LM Member Steve Barner Recommends a New York Bike Touring Opportunity
Posted by Chapin on Aug 14 2011
This is an excerpt from Steve’s post to the Green Mountain Bike Club. See the links below for more information.
In these days of railbeds that have been converted to recreation trails, here’s an unusual cycling opportunity that involves real trains. The Saratoga & North Creek RR is a newly organized shortline that runs on restored track running between these two New York towns. The railroad recently added an extra car and announced that they would be carrying bicycles at no extra charge. A couple weeks ago, Jeanne and I took advantage of this offer to take the train to North Creek with our tandem and ride back to our car in Saratoga Springs. It was a great day and we found the 60-mile bike ride back most enjoyable. Tickets were only $13. There are several trains each day, from Thursday through Sunday, so a variety of ride options are available, such as taking the train to Saratoga and cycling back to North Creek. If you don’t want to do the whole 60 miles, there are several whistle stops en-route, so you could easily shorten the ride.
If you are going to be in the Adirondacks with your bike this summer, I encourage you to check out and support this this unique recreational opportunity. We found all the folks involved with the S&NCRR very friendly and informative. More information, photos and suggested riding routes are available at http://sbarner.blogspot.com/2011/07/making-tracks-with-saratoga-north-creek.html The website for the S&NCRR is http://www.sncrr.com/
Smooth country road from The Glen to Athol
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on 18 Aug 2011 at 2:11 pm 1.Jeff Cohn said …
I've been intrigued by this ride since the RR began operations just over a month or so. Realistically, the only opportunity for cyclists is the 10am departure from Saratoga, whcih arrives North Creek 1219pm. I've not been able to determine elevations & climbs on the southbound cycling adventure, so comments by Steve are most helpful. But the days are quickly growing shorter & I figure it's at leastt a 5 hour ride to return to Saratoga Springs on a hybird, likely less on a road bike.
on 18 Aug 2011 at 2:12 pm 2.Jeff Cohn said …
Part 2. Yes it's a great train ride, too. Last Fall the previous operator Upper Hudson RR ran a special trip as far south as Hatley & there are great views of the Hudson en route. The new operator also makes several stops en route. If you are not sure of going the whole distance, there's a southbound train out of North Creek leaving @ 1250pm. Though it does not run all the way to Saratoga, you could probably map out a route from one of the stations as far south as Thurman, NY. In my own effort to use Google Maps to find a biking route, Google did not recognize "Saratoga and North Creek RR", only "Upper Hudson RR". If you make your own map, just type in "Amtrak SAR" to get the location of the Saratoga Springs depot shared by the tourist line & Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express and Adirondack trains.
on 20 Aug 2011 at 7:34 pm 3.Bud Haas said …
Kathy and I, on a whim, after reading Steve's post, drove from eastern Vermont over to Riparius, the first stop south of North Creek, stayed at a nice motel, and rode south to Saratoga Springs the following morning, following Steve's cue sheet. It's a great ride south, and took us about 6 hours, including a fine lunch stop at the Upriver Cafe in Lake Lucerne. We took the late train back to Riparius, stayed overnight again, driving home in the morning. (Its a minimum four hour drive for us).
Folks in western Vermont could do the whole thing in one day, starting in North Creek or Riparius in the morning, if they're willing to drive back home after arriving back north on the train around 9:30 at night.
We had an informative visit both with the conductor and a "commuter" from NY City, who was using the Amtrak connection to join his family at their vacation home in Minerva, just above North Creek. By coordinating with Amtrak, and achieving a "passenger railroad certification", the line "contractors" hope to eventually break into the "local" passenger train business, by grabbing on to some of the state funds currently going to Amtrak.
There was one small glitch with Steve's cue sheet, where just south of Corinth, the directions lead only to a dead end. Instead, we easily cycled directly south on Main St, turning west on Starke, instead of using the "lost" Eggleston/Dorset/Barbara MacD directions.
Overall, the cue sheet and ride were fine, mostly quiet roads with beautiful views of the Hudson.
The SNC Rail Road ticket agent in Saratoga Springs was especially friendly and helpful. Her suggestion for dinner at the "Local" (pub and restaurant) was perfect.
Highly recommended.
on 22 Aug 2011 at 1:35 pm 4.Joanne said …
I plan to cycle from Saratoga to North Creek this fall; have lunch in North Creek, then return to Saratoga via the 3:45 train. Reviewing Google Maps and Map my ride for the best route.