What It’s Like To Ride Rail Bikes in the Adirondacks

The Rail Explorers have an experience that's unique to anything else in the United States, riding rail bikes. The two or four seat bikes are pedaled over a section of railroad.

The rail bikes were brand new to the park in 2015. Rail bikes are becoming more common in parts of Europe and South Korea, but this is the first time they have been on American tracks.

What's It Like to Ride Railbikes?

In New York's Adirondack Park, the bikes run between Lake Clear Junction and Saranac Lake, a distance of 6 miles. The trip takes just over an hour (which flies by). The pedaling can be strenuous during the uphill portions of the journey. That climb is rewarded by gliding downhill in several other sections.

The course crosses 4 streets, including busy New York Route 86, Broadway, in Saranac Lake. While there are no crossbars at the intersection, Rail Explorer employees block the traffic as the group of rail bikes pass.

The video below gives you a glimpse of what it's like first-hand to ride the rails.

BONUS VIDEO - The Legend of the Ghost of Starr Hill

In the foothills of the Adirondacks lie the town of Remsen and Steuben. They are steeped in history and legend. The explorers of the Haunts and Legends of NY crew set out to find out about two of the most enduring, the Witch Doctor of Steuben and the ghost of Starr Hill.