Touring Buffalo NY to Western NH…
 

I’m trying to plan a route from Buffalo to NH. I know we’re doing the Erie Canal trail, but I’m stumped on what to do from NY to NH. I live on the border with Mass, so is it better to go through VT or MA?

oh, and I’m doing this with my (then) 11yo kiddo. Any suggestions?

NH is vague. Where in NH?

When you get to Cohoes then take the Alternate route of the Empire trail that goes to Lake Champlain. There when you reach close to Port Henry bear right towards Crown Point and cross the Champlain Bridge. That gets You to Vermont. The next route to cross to New Hampshire will greatly depend on where in New Hampshire You want to arrive

Outside of Rt 4, which I would not take, one big question is do you like big hills ?, as you will be crossing the spine of the Green Mountains, so begs the question, which mt. pass ?. We recommended on this forum once, a good route is Rts 140-103 west to east, from Wallingford over to Ludlow, as one of the easiest routes to the east side of Vermont. Unanswered and a big If is where in NH ?.

How you get to Wallingford from Albany and where you go from Ludlow is your call. About every road in eastern NY and in Vermont is appropriate for cycling, theres really no "best" route, they are all good, on good roads.

You could follow Pedaling Walrus' route, but continue up to Burlington. There you can pick up the Cross Vermont Trail. It is a rail trail, meaning shallow grades in general, that runs across, roughly paralleling Route 2 and/or 302. It ends up in Waits River, on the banks of the Connecticut. Woodsville, NH lies just across a very rideable little bridge. In Woodsville, if the idea appeals, you can access the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail (XNHAT) which runs across the state just North of the White mountains, to Bethel Maine. Each of the cross state routes has a website with maps, cue sheets, updates, pictures, etc. Since they are on old RR rights of way, they are very flat, with occasional hilly road sections.

Uh…This is a cross post. He wants to end up in southern NH.

https://www.bikeforums.net/northeast.../#post22124714

Well,for Southern NH, when you hit the Connecticut River, head South on 5 (Vermont side) or 10 (New Hampshire side). Relatively flat, and lots of services.