NEW YORK STATE CANAL SYSTEMCLICK ON a specific Canal System area on the map below to view a listing of the tour boats providing exciting boating trips on that section of the New York State Canal System |
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ABOUT THE CANAL SYSTEM The New York State Canal System is not only rich in history, but also culture. Many immigrants worked long and hard on "Clinton’s Ditch" to create this magnificent waterway. Folklore, songs and speech lingo emerged from those individuals working along the Canal. As the population grew and the Canal prospered, it became not only a transportation waterway, but also a vacation area for the well-to-do. At one time, more than 50,000 people depended on the Erie Canal for their livelihood. From its inception, the Erie Canal helped form a whole new culture revolving around canal life. For many, canal boats became floating houses, traveling from town to town. The father would serve as captain, while the mother cooked for the family and crew and the children, if old enough, would serve as "hoggees" and would walk alongside the mules to lead them along at a steady pace. For those who traveled along the Canal in packet boats or passenger vessels, the Canal was an exciting place. Gambling and entertainment were frequent pastimes on the Canal and often, families would meet each year at the same locations to share stories and adventures. Today, the Canal has returned to its former glory and is filled with pleasure boats, fishermen and cyclists riding the former towpaths where mules once trod. The excitement of the past is alive and well. CANAL FACTS The New York State Canal System is a navigable 524-mile inland waterway that crosses upstate New York. It forms an extensive transportation network providing intermodal linkages within and beyond the state's borders. The Canal System includes four Canals: the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca; canalized natural waterways, plus five lakes: Oneida, Onondaga, Cross, Cayuga and Seneca; short Canal sections at Ithaca and Watkins Glen; feeder reservoirs, canals and rivers not accessible by boat from the Canal; and Canal terminals on Lake Champlain. The Canal System, which links the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, the Niagara River and Lake Erie, passes through 25 counties and close to 200 villages, hamlets and towns. Primary Canal System user groups are: transient boaters, local boaters/anglers, tour boats/cruise boats, hire boat operators/users, and tourists via land. The NYS Canal System is 524 miles long. It takes approximately five (5) days to cruise between Albany and Buffalo on the Erie. (The Erie Canal begins at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers at Waterford, just north of Albany, and meets the Niagara River at Tonawanda/North Tonawanda, just north of Buffalo.) There are 57 locks and 16 lift bridges on the Canal System. All Canal System lock dimensions are 328 feet long, 45 feet wide. The area available for vessels within a lock is 300 feet long, 43.5 feet wide. Canal System locks and lift bridges operate from early May to November. Locks and lift bridges operate daily during peak navigation season (late May to early October) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Hours are reduced during other periods of the navigation season. See “Mariner Notices” on this Web site for exact dates of the Canal System's navigation season daily operating hours at locks and lift bridges. How deep is the Canal System? The depths of the Canal System's navigational channels are: Erie Canal -Waterford to Three Rivers Junction 14 feet -Three Rivers Junction to Tonawanda 12 feet Oswego Canal 14 feet Champlain Canal 12 feet Cayuga-Seneca Canal 12 feet The Canal System is operated and maintained by the New York State Canal Corporation, a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority, a public benefit corporation of New York State government. OFFICIAL NEW YORK STATE CANAL SYSTEM WEBSITE |
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