The Arkell Museum is now officially Bike Friendly

Through collecting and preserving art, the Arkell Museum and Canajoharie Library aims to expand appreciation for, and promote the arts and humanities in Canajoharie. Their collections include American Art, Mohawk Valley History, and Beech-Nut Archives, as well as different exhibitions.

The Arkell Museum has recently become a Bike Friendly New York Business. It is located less than three blocks away from the Erie Canalway Trail. Its front desk staff knows the local community well, and is happy to direct cyclists to places to eat or shop. Although no bike shop or rental operator exists in Canajoharie, the Museum received a generous donation of a bicycle repair kit from the Inn at Cooperstown for anyone needing assistance. In addition to its strategic location along the Erie Canalway Trail, the Arkell Museum has long supported cyclists by remaining open late for the hundreds of riders participating in the annual Cycle the Erie Canal tour.

Perhaps nobody knows how far these gestures go more than Jenna Riley, the Curator of Education and Public Engagement at the Arkell Museum, who herself is an avid cyclist (she participated in one America’s largest and most famous long-distance rides, RAGBRAI).

“We are thrilled to be a Bike Friendly Business here at the Arkell Museum and Canajoharie Library. Cycling is such a wonderful way to see parts of the state that often get passed by; following the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail takes you right along extant parts of the Erie Canal that motorists will never have the chance to see, and brings you in closer contact with the communities that you ride through,” said Riley. “For us, it made perfect sense to become a Bike Friendly Business. We are located right in between the Trail and Canajoharie’s Riverfront Park, we naturally see a lot of traffic from cyclists.”

The Arkell Museum houses a wonderful collection of American art, including works by Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, Mary Cassatt, and many others, and we also cover local history, including the fascinating history of Canajoharie’s Beech-Nut Packing Company. It is enough to make any cyclist stop and stretch their legs for a bit!

Because it is also a public library, the facility has bike maps bookmarked on its computers’ web browsers to assist cyclists in finding further routes during their travels.

The Arkell Museum is open Tuesdays-Fridays from 10:00-5:00 and weekends 12:00-5:00. The Canajoharie Library is open additional hours on Wednesday evening from 5:00-7:00. There is no fee to use the library. Admission to the museum is free for members and children under 11, $9.00 for adults, $6.50 for seniors and students.