By Steve Tigner

If you are ever in northwestern New York State, you will find a cycling delight in the Greater Buffalo area.

My wife and I just returned for a trip that included a stop in Buffalo. We were NEVER expecting the area to provide the inspiring beauty and exhaustive bike routes that we found.

The Regional Transportation Council has developed 100's of miles of bike routes. This is a combination of street routes with well marked street signs, specific bike lanes and dedicated bike paths. On the Canadian side there is a sister system that is also over 100 miles long. Easy access to the system information can be found at The Greater Buffalo - Niagara Regional Transportation Council web site - www.gbnrtc.org Then click on Bicycle Route Guide to get pdf files of the area map.

You can begin a ride in downtown Buffalo on Lake Erie and follow the dedicated bike path north along the shoreline into the north side of the City of Tonawanda. This section of this system is 9 miles long and called the Riverwalk. As the Riverwalk travels north, the east shore of Lake Erie becomes the east bank of the east branch of the Niagara River. It is a beautiful path with great scenery and few cross streets.

At the south end of the City of Tonawanda, about midway along the Riverwalk, a bike route branches off to the north, over the East Branch of the Niagara River onto Grand Island. The bike route travels across Grand Island. About 2 miles from the north end of Grand Island the route joins up with a dedicated bike path. After a couple miles through wetlands in the Buckhorn Island State Park the route crosses the Niagara River again on the north side of the island and follows the north bank of the Niagara River & the south side of the Robert Moses Parkway west to the American Reservation State Park. The beauty of this area is considered one of the Wonders of the World! It is truly spectacular and awesome. AND YOU GET TO SEE IT ON A BIKE! If you have not been to Niagara Falls, this ride needs to get on your MUST DO list.

After pedaling through the park and under the Rainbow Bridge (the main crossing into Canada at The Falls) the path continues north along side the Robert Moses Parkway past Whirlpool Bridge and through Whirlpool Park. The beauty along the river gorge north of The Falls should not be missed. The dedicated path ends near Niagara University but the route continues up the river to Lake Ontario. From there the route goes east along the south shore of Lake Ontario for over 20 miles before turning south and ultimately looping all the way around and back to downtown Buffalo.

If you do not exit the Riverwalk in South Tonawanda, you will continue to the north end of town. At that point the dedicated path ends and the street route travels east to the New York Barge Canal Path in Amherst. This dedicated path starts at the intersection of Tonawanda Creek Road and Sweet Home Road a little east of Niagara Falls Blvd. It ends 6 miles later at Tonawanda Creek Road and East Canal Rd where there is parking.

Downtown Buffalo to north side of Tonawanda - 9 miles

South Tonawanda to Lake Ontario through Grand Island - 25 miles

North Tonawanda to end of New York Barge Canal - 12 miles

While you are in the Buffalo area, you may want to visit The Pedaling History Bicycle Museum in Orchard Park on the south side of Buffalo. www.pedalinghistory.com

About the Author
Steve Tigner is a regular tandem rider that cycles about 100 miles a week. Steve prefers to ride on dedicated bike paths that are paved and has published a web site dedicated to compiling a nationwide listing of such paths. www.pavedbiketrails.com

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LL

Labels: Buffalo-NY, Niagara-Falls, Steve-Tigner