Part of trail that connects NYC to Canada opens

PATTERSONVILLE, N.Y. – A new 5-mile (8 kilometre) section of a trail that will eventually span from New York City to Canada has opened in the Mohawk Valley.

A ribbon cutting was held Wednesday at the Patterson Trailhead to mark the opening of the $1.75 million trail section between Amsterdam and Pattersonville.

The new section along the Mohawk River’s south bank fills a gap in the Canalway Trail and is part of the 750-mile (1207-kilometre) Empire State Trail, which will run from Buffalo to Albany in addition to connecting New York City to Canada.

The 10-foot-wide (3-meter) trail follows the path of a former railroad line about 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Albany. Before it was completed, trail users had to traverse the 5-mile gap by travelling on the shoulder of state Route 5S, a busy, high-speed roadway.