way to Palmyra where a fun night awaits as we host you for pizza and movie night showing “Erie, The Canal That Made America”.

Sept. 16: Palmyra to Seneca Falls

Cycling 40 miles

Lodging The Gould Seneca Falls

Today we’ll cycle through the beautiful countryside of upstate NY making our way to Seneca Falls with many points of interest including the Women’s Rights National Park, the Knitting Mill civil war historic site, beautiful

Cayuga Lake State Park, and many other museums, shops and great restaurants. In the evening we’ll enjoy the canal from the water on a super fun canal dinner cruise (very casual).

Sept. 17: Down Day – Seneca Falls

9:30 AM Optional Fitness Ride – 25 Miles

6:00 PM Canal Dinner Cruise

Lodging The Gould Seneca Falls

Today is all about relaxing! Join in the optional Wine Country bike tour where we’ll visit several award-winning wineries while enjoying the gorgeous views of the Finger Lakes region, or take a stroll downtown for extra helpings of history, including the Cady-Stanton House. Or for full on chill, let we’ll shuttle you to Cayuga Lake State Park where you relaxing on the beach and enjoy swimming.

Sept. 18: Seneca Falls to Syracuse

Cycling 51 miles

Lodging Historic Marriott Syracuse

Leaving Seneca Falls enjoy the beautiful scenery as we cycle through Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge making our way back to the Erie Canalway Trail. Along the trail are several canal parks including Jordan Aqueduct Park and Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct which has been historically reconstructed to its original glory. In Syracuse you’ll visit the remarkable Erie Canal Museum and grab dinner at one of the many great area restaurants.

Sept. 19: Syracuse to Rome

Cycling 48 miles

Lodging Hampton Inn Rome

There’s plenty to see between Syracuse and Rome as you cruise effortlessly along the bike path reaching Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum in 17 miles, and definitely worth exploring. From the Landing we continue on cycling past and over many aqueducts and awesome Lock 21, and stopping for a trailside picnic lunch. In Rome we’ll visit remarkable Fort Stanwix before cruising the last few miles to our hotel.

Sept. 20: Rome to Little Falls

Cycling 40 miles

Lodging Travelodge Little Falls

It’s easy, beautiful cycling as we make our way to Utica where you can divert from the bike trail to visit the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Gallery (free), or stroll the shady paths of the Utica Zoo with their adorable Red Pandas, before continuing on to Little Falls, with its quaint main streets, great pubs and eateries, and many artisan and antique shops!

Sept. 21: Little Falls to Amsterdam

Cycling 44 miles

Dinner Dinner Social

Lodging Microtel Amsterdam

Cycling between Little Falls and Amsterdam offers beautiful natural scenery as well Revolutionary War History. Very short distances from the bike trail are Herkimer Home, and Schoharie Crossing Historic Site before arriving in Amsterdam our stop for the evening.

In the Evening we’ll enjoy a great group dinner out, and an after dinner walk on the fabulous Overlook Bridge!

Sept. 22: Amsterdam to Albany

Cycling 48 miles

Activity Au Revoir Dinner Social

Lodging Holiday Inn Express Albany

Enjoy today’s ride as we cycle through rural Central NY making our way to the Capital Region cycling through folksy Schenectady, and to impressive Cohoes Falls, before we drop the kickstand in Albany for a well-earned rest. We cap off this great adventure with an end of tour dinner celebration, a great ending to an amazing adventure!

Sept. 23: Departure

Departure for homebound or other destinations.

We will provide shuttle to Albany International Airport for the group. Set times to be arrange based on departure times.

__________________________________________________________________

Optional: Niagara Falls Explorer

Our Niagara Falls Explorer is a pre-tour excursion and can be scheduled one day prior to the start of your Erie Canal tour start date.

Total Miles: Approx. 20 miles Difficulty: Easy

What’s Included: One additional night of lodging in Buffalo; Transportation to and from the ride; Admission to Fort Niagara; Full ride support; Snacks

Depart from Buffalo Hotel to Niagara Falls – 9:00 AM

Depart Niagara Falls to Hotel – 5:00 PM

Overview

On this awesome day trip, we begin with shuttle to Fort Niagara situated on the brink of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. You’ll have time to tour of the Fort before jumping on the bikes for cycling along the Niagara River and through the incredible gorge the Niagara has carved. The path is all bike trail, most of which was newly opened in 2021!

We’ll visit Devil’s Hole and Whirlpool State Parks as we cycle our way to the majesty that is Niagara Falls. At the Falls you’ll have plenty of time to explore the area and its cool islands. You may want to schedule a ride on the famous Maid of the Mist, or take the tour of the Cave of the Winds, both well worth the price of admission.

General Information for Niagara Falls: https://www.niagarafallsusa.com/niagara-falls-state-park/

Fort Niagara:https://www.oldfortniagara.org/

Maid of the Mist: https://www.maidofthemist.com/

Cave of Winds: https://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/attractions-and-tours/cave-of-the-winds

Erie Canalway Tour Route

Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) webmaster@valleyspokesmen.org