To our fellow New York State Horse Council members, welcome.
As an NYSHC member, you are now also part of the Rochester Trail Riders community. This concurrent membership connects statewide advocacy with a rider-focused trail network designed to support how you actually use the trails.
NYSHC and Rochester Trail Riders serve different but complementary roles. NYSHC focuses on representation, education, and protecting equestrian access across New York State. Rochester Trail Riders focuses on sharing trail information, connecting riders, and documenting trail use through rider-submitted data and discussion.
Together, this partnership gives members both a strong statewide voice and practical tools for everyday riding. It brings advocacy and trail use into the same space—making it easier for riders to stay informed, connected, and engaged.
We’re glad to have you here and look forward to building a stronger trail community together.
Challenges
The Challenges section of the Rochester Trail Riders website is built around encouraging exploration, documentation, and responsible trail use. These challenges are open to riders, hikers, and cyclists and are designed to help participants discover new trail systems while contributing useful information back to the community.
Rochester Trail Riders currently offers several Trail Master challenges:
The Greenway Trail Master challenge focuses on riding and traveling New York’s rail-to-trail greenways. Participants explore connected trail systems, share experiences, and contribute trail knowledge that helps others plan future outings.
The County Parks Trail Master challenge encourages exploration of horse-friendly county parks in Erie County, Genesee County, and Monroe County. Riders work toward recognition while helping document access, conditions, and usability across these park systems.
The State Parks Trail Master challenge covers a wide range of state parks and federal forest lands throughout the Western New York and Finger Lakes regions. This challenge emphasizes responsible trail use, community participation, and mentoring newer riders as they explore public lands.
An Ultimate Trail Master challenge is also in development and will bring together multiple trail systems into a single, advanced challenge focused on broad trail knowledge, stewardship, and long-term commitment to trail access.
Each challenge is optional and self-paced, offering a structured way to explore new places while supporting trail awareness and preservation. Participation helps grow shared knowledge and strengthens the overall trail community.
Member Area
The Member Area is the core of Rochester Trail Riders and where most of the community interaction takes place. This space is designed to help riders connect, share information, and contribute to a growing knowledge base focused on trail access and use.
Members have access to community forums where they can find trail buddies, ask questions, share experiences, and post trail-related classifieds. These forums are intended to be practical, supportive, and rider-driven.
The Member Area also includes access to GPX trail data. Members can upload GPS trail routes, review trails submitted by others, and leave comments with helpful details such as parking locations, footing conditions, seasonal considerations, and access notes. This shared documentation helps riders plan ahead and supports responsible trail use.
For New York State Horse Council members, the Member Area includes additional NYSHC-specific access. This includes the ability to submit content ideas for NYSHC newsletters and to submit questions, concerns, or topic suggestions for the biannual New York State Trail Committee meetings. These features provide a direct way for rider experiences to help inform broader trail discussions.
Together, these tools make the Member Area a central place where community knowledge, trail use, and advocacy come together.
Trail Maps
The Trail Maps section is a growing resource designed to help riders find and plan rides on horse-friendly trails across New York State, with a primary focus on the Western New York and Finger Lakes regions.
This section brings together official trail maps, parking locations, and GPS information for a wide range of trail systems, including state parks, state forests, county parks, wildlife management areas, and rail-to-trail greenways. Where available, links are provided to official park pages alongside rider-focused trail maps and trailer parking GPS coordinates.
Rather than replacing official sources, the Trail Maps section works alongside them—making it easier to see where horseback riding is permitted and how different trail systems are laid out. As documentation improves and new information is submitted, additional trails are added each year.
In addition to individual trail pages, the site also includes a Google Map view that provides a broader, overhead look at horse-friendly trail locations. This allows riders to visualize trail distribution across regions and identify new areas to explore.
The Trail Maps section reflects an ongoing effort to organize trail information in one place, making it easier for riders to plan outings, discover new locations, and ride with confidence.
News, Podcast, SWAG, and Contact
Beyond trail tools and member resources, the Rochester Trail Riders website also serves as a central place for updates, stories, and communication.
The News section features Rochester Trail Riders articles, announcements, and community updates, including new trail documentation, challenge information, and site updates.
The Podcast shares RTR news, interviews, and trail-focused conversations. Episodes include rider experiences, guest interviews, and trail discussions, and are available anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Rochester Trail Riders is maintained out of a love for horses and trail access. The site does not generate income, accept donations, or solicit funding. For those who would like to show their support and help spread the word, a small selection of RTR SWAG is available. Participation is completely optional.
Finally, the Contact section is available for questions, support, or general inquiries—whether you need help navigating the site or aren’t sure where to start.
Getting the Most Out of Your Membership
If you’re currently an RTR-only member, this is a good time to consider joining the New York State Horse Council to get the most value out of your involvement.
NYSHC membership expands what you can access through Rochester Trail Riders, including NYSHC-specific submission options within the Member Area and a more direct connection to statewide trail advocacy efforts. It’s a way to pair everyday trail use with broader representation and long-term access protection.
NYSHC membership can also include equine-related liability insurance, which is an important benefit for many riders. This coverage is designed to support horse owners and equestrians participating in horse-related activities and is one of the practical advantages of NYSHC membership beyond advocacy alone.
Together, the two memberships work best as a pair—RTR supporting day-to-day trail use and community connection, and NYSHC providing advocacy, representation, and insurance benefits at the state level.
For riders looking to get the most bang for their buck, combining RTR and NYSHC membership brings both practical tools and long-term protection into one place.
Well, that’s a wrap. As always, respect the trail, wear a helmet, join the New York State Horse Council, and volunteer when needed. Happy trails.
I know this is short notice but I just found out. Erie County Parks and Forests is hosting a planning meeting for parks and trails under their care. If you want your 2 cents in about how to improve horse accessibility in their plans please attend!
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