NEW YORK STATE TRAVELERS FIND A TRAIL FOR ALL SEASONS AND REASONS

NEW YORK STATE TRAVELERS FIND A TRAIL FOR ALL SEASONS AND REASONS

January 8, 2008 New York – If Henry Hudson had as many easy trails to follow as travelers to New York State (www.iloveny.com) do today, he likely would have spent much more of his time enjoying arts, culture and bird watching than roughing it along the Hudson River. While everyone seems to have a wine trail these days (including New York!), The Empire State also takes travelers off the beaten path with a trail for any season or reason including:

  Buffalo Audubon Eco-Tourism Trail East

Buffalo Audubon’s 324-acre preserve features eight miles of marked trails, forest, field and wetland habitats that eco-tourists can explore and help preserve.  The Eco-Tourism Trail consists of Beaver Meadow Audubon Center; Letchworth State Park; William B. Hoyt II Visitors Center and Mt. Morris Dam Recreation Area; Genesee County Park and Forest Interpretive Center; Bergen Swamp and the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.  For more information visit www.buffaloaudubon.com.

Finger Lakes Restaurant Trail
In an effort to highlight the culinary and agricultural bounty of the Finger Lakes Region, tourism executives and food producers in Ontario, Wayne and Livingston Counties, the Canandaigua Wine Trail and the New York Wine & Culinary Center have joined forces to create a trail of award-winning chef’s creations. Trailblazers can collect one “chef sticker” from each of the restaurants.  A collection of four stickers enters guests to win a dinner for two at one of the participating restaurants.  Restaurants on the trail include Brown Hound Bistro; Geneva on the Lake; Big Tree Inn; Pultneyville Grill; Warfield’s Restaurant; The Vines at The Naples Hotel; The Yard of Ale; and the Taste of New York Lounge at the New York Wine & Culinary Center, Canandaigua.  For more information, call 877-386-4669 or visit www.slicediceandspiceny.com.

Hudson River School Art Trail
The Hudson River School Art Trail is a three-mile historic theme trail, part of a larger network of seven sites linking the home of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School, with painting sites that inspired the work of many artists in the nineteenth century. Today, Thomas Cole's home is a National Historic Landmark and provides the orientation for exploration of the Hudson River School Art Trail.  For more information call 518 943-7465 or visit www.thomascole.org.

   In Touch with the Animals Trail

This trail allows travelers to get up close and personal with the wildlife of Ontario County. From grazing with alpacas in Canandaigua or Bloomfield and feeding koi at Willow Pond Aqua Farms to spotting owls, beaver and porcupine in Naples and bird watching at Hi Tor Wildlife Management Area, visitors will reconnect with the animal kingdom of New York State.  For more information, visit www.fingerlakestrails.com. 

Ithaca Discovery Trail
The Discovery Trail Partnership is a group of educational organizations based in Ithaca, NY. The only organization of its kind, the Discovery Trail promotes awareness and understanding of the connections among art, history, literature, science, and the natural world.  The trail consists of the Cayuga Nature Center; The Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Cornell Plantations; The History Center; The Johnson Museum of Art; Museum of the Earth; Sciencenter; and Tompkins County Public Library all of which are an easy drive from downtown Ithaca, Cornell University, Ithaca College, Cayuga Lake and other Finger Lakes attractions.  For more information visit http://www.discoverytrail.net/.

   Mural Mania!

An innovative mural trail featuring the Erie Canal as well as several canal villages has come to life in Wayne, Cayuga and Onondaga Counties. The trail, which runs from Newark, NY to Jordan, NY, features historical artistic murals on buildings and canal abutments. There are nearly a dozen murals already painted and more in the works.  For more information, visit www.iloveny.com or www.muralmania.org.

New York State Canal-way Trail System
The New York State Canal-way Trail System is a network of more than 260 miles of existing multi-use, recreational trails across upstate New York. Major segments are adjacent to the waterways of today’s working New York State Canal System or follow remnants of the historic original canals of the early 1800s.

The Canal-way Trail System encompasses four major segments including the 100-mile Erie Canal Heritage Trail in Western New York, the 36-mile Old Erie Canal State Park Trail in Central New York, the 60-mile Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway in the eastern Capital Region, and the eight-mile Glens Falls Feeder Canal Trail in the foothills of the Adirondacks near Lake George.  For more information on the New York State Canalway Trail system, visit www.iloveny.com.

   Seaway Trail

A scenic byway along the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, and Lake Erie, and designated as one of America’s Byways for great American road trips, the Seaway Trail stretches over 504 miles – 454 of them in New York State.  The fish-rich tributaries – the Salmon River, Black River, and Oak orchard Creek make for world-class freshwater Sport fishing.  The Seaway Trail Discovery Center is a historic limestone building in Sackets Harbor, NY which houses interactive exhibits on the War of 1812, lighthouses, agriculture, architecture natural history and recreation.  For more information, call 1-800-Seaway-t or visit www.seawaytrail.com. 

About New York State

New York State features 11 beautiful vacation regions.  New York’s attractions span from landmarks such as Niagara Falls, to the wine trails of Hudson Valley and treasures like the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  Whether it’s wide-ranging outdoor activities for the whole family like fishing, hiking and boating, culinary wonders and farm-to-table fresh foods, or the rich history and culture of one of the 13 original colonies, New York State offers diverse activities for all travelers.  For more information visit www.iloveny.com.  

# # #