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I’ve been a runner for a very long time - when I moved to Troy in 2012, I looked for running trails. I don’t even think they were the Empire State Trail yet, just different local trail segments. So I sort of began running the Empire State Trail before it existed.

I’m right near the T of the Empire State Trail at the junction between sections - so I’ve explored three directions of the trail. I’m a marathon runner, so I’ve gone from Troy south almost to Hudson, north up to Schuylerville, and west to Schenectady.

I really enjoy running the whole section from Cohoes to Schenectady. Right at the start of the Erie Canalway Trail, traveling west from Troy, you run into Waterford and then into Cohoes. The Mohawk River you run alongside is a very wild river compared to the Hudson River. There’s so much to see in this area. The trail was originally a mule trail so there are locks and bends, as well as a mix of different species and ecologies, including interesting little wetlands along the edges.

As a runner, a lot of what is difficult is dependent on the weather. I run marathons in the summer, so heat is a big factor. Several trail segments are more shaded than others, so I have to keep that in mind. Down the Hudson Valley Electric Trail in particular, there are areas that get very hot.

A few things:

First, the most obvious problem is that many sections are not really a trail - the state calls it a trail to cover all of New York, but much of it is still just along highway shoulders, especially north on the Champlain Valley Trail. This is especially difficult for runners, as we’re not as used to running alongside traffic-heavy roads.

On the section up to Schuylerville, you’re on a highway that has painted a little lane. If they need to keep it alongside highways, at least making another full lane would help.

Second, Google Maps doesn’t always display the trail correctly. Oftentimes you’re on the trail and Maps says there’s a dead end… but there isn’t. There are a decent amount of inaccuracies.

Third, the state’s website has accuracy issues as well. It’s not always easy to know where the entry and exit points are for the individual pieces of the trail - especially between sections of pre-existing trails that the Empire State Trail is connecting. For example, from Troy to Albany after you go across the pedestrian bridge to Rensselaer, it drops you in the suburbs. You have to find your way into the Hudson Valley Electric Trail without any signage or directions. Increasing the clarity between existing trail segments would be helpful.

Finally, past Rensselaer down to Coxsackie, the farmland sections are not particularly developed or integrated with the trail. There are other segments that are connected to local villages with benches, ice cream shops and nice places to rest, but other segments lack resources.

You can connect on my Instagram @raccoon_chronicles.