Welcome to Columbia Friends of the Electric Trail

The Electric Trail, part of the Empire State Trail, runs for 36 miles from the city of Rensselaer to the City of Hudson in Rensselaer and Columbia counties. The majority of the $45 million trail is off-road and follows the historic route of an electric trolley, which operated from 1900 to 1929. The corridor is owned by National Grid, which authorized New York State to build a trail on the route (see below for maps and a link to the Empire State Trail website).

CFET was formed in 2018 with three primary goals:

Maintain the AHET trail by mowing and string-trimming along the trail;
Establish connections between the AHET trail and other recreational trails in northern Columbia County; and
Promote other local historic and cultural sites through their connections to the electric trail.