It was in the high 80s but we still wanted to get out on the bikes while visiting the Finger Lakes in NY. We chose the Keuka Outlet Trail, a 7-mile multi-use trail that goes from Penn Yan on Keuka Lake to Dresden on Seneca Lake. We started in Penn Yan since it was closer, so we’d have the downhill first, although being a rail trail, it’s not particularly steep. There were only a couple of hills of note. The route follows the old Fall Brook Railroad line, which followed the Crooked Lake Canal towpath before that.
There are multiple old mill sites with waterfalls along the way, which we only stopped briefly to look at on the way out, since we figured we could spend more time at them on the way back.
Reaching the Dresden end of the trail, we sat at a picnic table for a snack and then turned around to head back. It was so hot but at least the trail was mostly in the shade.
The trail was usually gravel or dirt, although on the end closer to Penn Yan there was at least a mile of pavement as it goes through the town. We ran into few other trail users, just some walkers here and there and some boys jumping off one of the waterfalls, which we did not stay to watch.
When we were almost back to the parking lot at the baseball fields, we ran into a couple of little girls selling cold lemonade so we had to stop and support them. They were earning money to go to the fair, and we needed a cold drink after riding 14 miles in the heat. Win-win.
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