jpescatore

My wife and I will be in Pittsford NY (south of Rochester) in May and I was thinking we would bring the bikes, go up early and have one day on the Erie Canal trail.

If we figured out a shuttle, we'd probably do 50 miles, otherwise from 30 miles and 30 miles back.

From Rochester/Piffsford, with only 1 day, better to head west or east? Or half and half?

CVB

FWIW, I can attest that Brockport, a ~90 minute ride to the west, is a lovely little town. I don't know about what lies east.

Also, I have experienced a remarkable meteorological phenomenon on the canal trail there in May: there are strong headwinds in both directions. Fascinating!

Pratt

Second Westerly. Brockport has a nice Tex-Mex restaurant right at the bridge that crosses the canal. Also a big candy store. Rochester has a great greenway that conducts the bikeway through town.
Good luck

dwmckee

I have observed this phenomenon as welll, but do feel the winds tend to be more often from the West than from teh East. I'd plan heading East, (unless it is blowing the other way that day)

smudgy

I think the area west of Rochester is less crowded/congested and the little towns are more quaint and less developed. But I'm not from the area and have only ridden the trail once. Either way you can't go wrong, A day on the Erie canal is a good day.

indyfabz

+2. While it was 21 years ago, our cross country group spent a night in Brockport before heading east through Rochester and then north to the lake. Nice town. Sounds like it still is. It's home to a SUNY campus, so that would make sense.

jpescatore

Thanks for all the inputs. I'm from Long Island and SUNY Brockport was always the "safety school" we all applied to because everyone got in. I ended up going to UCONN but a number of friends ended up at Brockport and made the drive from Storrs CT to Brockport a few times for party weekends.My memories of it are a bit hazy...

Papa Tom

I am, by no means, an expert on this ride, having only done a very short portion of it once - and at least ten years ago. However, for what it's worth, I can add that Fairport, about 7 miles east of Pittsford, is also a nice little town. There are also one or two working locks along the way heading east between Pittsford and Fairport. When my website "New York Rides" was active in the 90's and 2k's, I used to welcome comments from other riders, several of whom insisted that the section between Medina at the west and Clyde at the east was "The Best 100 Miles of the Erie Canal." See if that helps!

kaos joe

I've ridden it twice. If, like me, you like rural, then west it is.

Russ Roth

I'd figure out which way the wind is blowing and head out from there. From Pittsford if you head East you'll go through Fairport which has some stuff to check out, some tiny towns that are easy to miss, Palmyra which has a cool history to it, and possibly as far as Newark. I'd occasionally park in Newark and ride into Pittsford which would be about 30 miles out. Between Lyons and Clyde you have to go on the road and once you pass Newark there really isn't much till Weedsport which still isn't much. I like west better, Rochester has some cool things to see and there was a lot more carving out of the canal towards the west which is more impressive to see.