Erie Canalway Map & Guide
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National Park Service Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor U.S. Department of the Interior Erie Canalway Map & Guide Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, Haldor Sigurdsson Schoharie Crossing “Explore, Learn, Protect” What’s Find Your Park Inside Bring your kids to one of the national parks in the Canalway Corridor this summer! They’ll have Get on the he National Park Service is celebrating 100 years of a chance to recite the Junior Ranger motto and Water . 2 sharing America’s special places. You don’t have to travel take part in free activities designed especially Tips for Boating for youth. Interested youth complete a series of to Yosemite or the Grand Canyon to celebrate! Through a Lock . 2 T activities during a park visit, share their answers There are 22 national parks in New York State and four are within with a park ranger, and receive an official Junior Up for Adventure? Ranger patch or badge and certificate. Junior Cycle the Erie the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. That’s right. You can Rangers are Canalway Trail . 3 typically 5 to 13 experience a park within an hour’s drive of every major city Erie Canalway years old, Map . 4 in the state. What’s more, national parks in the Erie Canalway although people are close to significant canal heritage sites, the 524-mile-long of all ages can Find Your Park participate. Itineraries . 6 NYS Canal System, and the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail. Ask about Junior Ranger activities Low Bridge, We’ve teamed up with national parks and heritage areas Everybody Down! . 8 at the park’s located in the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor visitor informa- 2015 Events . 8 to help you experience great history, culture, nature, and tion desk. Photo Contest . 8 recreation close to home (See itineraries on page 6). That means adventure and fun are in store as you explore America’s most famous man-made waterway. Whether you drive, boat, cycle, paddle or walk, you’ll discover that there are Erie Canalway great experiences to be had and memories to be made right here. Map & Guide 2015-2016 So get up, get out there, and Find Your Park! You can do it! Tips for boating through a lock oing through a lock is one of As you approach: the unique experiences of • Alert the lock operator using Gtraveling along the canal . If marine radio (Channel 13), a mobile you’ve never done it or are feeling a phone (phone numbers listed on little nervous, rest assured! Thousands website below), or three horn blasts of people lock through successfully to signal your approach . every year—you can too! And you can • Wait for the green light for count on friendly lock operators for permission to enter the lock . step-by-step coaching to make locking • Follow directions of the lock safe and enjoyable . A few simple operator . Lockport preparations and the right equipment • Use the same procedure to contact will make for smooth sailing . lift bridge operators on the western What to have on hand: end of the Erie Canal . Get on the water! • Pole or boat hook for pushing off For a guide to navigating the sides of the lock . A paddle works the canal, visit: fine, too . www.canals.ny.gov/boating ecome a “canaller” this year! It’s • Paddle the canal—Get close to the • Work gloves for handling the lines . easier than ever to explore America’s water and access all sorts of interesting • Boat fenders large enough and Bmost iconic inland waterway. You’ll side streams and historic canal features numerous enough to protect your discover scenic vistas, abundant wildlife, in your own kayak, canoe, or stand-up boat from concrete lock walls . and more than 200 unique communities paddleboard. There are lots of launch in the Erie Canalway National Heritage sites and boater-biker-hiker facilities Corridor. Miles of adventure await on that allow overnight camping. If you water and on land! don’t own your own paddle craft, there • Take a cruise—Get onboard one of the are many places to rent one by the many tour boats for an hourly cruise, hour or day. And, kayaks and canoes dinner cruise or themed tour. Most boat go through the locks for free! tours will give you the unique canal • If you’re a landlubber—Stop by one experience of going through a lock. of the many harbors, visitor centers, or • Rent a boat—Spend a day, weekend, parks along the canal. Or visit one of or an entire week exploring the canal at the waterway’s 57 locks to watch a your own pace. Rental boats are well- passing boat “lock through.” You’ll see equipped with sleeping quarters, a galley, tugboats, barges, and historic replica and plenty of deck space for relaxing. canal boats plying canal waters along- You’ll get lessons in steering, docking, side today’s cruisers, motorboats, tour and locking through before heading out. boats, canoes, and kayaks. Many rental operators provide bicycles so that you can explore on land and Boating on New York canals is experience the Canalway Trail, too. affordable and accessible for every • Launch your own boat—With 80 type of boater—find a complete public boat launches along the NYS guide to boating opportunities, Canal System, it’s easy to find one close including a map showing launch by. The canal connects with Oneida, sites, marinas, mooring sites, Onondaga, Cross, and Cayuga and locks and more at Seneca Lakes where you can enjoy other www.canals.ny.gov/maps. water sports, beaches, and sailing. Little Falls Did you know? The New York Canal System is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The waterway spans 524-miles of upstate The New York State Canal System is owned and operated by the New York New York and includes four historic canals: the Erie, State Canal Corporation, a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority . Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca. Together, they The Canal is typically open for boating from May 1st through November 15th . create an inland waterway that connects the Hudson River For current information on locking fees, up-to-date Notices to Mariners, or with Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Cayuga Lake, Seneca to order the official Cruising Guide to the New York State Canal System, visit Lake, and Lake Erie via the Niagara River allowing boats to www.canals.ny.gov or call 1-800-4-CANAL-4 (1-800-422-6254) . travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the upper Great Lakes. 2 Erie Canalway Map & Guide Old Erie Canal State Park Up for Adventure? Cycle the Erie Canalway Trail njoy unparalleled cycling and hiking Alternately, you can cycle New York Bike • See the canal in operation: Stop at along the Erie Canalway Trail. The Route 9, which follows NY Rte. 4 and the locks and lift bridges to see how they Cohoes Falls Cohoes Epaved and stone-dust trail follows Champlain Canal. The Glens Falls Feeder work. Canal operators are friendly and both active and historic sections of the Canal Trail offers eight miles of cycling knowledgeable, so don’t be afraid to Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany—much along the historic feeder canal from Glens ask questions. • Explore nature preserves and parks: of it along the canal’s former towpath. Falls to Fort Edward. Be refreshed at the waterfall at Holley Canal Park; watch herons and egrets at Plan an afternoon outing or a multi-day Oh the Places You’ll Go! Montezuma National Wildlife Preserve; trip—the trail is the perfect way to access all swim or hike at Green Lakes State Park; sorts of interesting canal sites and communi- Do you like to ride for coffee? How about see the spectacular Cohoes Falls. Nature ties. You’ll see canal engineering marvels, ice cream? Antiques? Historic sites? Lift and wildlife are part of the journey colorful murals, and picturesque country- bridges? Waterfalls? Parks? Whatever along the trail. side. And you’ll be able to sample some drives you onward, you’ll find it along the fantastic local foods. Try ice cream, bakery Canalway Trail. That’s because the canal’s • Eat local: Eating and cycling—what a goods, cheese, craft beers and wines, and many treasures are strung together like great combination! Make a stop in any locally-grown fresh produce for starters! gems on a necklace of trail and water community along the trail to find great across New York State. Pick your mileage: local ice cream stands, coffee shops, Nearly 80 percent of the 360-mile trail Museum Boat Canal Landing Chittenango diners, farmer’s markets, and more. is off road and is safe for all ages. Because five, 10, 25, 50—you’re guaranteed to find numerous places worth riding to. the trail closely parallels the Erie Canal, it • Visit historic sites and museums: offers relatively level cycling with only a • Discover small town charm: Canal There is a great wealth of museums and Market Farmers Waterford few steeper climbs or descents. From the villages and towns are an essential part historic sites along the canal. From the trail, you can easily access communities of what makes the Erie Canalway Trail tiny Hoffman Clock Museum in Newark and attractions throughout the Corridor. such a great place to ride. Take time to to the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse Cyclists can follow New York Bike Route 5 stop. Poke through unique shops, sample to the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, to connect off-road segments. local eateries, visit libraries and visitor you’ll find many great choices.