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Here’s something to look forward to — especially if you love the great outdoors!
The Empire State Trail was announced to great fanfare in 2017. It is a continuous 750-mile route slated to become the longest multi-use trail in the country, spanning the state from Plattsburgh and Buffalo to New York City.
But that’s where the good work ends — here in Manhattan — leaving out the 7.8 million New Yorkers who live east of the city.
Not for much longer, though — The Trust for Public Land has a plan to create a historic trail that will connect the residents of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens) to the Empire State Trail, with work slated to finish in 2023.
Plenty of time to gear up for tackling the full distance then. As an ancient Chinese philosopher once said: “A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step.”
Empire State Trail Facts and Figures
The scenic hiking and biking path stretches over 750 miles, starting from The Battery and running north to Canada and west from Albany to Buffalo.
It is the result of fifty-eight different projects completed by state and local partners, and connects twenty different regional trails. Those projects added 180 miles of new off-road trail and connected 400 miles of previously separated trails to create one continuous pathway.
The Empire State Trail is open year-round for outdoor activities like bicycling, hiking, running, snow-shoeing, and cross-country skiing.
One of the newest additions to the trail is the Maybrook Trailway in Dutchess and Putnam Counties — 23-miles of the statewide route that runs alongside the former Maybrook Railroad Company railroad tracks.
Amazing! Only New York can think of making path trails. Bonding routes.