Three of the 11 Adirondack North Country Scenic Byway routes traverse Hamilton County: the Adirondack, Central Adirondack, and Roosevelt-Marcy Memorial Highway, providing many promotional opportunities related to bicycling.

The Moose River Plains area is one of the more valuable bicycling resources in the region. Photographs of the area have appeared in national bicycling magazines.

A recently established bicycle shop in Inlet is providing service and information to tourers and mountain bike users in the Moose River Plains area.

Neighboring Herkimer County produced a mountain bike map in 1994 that features many trails in western Hamilton County.

The county offers a great diversity of bicycling, including a number of gravel and dirt roads, providing the opportunity to experience the wilderness areas along quiet back roads.

The three Scenic Byway routes in the county provide a solid basis for a county-wide bicycle trail system.

Aside from Inlet, Indian Lake is the only other community with bicycle shops, however the Indian Lake shops do not appear to offer repair service. Opportunity exists for full service bicycle shops in other Hamilton County communities.

Opportunity lies with cooperative bicycle planning and promotion efforts. Many of the best touring loops include portions of adjacent counties, so are best promoted as cooperative efforts. Inter-county bicycle maps (e.g., with Herkimer and Essex Counties) may be more appropriate than a bicycle map devoted solely to Hamilton County.

There could be bicycle projects in the county eligible for the ISTEA Enhancements Program. There appear to have been no Hamilton County projects in either of the first two ISTEA funding rounds.

Lack of a current county-wide bicycle route map and limited promotion of bicycling in the county.

The Central Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway route traverses the northern portion of Herkimer County, while the Revolutionary Trail passes through the southern portion.

The Old Forge area of Herkimer County produced a mountain bike map in 1994 that features many mountain biking opportunities. Tie-ins to bicycle touring occur with people bicycling to where the trails begin, and when visitors ride the trails one day, then tour the back roads the next.

McCauley Mountain Ski Center is hosting mountain biking events. Events attract bicyclists to an area and often lead to return trips.

The county offers a great diversity of bicycling, including a number of gravel and dirt roads, providing bicyclists the opportunity to experience the wilderness areas along quiet back roads. Examples include the ride to Big Moose, and from Eagle Bay to Raquette Lake.

Many state highway routes are being designated as bicycle routes in southern Herkimer County.

Route 5 is a New York State designated shared roadway facility. Completed in June 1994, Bike Route 5 connects Albany to Niagara Falls. The 365 mile bicycle route has special signage and a painted stripe separating the bicycle lane from the motor vehicle travel lanes.

The City of Little Falls has developed an ISTEA proposal for the Transportation Enhancements Program.

Herkimer County is in the Herkimer-Oneida Counties Transportation planning area. A draft bicycle and pedestrian plan was circulating by September 1994. This planning effort is one of only two occurring in the region, the other being in the Capital area, including Warren, Washington, and Saratoga Counties.

The two Scenic Byway routes in the county provide a solid basis for a county-wide bicycle trail system.

The strong promotion of snowmobiling in the county has resulted in a broad snowmoblile trail system. There appear to be opportunities for promoting many of the same trails for mountain biking in the summer.

Bordering as it does on seven different counties, there appears to be significant opportunity in cooperative bicycle planning and promotion with neighboring counties. Many of the best touring and mountain biking loops in Herkimer County seem include portions of adjacent counties, so will best be promoted as cooperative efforts. Including French translations on bicycle materials would create additional tourism opportunity.

The ISTEA Enhancements Program could provide opportunity to organizations and governments in Herkimer County. There appears to have been one Herkimer County project in the first two ISTEA funding rounds.

Two of the 11 regional Scenic Byway routes traverse Jefferson County: the Seaway Trail and the Olympic Trail, providing promotional opportunities related to bicycling.

Two major bicycle trail systems are recognized in Jefferson County: the Tour de Tug Bicycle Touring Route, and the Tug Hill Tourathon Cross-Country Ski and Mountain Bike Trail System.

The Jefferson County coastline is a tremendous bicycling asset. The small towns, scenery, and views of water offer just what the cyclist is looking for.

The Seaway Trail bicycle route has been promoting bicycling for many years and is one of the region's most valuable bicycling asset.

The shared international border with Canada, combined with the water-based border crossings makes the area very appealing to bicyclists.

The Tug Hill Commission and the St. Lawrence-Eastern Ontario Commission (SLEOC), based in Watertown, as well as the Jefferson County Department of Planning have planning capabilities that could be applied to bicycling in the county.

Sackets Harbor is an Urban Cultural Park, and proposals for making Sackets Harbor more bicycle friendly are being developed by SLEOC.

Significant bicycling events occur in Jefferson County, including the Tour de Tug and South Jefferson Heart Ride.

The recently completed (9/94) 1000 Islands Recreation Area map features the Canadian border near the middle of the map, rather than at the edge. This gives an international flavor to the area, and allows for route planning that includes both sides of the border.

The two Scenic Byway routes in the county provide a solid basis for a county-wide bicycle trail system.

Improvements to bicycling in the Watertown area would link the city to the tremendous bicycle opportunities offered by the Seaway Trail and the numerous routes linking the county to St. Lawrence, Lewis, and Oswego counties. The main obstacle to expanding and promoting bicycling in Jefferson County is the difficulty of bicycling into and around Watertown.

The proposed Seaway Trail interpretive center for Sackets Harbor would be a popular bicycling destination.

A bicycle information center is being discussed for the Henderson Harbor area, on a cliff overlooking Lake Ontario, and would be a valuable bicycle facility.

A recent 1,000 acre NYSDEC purchase in the Henderson Harbor area currently features a trail system that may have bicycling potential.

The Thousands Islands Land Trust is in the process of developing a rails-to-trails project from Clayton to Philadelphia. This will be an excellent tie-in the Seaway Trail, and could potentially provide links to Watertown and Ogdensburg, and to other bicycle routes in Jefferson, St. Lawrence County, and Lewis Counties.

The 1000 Islands Park Commission, NYSPRHP, NYSDEC, and Niagara Mohawk are cooperating on a 5 mile rails-to-trails project from Black River to the Watertown municipal boundary. This very scenic route along the Black River will provide access to the river. Possible extensions include linking to the very popular Calcium Recreation trail, and tie ins to Watertown bicycle routes.

The nine as yet unfunded ISTEA Enhancements applications indicate the strong interest in bicycle facilities in the county, and point to some of the bicycle projects of interest:

The Western Edge Recreation Association of Jefferson and Northern Oswego County brings together snowmobilers and dog sleders, as well as cross country skiers, horseback riders, business owners, regional organizations and others for recreation planning. This group is definitely willing to participate in cooperative efforts with bicycling.

The bicycle shops in the county are primarily in the Watertown area. There may be bicycle shop business opportunities in the northern and southern portions of the county.

Opportunity lies in additional bicycling ventures with Ontario bicycle promotion efforts, especially in the development of an international bicycling map.

Two of the 11 regional Scenic Byway routes traverse Lewis County: the Black River Trail and the Olympic Trail.

A major bicycle trail system is recognized in Lewis County: the Tour de Tug Bicycle Touring Route.

A county-wide bicycle mapping effort is well underway in 1994 and a bicycle map/brochure should be available in the spring of 1995.

As part of the mapping effort, communication and cooperation in bicycle planning have developed among the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, local bicycle clubs, NYSDEC, and the Tug Hill Commission.

Lewis County has a number of dedicated mountain bicycling areas that have appeal to the full range of bicycle experience levels, including the Independence Wild Forest trails, Watson East Triangle, Carpenter Road-NYSDEC trail, and Rodman-Barnes Corners cross-county ski trails. In addition, private ski areas in the county are actively promoting bicycling, including Tug Hill - Osceola cross country ski center, Snow Ridge, and others. Of particular interest to mountain bikers is that the Watson East Triangle area has flat rock mountain biking, a popular type of riding experience. These types of mountain biking opportunities draw bicyclists to the area and bring attention to the county's bicycle touring routes as well.

Significant bicycling events occur in Lewis County, including the Tour de Tug and the Fall Foliage Ride, based out of the Osceola X-C Ski Center.

The two Scenic Byway routes in the county provide a solid basis for a county-wide bicycle trail system.

Opportunity lies in promoting bicycling in Lewis County in Ontario and St. Lawrence-area bicycle promotion efforts.

The Central Adirondack, Black River, and Revolutionary Scenic Byway routes all pass through Oneida County.

A major bicycle trail system is recognized in Oneida County: the Tour de Tug Bicycle Touring Route.

Bike route 5 is a New York State designated shared roadway facility. Completed in June 1994, Bike Route 5 connects Albany to Niagara Falls. The 365 mile bicycle route has special signage and a painted stripe separating the bicycle lane from the motor vehicle travel lanes.

Oneida County is in the Herkimer-Oneida Counties Transportation planning area. A draft bicycle and pedestrian plan was circulating by September 1994. This planning effort is one of only two occurring in the region, the other being in the Capital area, including Warren, Washington, and Saratoga Counties.

Oneida County organizations have been very active in pursuing ISTEA funds, and have been successful in their efforts. Funded projects to date include:

The three Scenic Byway routes in the county provide a solid basis for a county-wide bicycle trail system.

The ISTEA applications submitted, but not yet funded, indicate future bicycle opportunities:

Opportunity lies in establishment of the Remsen - Lake Placid recreation corridor. This would provide bicycle opportunities in the northern part of the county, providing links with back roads in the Oneida and Herkimer County areas.

Opportunity also lies in creating bicycle loops off Bike Route 5.

Many of the best touring and mountain biking loops include portions of adjacent counties, so are best promoted as cooperative efforts. The Boonville area is one example where bicycle promotion will only be as successful as the cooperative effort to promote it with Lewis County and Herkimer County.