More About the Erie Canal

A bit of background on the Erie Canal.

One look at this topographic map of New York state ("borrowed" from the Raven Maps website - please go look at their fabulous maps!) makes it clear where to build a waterway to connect New York City to the Great Lakes. The Mohawk River is the only waterway that goes completely through the Appalachians, splitting Adirondacks to the north and the Catskills and Appalachian Plateau to the south. We saw a 3-D map like this in the Visitor Center at Schoharie Crossing State Historical Site, and were stunned by the immense gap the river created.

The Erie Canal has been rebuilt twice since the original. The first canal, dubbed "Clinton's Ditch" after NY Governor DeWitt Clinton who championed the project without federal assistance, was only 40 ft wide and 4 ft deep. The Canal was such an economic success, that a larger canal was built only a few years later. By and large the "Enlarged Erie Canal" was built right next to the existing canal. At 70 feet wide and 7 feet deep, it accommodated larger boats. Finally, in the early 20th Century, a modern canal system, the "Barge Canal", was built to accommodate larger motorized boats. It is a minimum of 133 ft wide and 12 ft deep. In many places it diverges substantially from the original route, and makes use of natural waterways (rivers and lakes) where possible. This canal system is still in use today, but is now recreational, since canal freight cannot compete economically with rail and trucks. (Illlustration photographed at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.)

These maps show the original route of the canal, and the current canal route. (Photographed at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse.)

Elevational profile of the current Barge Canal. The canal drops 571 feet from Buffalo to Albany, with a slight rise between Syracuse and Utica. (Graphic photographed at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.)

Erie Canal - Little Falls to Albany

 Wednesday, 18 May 2020 - Little Falls to Amsterdam (44 miles)

It was a long day's bike ride from Little Falls through/near St. Johnsville, Fort Plain, Canajoharie, Sprakers, Fultonville, and Fonda to Amsterdam. Fortunately, it was mostly paved. I-90 (NY Thruway) was our almost-constant companion on this stretch of the trail.

We're back to following the modern Canal - this is the dam and lock at Lock 14 near Canajoharie.

We noted that horse-and-buggy were prohibited from the using the trail. Then a minute or two later we saw horse and buggy on the road paralleling the trail.

Some might call this a "gap" or a "water gap", but here this is known as "The Noses" - where the Mohawk River threads between the Adirondack Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau. No surprise that the river, the canal, the railroad, and the modern highway (I-90, NY Thruway) all follow through the same path.

The remains of the Schoharie Aqueduct. At one time this aqueduct over Schoharie Creek was the longest aqueduct on the canal - 624 ft long. There's also an excellent Vistors Center here in Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site.

The start of the Amsterdam Gateway Bridge - a pedestrian bridge over the Mohawk River at Amsterdam. The bridge pays tribute to Amsterdam's neighborhoods and history.

"Mother and Child at the Mohawk River" by Dimitar Lukanov. "This veritable symphony of life, as in a miraculous orchestra of flora and fauna native to the Mohawk River Valley, is lead by the inviting, uplifting gesture of a woman - the Mother with whom the world begins."

The pedestrian walkway.

Dam and Lock E11 near Amsterdam.

Our lodging for the night was at Amsterdam Castle. Now officially a B&B (without the second B, it must be said). The site started as an 18th Century mansion that burned down. A National Guard armory was built on the old foundation, and it was converted to a private residence in 1995, and became a B&B/boutique hotel a few years later. It was certainly a unique (and comfortable) place to stay.

The Great Hall (and restaurant/banquet room) at the Amsterdam Castle. Currently the Castle is booking functions, but does not offer breakfast or operate as a restaurant.

Thursday, 10 May 2022 - Amsterdam to Latham (29.6 miles)

Today we rode from Amsterdam to Rotterdam - and beyond. The most challenging portion of the whole trip was the route through Schenectady, where we had a substantial hill going through the General Electric research grounds.

The top of the hill in Schenectady (see sign below). Several miles of the trail go through the General Electric research campus.

This warning sign (over the trail in the photo above) is a bit alarmist. It's steep, but not that steep. A few miles ahead there was a similar warning telling all bikers to walk their bikes down a much steeper hill. We didn't walk, although we did give our brakes a workout!

We're getting close to the end! This mileage sign was where we left the trail to get to our evening's hotel - the Hampton Inn Albany Airport.

Friday, 20 May 2022 - Latham to Albany (21 miles)

We always try to have a short ride on our last day. We rode through Colonie, Cohes, Green Island, Watervliet, and Menands before getting to Albany - riding through industrial parks, main streets, and beside major highways on dedicated bike paths. Albany was somewhat confusing, but we managed to get to our rental truck without incident and drove back to Buffalo to pick up our truck at the airport.

Downtown Albany is not very far at this point!

Mileage post in Albany.

Completed! We bicycled 402 miles in 12 days.

Erie Canal - Weedsport to Little Falls

 Sunday, 15 May 2022 - Weedsport to Syracuse (35.9 miles)

We rode through the towns and villages of Jordan, Memphis, Camillus, and Solvay before getting to Syracuse. We then continued through Syracuse to get to the east side and finished our day across the canal from Green Lakes State Park. We spent the night with friends in Syracuse, so that meant our stop for the day was not limited to being within a short bike ride to lodging.

The remains of Lock E51 on the old enlarged canal near Jordan.

A snapping turtle crossing the trail - note the line left by the dragging tail.

A turtle head rising above algae in stagnant canal waters. We were surprised by how few turtles we saw.

Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct in Camillus has been restored and now holds water.

The side of Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct.

A small canal boat just beyond the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct.

We were confused when the trail took us through the New York State Fairgrounds. At first we thought the gate was closed, but we were mistaken and found our way in. At that point it became a game to find the path through the fairgrounds. As you can see by the map, it zig-zags around buildings and through parking lots. Then it climbs to a bike/pedestrian bridge over railroad tracks and a major highway to the remote parking lots. Finally there is a nice "rest stop" overlooking Onandaga Lake before the trail descends back down to lake level.

The view from the overlook.

At the end of Onandaga Lake, the trail goes over a new bridge over railroad tracks.

The bridge ends at the Syracuse sewage treatment plant and then follows an obscure path through Syracuse on the Onandaga Creek Walk. From there it follows Water Street through downtown Syracuse where the old Erie Canal has been filled in. We stopped at the Erie Canal Museum which is well worth a visit.

Monday, 16 May 2022 - Syracuse to Rome (39.9 miles)

Picking up where we left off east of Syracuse, we rode past/through Chittenango, Canastota, Wampsville, and Durhamville on our way to Rome. In Durhamville the trail is on-road for about 2 miles. The signs were so faded that we missed one, and went about a mile before we decided that we should consult a map and see if we were still on the trail - we weren't - and had to backtrack a mile to search for the proper route.

Sometimes there are days where there just wasn't much to photograph. We also wanted to get to Rome before forecasted severe thunderstorms swept through the area in the afternoon. We managed to get to our hotel in Rome with about 10 minutes to spare!

Tuesday, 17 May 2022 - Rome to Little Falls (39.9 miles)

There are a lot of former industrial towns in the Mohawk Valley between Rome and Little Falls: Oriskany, Utica, Frankfort, Ilion, Mohawk, and Herkimer. We had a fabulous fresh-squeezed lemonade at the Melrose Supermarket in Frankfort. Wonderful!

While I've been places where it's "Shhh! Don't disturb the ospreys!", I've seen plenty of osprey nests on power poles in busy, noisy areas - like this one atop a pole near Utica along a well-traveled bike path with I-90 (NY Thruway) just off to the left and the modern Erie Canal on the right. 

A closer look at the osprey nest.

The stairwell at our hotel, The Inn at Stone Mill. This B&B occupies the third floor of a 19th Century mill building along the Mohawk River in Little Falls. We had by far the best dinner of the trip at the restaurant in their sister B&B across the street, the Canal Side Inn.

The Mohawk River and falls behind our Inn. The canal is just off to the left, paralleling the river.

Repurposed old mill buildings along the Mohawk River.

Yellow flowers on the bluff along the canal.

The bluffs near Lock 17 at Little Falls are a popular place for rock climbing. You could infer that the rocks are the real attraction because the park benches face the rocks, not the canal.

Lock 17 is a very deep lock - it raises boats 40.5 feet in a single chamber.

Erie Canal - Brockport to Weedsport

 Thursday, 12 May 2022 - Brockport to Bushnell's Basin (31.4 miles)

We rode from Brockport through Adams Basin, Spencerport, the outskirts of Rochester, and Pittsford to Bushnell's Basin. Lilacs were in full bloom, Rochester was in the midst of their annual Lilac Festival, and the International Lilac Society was holding their annual meeting in the Hampton Inn where we spent the night.

One of several "control structures" (dams that can be raised and lowered) used to regulate water depth and flow in the Canal.

A panoramic view of the Canal and the Genesee River where they meet in Rochester's Genesee Valley Park. We got somewhat confused by all the bridges and stream crossings in this area.

To say that Canada geese are not endangered is an understatement. All along the trail we saw lots of the "new generation". Once or twice geese got aggressive to trail travelers as they defended their space.

Another, somewhat smaller, goose family at the same spot (Curtis Point in Genesee Valley Park).

Friday, 13 May 2022 - Bushnell's Basin to Newark (26 miles)

A short day of riding from Bushnell's Basin through Fairport, Macedon, Palmyra, and Port Gibson to Newark.

All sorts of watercraft use the canal. In Fairport we saw several competitive rowers practicing.

We paused to watch the Sam Patch cruise by on its way to Pittsford to start the season.

The Sam Patch is a replica canal packet boat that operates out of Pittsford from late May through October.

Lock 30 on the modern canal near Macedon.

At Lock 30, we could walk across the lock gate.

The Aldrich Change Bridge in Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct County Park has had a colorful history. Originally built in 1858 to span the Erie Canal in Rochester, it had been relocated twice (1880 and 1915) when it collapsed in an ice storm in 1996. Volunteers relocated and restored the bridge in 2002-2003. A "change bridge" was designed to let mules towing barges to change sides of the canal without having to unhook their tow ropes from the barge. Designed by noted bridge designer Squire Whipple, it is one of the earliest iron truss bridges.

A magnificent redbud in the gardens at Vintage Gardens B&B in Newark. While the grounds have shrunk considerably (although still substantial) this B&B was the original home of Jackson & Perkins - the rose growers now located in California.

Saturday, 14 May 2022 - Newark to Weedsport (34.1 miles)

As we rode from Newark to Weedsport, we passed through Lyons, Clyde, Savannah, Montezuma, and Port Byron. Between Clyde and Port Byron, we had one of the longest on-road sections - about 16 miles.

Much of today's ride followed the old, no longer used, Erie Canal. The modern canal follows a different path, mostly to the south. The photo above is of the old E54 lock between Lyons and Clyde.

The Centerport Aqueduct, just outside Weedsport, as seen from the old canal bed.

A view of the Centerport Aqueduct from the trail (along the right edge of the canal in the previous photo). The stone pillars held the towpath, while the horizontal stone "beams" held up a wooden trough that was waterproofed to hold the canal waters. Two or three of these old aqueducts have been restored and are used by tourist boats.