Reports
From landmark reports to monthly eNewsletters, Parks & Trails New York strives to keep our members and supporters—and decision makers—informed and galvanized. Use the drop down menus below to search by category.
Most of our publications are downloadable or available for free. However, we do request a small postage and handling fee for mailing hard copies.
Advocating for Parks
Economic Benefits of NYS Park System
As parks visitation across New York State continues to grow, local economic impact follows suit. In 2021, the yearly GDP of New York State Parks rivaled that of the state's agricultural sector. State parks create jobs throughout New York and increase state GDP as a result of spending by park visitors and by the state government on park operations and capital improvements. Parks also contribute to increased property values, improved health outcomes and social capital, and cleaner air and healthier environments.
Best Practices for State Park & Historic Site Friends Groups
Friends organizations have been supporting New York’s state parks and historic sites for nearly a century. The first Friends group in New York State was the Old Fort Niagara Association, founded in 1927, to provide historic interpretation and preserve the artifact collection of the Fort. Today, there are 76 State Parks and Historic Site Friends groups across the state providing critical support and programs to our state parks system.
Friends by the Numbers: Friends of NYS Parks and Historic Sites Survey Results
Non-profit Friends organizations have been supporting New York's state parks and historic sites for nearly a century. Today, 76 State Parks and Historic Site Friends groups across New York State provide critical support and programs to our state park system. This report compares the data Parks & Trails New York collected from groups in 2015 and most recently in 2018. This report makes evident just how great of an impact the Friends groups have on New York's state park system.
You Gotta Have Friends: A Snapshot of NYS Parks & Historic Site Friends Groups in 2016
Friends groups often accomplish Herculean tasks on shoestring budgets. This report summarizes the results of a census of the non-profit Friends organizations that support New York’s state parks and historic sites and demonstrates that these grassroots groups are poised to make an even greater contribution to the renaissance of the New York State park system.
The New York State Park System: An Economic Asset to the Empire State
The New York State Park System makes a valuable contribution to the quality of life in New York State. This report documents another contribution of the State Park System – its impact on the state and regional economies.
Parks at a Turning Point
New York’s state parks are its crown jewels – from the seascape at Montauk to the thunder of Niagara, from the forests of Allegany to the explorer’s paradise of the Thousand Islands, from the panorama of High Tor to the cascade of Chittenango. Now, more than ever, these are gems worth caring for.
Protect Their Future: New York State Parks in Crisis
New York’s 178 state parks and 35 historic sites are a priceless asset. Each year some 57 million visitors come to these places seeking recreation, exercise, cultural enrichment, access to nature, and affordable vacations. Across the state, parks are refuges for people and nature.
No Turning Back: The Campaign to Restore and Enhance our Parks
New York State’s system of state parks is an unmatched legacy—an asset that offers endless opportunities for outdoor recreation and that preserves priceless landscapes and ecosystems for future generations. But it’s a system that needs help.
Using and Enjoying Trails
Cycling the Erie Canal
An indispensable resource for dedicated cyclists planning to bike across the state or the casual rider looking to take the family out for a couple of hours. Great for walkers, hikers, inline skaters, boaters and auto travelers, too.
Cycle the Hudson and Champlain Valleys
An indispensable resource for dedicated cyclists planning to bike the Hudson Valley, on-road riders looking to explore the Adirondack Coast, or for casual riders who want to bike to a scenic destination.
Visit Trail Finder Map
New York has more than 1,200 miles of multi-use trails where you can bike, walk, run, cross-country ski, and sometimes ride horses. Whether you're looking fora new trail to explore or want a map of one of your favorite trails, TrailFinder will give you the trail and trip panning information you need to get outside and moving. TrailFinder offers a one-stop interactive gateway to 110 greenways, rail trails, canal trails, bikeways, and riverwalks located in every region of the state.
Ten Terrific Trails in New York
At the turn of the century, locomotive transportation was the lifeblood of a thriving and expanding America, with almost 300,000 miles of tracks linking all corners of the United States. With the advent of the automobile and air travel, the economic viability of the once-mighty iron horse plummeted, leaving thousands of miles of abandoned rail lines. These lines are now being resurrected as trails.
Trails, Resurrected - 19th Century Corridors Find New Life as 21st Century Trails
In the mid 1800s, when waterways were the most practical and popular form of transportation, business tycoons such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie pioneered a revolutionary form of commerce and travel—the railroad. By the turn of the century, the locomotive had surpassed the boat as America’s major mode of transportation. The railroad was the backbone of a thriving and expanding America, with almost 300,000 miles of tracks linking all corners of the United States. The New York Central System was easily the largest railroad in the country, with 10,000 miles of rail crisscrossing the Empire State.
Canalway Trail System
Who's on the Trail 2022: Canalway Trail
The 2022 Who’s on the Trail report marks the 18th annual trail count conducted by Parks & Trails New York for the New York State Canal Corporation in an effort to develop a comprehensive profile of trail usage across the Canalway Trail system. This year's analysis also includes an estimate of total visits along the length of the Erie and Champlain Canalway Trails - a whopping 3.55 million trips!
PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF WHO'S ON THE TRAIL
PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF WHO'S ON THE TRAIL: CANALWAY TRAIL USER COUNTS
Bicyclists Bring Business Workshop Report: Glens Falls 2019
Parks & Trails New York and the New York State Canal Corporation brought Bicyclists Bring Business to Glens Falls in 2019, with an evening program at the Queesbury Hotel and a community bike-a-round along the Warren County Bikeway and Feeder Canal. Glens Falls’ rich history and setting as gateway to the Adirondacks provides cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts with a unique experience along the state’s Canalway Trail system. The diverse businesses and amenities in the area continue to fuel the local tourism economy and truly enrich the experience for cyclists.
EARLIER VERSIONS OF BICYCLISTS BRING BUSINESS WORKSHOPS:
Champlain Canalway Trail Action Plan
This action plan represents the vision of the Champlain Canalway Trail Working Group, which seeks to establish the Champlain Canalway Trail, a continuous public multi-use trail from Waterford to Whitehall. The Action Plan is designed to unify the region's outstanding historic, cultural, natural and recreational assets and establish a world-class destination for residents and visitors.
CHAMPLAIN CANALWAY TRAIL ACTION PLAN - TRAIL PROFILES
Profiles were developed for each of the individual municipalities in the trail corridor. Each Trail Profile consists of a description of the trail and how the Empire State Trail interfaces with the Champlain Canalway Trail in that community. A short inventory of water access points, public facilities and events, and locations for important trail connectors are also provided. An implementation strategy outlines the general next steps for trail areas ready to move forward.
The Trail Profiles that have trail sections along the Champlain Canalway Trail include
- Town and Village of Waterford
- Town of Halfmoon
- City of Mechanicville
- Town and Village of Stillwater
- Town of Saratoga, Village of Victory, Village of Schuylerville and Town of Northumberland
- Town of Greenwich
- Town and Village of Fort Edward
- Town of Kingsbury
- Town and Village of Fort Ann
- Town and Village of Whitehall
EARLIER CHAMPLAIN CANALWAY TRAIL PUBLICATIONS:
The Economic Impact of the Erie Canalway Trail - An Assessment and User Profile of New York's Longest Multi-Use Trail
When constructed in 1825 between Buffalo and Albany, the Erie Canal cost less than $7 million and created thousands of jobs. Nearly two centuries later, the canal still plays a significant role in the economy and way of life of Upstate New York. Not only does it serve as a commercial and recreational waterway but much of the towpath of the legendary canal has been transformed into the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail (ECT).
Bicyclists Bring Business: A Guide for Attracting Bicyclists to New York’s Canal Communities
New York’s trail network has witnessed tremendous growth over the past 20 years, underscored by the completion of the Empire State Trail. The growth in outdoor recreation opportunities across the State has resulted in a resurgence of outdoor enthusiasts; notably, long-distance cyclists. Bicyclists Bring Business provides communities with a better understanding of how they can attract and retain bicycle tourists by providing the services, amenities, and accommodations that bicycle tourists seek— safe, off-road cycling between historic communities, scenic landscapes, interesting attractions, and plentiful services.
Closing the Gaps: A Progress Report on the Erie Canalway Trail 2015
Extending 360 miles across New York, the Erie Canalway Trail brings important economic, public health, tourism, and quality of life benefits to more than 3.7 million New Yorkers living within the 14 counties where the trail is located. With 285 miles open to the public, the Erie Canalway Trail is 79% complete and on its way to becoming the longest, continuous intrastate multi-use trail in the nation as well as a world-class destination for cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts. However, the Canalway Trail can neither realize its full potential as an internationally known tourism destination nor offer maximum economic and quality of life benefits to the more than 200 communities along its length until it is finished from Buffalo to Albany as a continuous off-road trail.
EARLIER VERSIONS OF CLOSE THE GAPS REPORT:
End to End Report
The Erie Canalway Trail End-to-End Recognition Program honors individuals who complete, on foot or by bicycle, the entire 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail. Since Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) and the New York State Canal Corporation launched the program in 2012, 2,383 people have registered as End-to-Enders. In 2015 alone 589 people completed the trail, including three who walked its entire length.
EARLIER VERSIONS OF END TO END REPORT
Clyde-Seneca River Study
The cross-state Erie Canalway Trail currently ends in Cohoes, with no definable terminus. The purpose of this study is to provide a recommended route for linking the Erie Canalway Trail to Waterford, the Eastern Gateway of the New York State Canal System. At this location, the Erie Canal and Mohawk River meet the Champlain Canal and Hudson River. There is a Canal Harbor facility in Waterford, with restrooms, showers and a primitive camping site. In addition, there are restaurants and other services in Waterford that are of use to bicyclists and hikers. It is a logical eastern endpoint for the Erie Canalway Trail.
Cohoes-Waterford Connection Study
The cross-state Erie Canalway Trail currently ends in Cohoes, with no definable terminus. The purpose of this study is to provide a recommended route for linking the Erie Canalway Trail to Waterford, the Eastern Gateway of the New York State Canal System. At this location, the Erie Canal and Mohawk River meet the Champlain Canal and Hudson River. There is a Canal Harbor facility in Waterford, with restrooms, showers and a primitive camping site. In addition, there are restaurants and other services in Waterford that are of use to bicyclists and hikers. It is a logical eastern endpoint for the Erie Canalway Trail.
CANALWAY TRAIL ASSESSMENT REPORTS - 1998
Mohawk-Hudson Bike Hike Trail- Recommendations for On-Road Segment
On December 16, 2004 the above group reviewed the conditions of the Mohawk-Hudson BikeHike Trail along Island View Road. At this location, the trail diverts from its primary off-road right of way along a former railroad bed onto a shared road facility along Island View and Dunsbach Ferry Roads. Though the primary focus of the group was on the conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians along the Island View Road portion of the shared road, it also considered issues of the larger corridor.
New York State's Erie Canalway Trail - American Trails
Imagine stepping out your door and finding a convenient and comfortable pathway that leads to your workplace, community library, local school, or favorite shopping area. Imagine hopping on your bicycle and following a traffic-free route to a park or restaurant you’ve heard about in the next town over.
Developing and Promoting Trails
Trails Across New York: A Grassroots Guide to Developing Greenway Trails
This guide walks advocates and trail planners through the steps needed to see a greenway trail to completion. The first section outlines the necessary steps to get a project started: from identifying the corridor to cultivating a vision that will help inspire engagement and public support, eventually leading to buy-in from state and/or local government. The second section walks through the trail planning and development process, including conducting a feasibility study for a trail, securing the corridor through purchase or easements, identifying grant funding opportunities, and finally getting the project designed, permitted and built. Finally, the guide provides guidance for maximizing the ongoing visitation and value of local trails once they are built.
Getting Started: A Guide to Planning Trails in New York State
Imagine going out your front door and within a few minutes being on a trail that leads through your community. You pass shops and restaurants on your way to work, school, or a local park. By taking a turn and going farther, you might follow the trail into the countryside, or link with another trail that extends along a river to the next town, or into the mountains - or all the way across the state.
Getting Involved: A Community Trail Handbook for Landowners
We invite you to join us in the exciting efforts now underway to establish a system of recreational trails in the Hudson River Valley for the enjoyment of your family, friends, and neighbors. As a private landowner, your support is critical to the success of hundreds of state and community trail initiatives throughout New York. Trails in the Hudson Valley already provide world-class recreational opportunities for our residents and an inspiring experience for tourists. With your help it can be even better.
Road & Trail Intersection Study
Fueled by funding from federal transportation enhancements programs and growing public demand, new trails are opened each year. With the exception of trails that are fully contained within a park or other facility, most trails will inevitably cross over or intersect in some manner with roadways. As the number of trails increases and more and more persons of all ages and abilities become trail users, the opportunities for exposure to the risks associated with road and trail intersections will continue to grow. The number of reported road and trail intersection crashes may now be low, or under reported, but with increasing trail traffic volume this situation will inevitably change, with possibly very disastrous consequences.
Getting on Track: Working with Railroads to Build Trails in New York State
New York’s 178 state parks and 35 historic sites are a priceless asset. Each year some 57 million visitors come to these places seeking recreation, exercise, cultural enrichment, access to nature, and affordable vacations. Across the state, parks are refuges for people and nature.
Greenways and Trails Bring New Economic Vitality to New York's Communities - Helps Make the Economic Case for Greenways and Trails
The Empire State is blessed with beauty, rich in history, and proud of the range and diversity of its cultural attractions. Its quality of life is second to none, and it’s a natural draw for tourists. But that doesn’t mean that those of us in the business community can take these assets for granted. It’s up to us to ensure that the quality of experience people have in New York is the best it can be — good enough to keep them coming back for more.