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.