The Finger Lakes Trail at Letchworth State Park is open from June 1 to October 31 (unless unusually dry conditions are present). The FLT is also not open to bikes after heavy rains and other wet periods. For example is has been closed early summer 2002 due to continuing wet conditions.

There are basically two distinct riding opportunities at Letchworth: The West side Trails and the Finger Lakes Trail (on the east side). .

West Side Trails

These are the trails in the developed area of the park. Most visitors go to the west side, which is more developed, and has some great views of the falls. However, there are also some great, though shorter and not as technical, trails. Because this area is more crowded, some of the trails are closed to bikes due to congestion. Most importantly, Trail #1, which runs along the west side of the gorge is closed to bikes. Not only is this trail usually clogged with tourists, but it is also a safety hazard to have bikes zooming along right next to a 600 foot drop off, no matter how good a rider you are. The open trails on this side of the gorge are 2, 2A, and 3. This is basically all the great trails accessible behind the Trailside lodge, the council grounds, or the little parking lot next to the train bridge. Trails 11 and 13 in the central portion of the west side are also open to bikes.

Finger Lakes Trail

As you probably know, riding is in general not allowed on the FLT. Many state forest sections are closed to bikes, but more importantly on private land riders are subject to criminal trespass arrest. We (RBC and WNYMBA) worked for years to get this section of trail open, and it finally opened for a pilot program in August 1997 for two years. If we can make this program work, then this opening will continue. By making it work, I mean that we have to make sure the trails stays in good shape or improves during this time. This means lots of trail maintenance, and strong encouragement of responsible riding. This means

- Don't ride when it's wet
- Don't skid, especially not at the creek crossings
- Slow down for hikers

The FLT in Letchworth is truly one of the WNY classic MTB rides. It is a 22 mile, mostly singletrack trail with endless physical and technical challenges, bringing you into some incredibly beautiful land. Although the trail is 22 miles long, most people access it from the Hogs Back Trailhead near Mt. Morris, on the way to the dam. This is a fine trailhead, but that section of trail gets the most use, and also has some wetter soils, so consider checking out some of the other trailheads as well. There are plenty along River Road which parallels the entire length of the park. Towards the south end, the trail merges with an old dirt road for a while, and then joins the Genesee Greenway, which is the route of the old canal and railway that used to hug the walls of the gorge. This was shutdown because of constant landslides onto the railroad, which continue to this day. Be careful going through the slide area (you'll know it when you see it).

The trail ends at the road just across the bridge from the Village of Portageville. By all means, do not continue any farther on the FLT. The FLTC use spills out onto the private property sections of the FLT south of the park, then our permission to ride in the park is going to get yanked (not to mention that you could get arrested for trespassing!)