Albany, NY airport to and from LT... ideas?

[drastic]

I need help on how to get from Albany airport to LT trailhead in Williamstown, and then how to get back to Albany aiport from North Troy when finished on the LT e2e... Renting a car doesn't seem very practical at all since I'll be gone for a month LOL

How do most people get around up there when it's not foot-time?

[Hiker8261]

Greyhound supposedly serves the Albany Airport and Williamstown. The Greyhound website will not show schedules so I can't guess how easy it would be. I would suggest calling them. They do not serve anything North of Burlington, VT so you would have to get to Burlington if you want to return by bus.

chris

[XCskiNYC]

I can help you with the southern approach.

The easiest but possibly most expensive option is getting a shuttle. The AT Conference lists a couple of people that provide these in North Adams, MA:

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/atf/...%208-17-10.pdf


Alternately you could get the Amtrak Lakeshore Limited from Albany-Renssallaer (actually located in Renssallaer on the east bank of the Hudson) to Pittsfield, MA.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten.../1237405732505


Then get a Berkshire Public Transport bus from Pittsfield to North Adams. These buses do not run on Sunday.

http://www.berkshirerta.com/index.php



The best I can suggest for the Troy, VT end is the shuttle provider listed with the AT Conference. You might do well hitching in this area as the locals are probably not totally averse to picking up an individual with a backpack.

Good luck with the Long Trail.

x

[drastic]

Thanks man - the pdf was super helpful. And yeah, Amtrak's website is lame.

So like... what do most ppl do when they come off the end of the LT at North Troy... just keep on walking home? LOL There seems to be nothing there to help transport non-locals. Even stuff in Newport seems scarce after poking around. :shrug:

[Hiker8261]

When I did the LT in 87', I hitched to Newport and lucked out as the 2nd car took me the whole way. Back then, Vermont Transit still ran south on I-91 back to Hartford, CT where I got a ride 10 miles to home. Greyhound bought them out and shut down service to most of Northern VT.

You could hitch to Burlington and take the bus or pay for the ferry to NY then hitch south. Or try hitching south on Rt 7.
Consider a Southbound trip as the way back to Albany from MA is much easier.

Since you are flying, you probably will have a cut off date for the flight home. I would be sure to have the phone numbers of the airline (and/or online booking service) in case you need to change your plans.

When are you going?

chris

[Cosmo]

When are you starting? I might be able get you from the Albany airport to Williamstown depending on your timing. PM me if you want,

The Williams Inn might be able to pick you up (if you were planning to stay) if our schedules don't mesh. There is also Norms Limo (413-663-6284)--style, at a price. Trip from airport to trail head is less than an hour (off-peak).

Sorry I can't help with the northern end. GMC's End to End Guide might be helpful here.

Cosmo

[Jack Tarlin]

Is your flight to Albany locked in?

If not, try for Boston instead. Very easy to get a bus to either Pittsfield, Williamstown or North Adams. (There are several Trail angels who will teke you from Pittsfield to the trailhead in N. Adams for free or minimal charge).

As for the northern end, you either have to rely on luck, have a local friend, arrange a paid shuttle, or roadwalk a bit and hitch to civilization, i.e. towards Burlington. The northern end really is the middle of nowhere, so your options are limited. (This is one of the reasons that some people head SOUTH, i.e. they arrange their ride/shuttle to the northern end and get that out of the way at the outset, and then they head south, so that they don't finish up in nowheresville).

[drastic]

This is going to be in next Aug, so I have plenty of time to figure it out. Just trying to plan as best as possible right now.

Thanks for all the input

[XCskiNYC]

It's a good idea to approach from Boston or NYC. Your airfare will tend to be lower going into those major hubs.

I would only do Albany if you had a ride or a shuttle lined up. In that case it would make good sense since it's the closest good-sized airport.

Disregard my suggestion about Amtrak to Pittsfield. That only gives you about one hour from when the train arrives in Pittsfield and when the last northbound Berkshire Transit bus of the day leaves and the train in question, #48 is coming all the way from Chicago and is frequently two or more hours late. In fact, it's nicknamed Train Forty-Late.

The other downside to the train in Albany is that it'll be a big pain, probably a long and expensive taxi ride, to get from the airport to the train station in Renssalaer.

Check out the buses on Peter Pan Trailways.

http://www.peterpanbus.com/


They have a couple of buses per day from Boston to Pittsfield. In fact, their buses leave directly from Logan Airport (as well as the South Station Transit Terminal).

From New York City Peter Pan also has two daily buses to Pittsfield. These leave from the Port Authority Bus Station which is in midtown Manhattan and can be reached by frequent shuttle buses from all the area airports (EWR/JFK/LGA).

To get back from the northern end of the Long Trail, you might check out some information from these guys as well as from the usual AT Conference shuttle list:

https://www.greenmountainclub.org/


This is just a guess, but I have a feeling that in that isolated, far northern part of VT you might have pretty good luck hitching. If the hitching is really bad you can always call for a shuttle.

You can also fly in and out of different cities, e.g. try Kayak.com, pick "multi-city" and then choose Memphis - Boston for your first flight and then Burlington-Memphis for the return.

[XCskiNYC]

It's a good idea to approach from Boston or NYC. Your airfare will tend to be lower going into those major hubs.

I would only do Albany if you had a ride or a shuttle lined up. In that case it would make good sense since it's the closest good-sized airport.

Disregard my suggestion about Amtrak to Pittsfield. That only gives you about one hour from when the train arrives in Pittsfield and when the last northbound Berkshire Transit bus of the day leaves and the train in question, #48 is coming all the way from Chicago and is frequently two or more hours late. In fact, it's nicknamed Train Forty-Late.

The other downside to the train in Albany is that it'll be a big pain, probably a long and expensive taxi ride, to get from the airport to the train station in Renssalaer.

Check out the buses on Peter Pan Trailways.

http://www.peterpanbus.com/


They have a couple of buses per day from Boston to Pittsfield. In fact, their buses leave directly from Logan Airport (as well as the South Station Transit Terminal).

From New York City Peter Pan also has two daily buses to Pittsfield. These leave from the Port Authority Bus Station which is in midtown Manhattan and can be reached by frequent shuttle buses from all the area airports (EWR/JFK/LGA).

To get back from the northern end of the Long Trail, you might check out some information from these guys as well as from the usual AT Conference shuttle list:

https://www.greenmountainclub.org/


This is just a guess, but I have a feeling that in that isolated, far northern part of VT you might have pretty good luck hitching. If the hitching is really bad you can always call for a shuttle.

You can also fly in and out of different cities, e.g. try Kayak.com, pick "multi-city" and then choose Memphis - Boston for your first flight and then Burlington-Memphis for the return.