Where Trails Meet Community

Experience the charm of Western New York’s Genesee Valley Trail Towns—welcoming communities that blend outdoor adventure with local hospitality. These towns offer the perfect gateway to the scenic Genesee Valley Greenway.

Genesee Valley Trail Towns are communities along the 90-mile Genesee Valley Greenway that have embraced trail tourism. Through the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative, these towns are enhancing their infrastructure, promoting local culture, and creating a seamless experience for trail users.

about the genesee valley greenway

The Genesee Valley Greenway is a 90-mile trail stretching from Rochester to Hinsdale, New York. Once a canal towpath and railway bed, it now serves as a multi-use path for outdoor enthusiasts. The trail passes through Monroe, Livingston, Wyoming, Allegany, and Cattaraugus Counties, offering a mix of gravel, packed cinder, and mowed surfaces, with a short paved section in Rochester’s Genesee Valley Park.

A cyclist travels along the Genesee Valley Greenway in Mt. Morris.

Western New York trail town grants

Western New York Trail Town Grants, offered by PTNY with support from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, provide $3,000–$15,000 in funding to eligible communities along the Genesee Valley Greenway for projects that enhance trail connections, safety, amenities, and placemaking.

Genesee Valley Trail Town Handbook

This handbook distills best practices and offers guidance on developing a comprehensive outdoor recreation tourism strategy, including marketing and promotion materials, opportunities and methods for collaboration, and steps to leverage outdoor resources for economic development.

Who’s on the Trail: Genesee Valley Greenway

Trail user data can help decision makers understand the demand for maintaining and enhancing trails, justify current and future levels of support for the trail, and provide a base from which to evaluate the impact of the trail on surrounding towns, villages, cities, and counties.

Partners