The Erie Canal

by Sarah Wiles

Imagine cruising with your family down a rippling canal in your traditionally styled canal boat. You motor through rolling, green farmland, past dairy cows, and orchards. You pass manicured estates, cozy cottages, and hillside manors. When the spirit moves you, you tie up and bike into town to visit a museum, shop for local crafts, sample the local wines and delicacies, and soak up the flavors of the region.

The waterway you are traveling has helped to shape the heritage of a nation. The countryside you observe has witnessed mighty struggles, and the cities have harbored great statesmen, philosophers, and merchants.

Are you cruising on the Canal du Midi in France? The Kennet and Avon in England? No. You are traveling the Erie Canal, part of the New York State Canal System. And, you have discovered a unique way to explore this legendary waterway.

A small but growing number of charter companies offer adventurous families the opportunity to chart their own vacation cruise on the quiet waters of the Erie and her three sisters; the Champlain, the Cayuga-Seneca, and the Oswego Canals. There are many options available from which you can choose: Do you like the colorful, traditional look of a European-style canal boat, or the sleek comfort of a cabin cruiser? Do you want the comfortable value of an efficient houseboat? Do you want a full week's charter? A weekend? A one-way option? There is a canalling option for every need and every budget.

And the waterways themselves offer an array of environments:

The Champlain Canal rests in the Upper Hudson Valley between the Adirondacks of New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont. The Champlain Canal was the site of great battles of the Revolution; names like Saratoga and Ticonderoga echo in the hills. Historic forts at Fort Ann, Fort Miller, and Fort Edward create a living museum for history buffs young and old.

The eastern section of the Erie Canal begins above the Federal Lock at Troy and follows the Mohawk River, the original trade route of Native Americans and the settlers that followed. The bustling new waterfront at Waterford has a new visitor's center and promenade and always hosts a number of boats from all over the country. The great flight of five locks raises vessels 169 feet (twice the total lift of the Panama Canal!) from the Hudson to the Mohawk River. Heading west, you'll pass through Lock 17 with a 42-foot lift, the highest single lock on the system. Rome is where the first spade of earth for the new canal was dug in 1817. Here you can visit Erie Canal Village and ride on a mule-drawn packet on the original Erie Canal. At the eastern end of Oneida Lake you'll find Sylvan Beach, and an old fashioned, family amusement park.

The western Erie, between Syracuse and Buffalo, follows faithfully the route of Clinton's Ditch. The old canal towns with names like Fairport, Brockport, and Spencerport have been sprucing up their waterfronts to make them more inviting for boaters, bikers, and hikers. You'll find electrical hookups, fresh water, park benches, and picnic tables, and sometimes even a welcoming committee of local business people anxious to make your stay enjoyable. Many communities host waterfront celebrations, such as Palmyra Canaltown Days featuring a huge parade of antique and classic cars. Palmyra is also the birthplace of the Mormon faith and home of the annual Hill Cumorah Pageant. The western-most section of the Erie scales the Niagara Escarpment at Lockport where you can see the intact flight of five stone locks from the mid-1800s.

The Cayuga-Seneca Canal turns south from the Erie west of Syracuse at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, home to many kinds of waterfowl and other creatures. You may even spot a bald eagle. This canal connects the Erie to the largest of the Finger Lakes, Seneca and Cayuga, and passes through one of the most lively and lovely waterfronts at Seneca Falls. The National Women's Hall of Fame is just one of this community's fine museums. From this part of the waterway, you can visit several state parks or leave the water for a journey into the heart of the Finger Lakes wine region.

The Oswego Canal connects the Erie with Lake Ontario east of Syracuse. It traverses a sparsely settled area with several small, but welcoming, canal-front communities. In Phoenix, one of the many lift bridges on the system rises to allow boats to pass. A small museum houses the levers and controls of the original bridge. The Oswego Canal is also home to some of the best fishing on the east coast, with Chinook salmon, northern pike, walleye, and small-mouth bass. Oswego is a vibrant Great Lakes port city. Besides the active waterfront and marinas, there are other points of interest, such as Fort Ontario, the H. Lee White Marine Museum, and the Oswego County Historical Society, to name a few. On the last weekend of July each year, the city fills with visitors to the Oswego Harborfest Celebration, featuring music, crafts, children's activities, fireworks, and much more.

Before you choose your route and your vessel, you should have a little history to set the stage for your canalling adventure. At the time of its completion in 1825, the Erie Canal was a true man-made wonder, linking the seaports of New York and Albany, to the rich producing regions of the western frontier. The original waterway was entirely hand built, 4 feet deep, and 40 feet wide. The advantages of moving goods and people by water was so great, that the ditch was running at full capacity as soon as it was completed.

Over the next few years, the waterway was expanded several times to accommodate more and more, and bigger and bigger vessels, until it reached its current incarnation in the early 1900s. After about sixty more years of commercial traffic, the transportation patterns shifted and the canals were left to recreational boaters to enjoy.

So chart your own course, choose a pace that suits your family, pack up the bikes and sneakers and swimsuits, and head for New York's wonderful canals.

With canalling, the voyage really is the destination.

Sarah Wiles is active in promoting tourism in her community and handles marketing for a canalling adventure company.