Erie Canal: Now and Then

NPR

There's an eerie canal in Disney world, and you're still able to go through, but only if you can stomache all the ghostly pirates.

I seem to recall seeing a film clip of the canal. If it was the Erie, it was not in commercial use but quit scenic, in its own way.

With the Erie as inspiration, other canals were built with government funding. They were not economically successful.

Out here, the mule towpath has been turned into a bike trail:

http://www.nps.gov/cuva/planavisit/todo/recreation/ohioerie.htm

This stretch parallels the Cuyahoga River (the ex-burning river) from its height in Akron to its mouth at Lake Erie in Cleveland. Much of it is still visible, but in ruins although the national park service has done a lot to restore it. The locks and feeder lines are pretty ingenious.

Out here, the mule towpath has been turned into a bike trail:

http://www.nps.gov/cuva/planavisit/todo/recreation/ohioerie.htm

This stretch parallels the Cuyahoga River (the ex-burning river) from its height in Akron to its mouth at Lake Erie in Cleveland. Much of it is still visible, but in ruins although the national park service has done a lot to restore it. The locks and feeder lines are pretty ingenious.

Out here, the mule towpath has been turned into a bike trail:

http://www.nps.gov/cuva/planavisit/todo/recreation/ohioerie.htm

This stretch parallels the Cuyahoga River (the ex-burning river) from its height in Akron to its mouth at Lake Erie in Cleveland. Much of it is still visible, but in ruins although the national park service has done a lot to restore it. The locks and feeder lines are pretty ingenious.

Out here, the mule towpath has been turned into a bike trail:

http://www.nps.gov/cuva/planavisit/todo/recreation/ohioerie.htm

This stretch parallels the Cuyahoga River (the ex-burning river) from its height in Akron to its mouth at Lake Erie in Cleveland. Much of it is still visible, but in ruins although the national park service has done a lot to restore it. The locks and feeder lines are pretty ingenious.

I grew up near the C&O canal and spent a lot of time playing on the tow paths


The C&O Canal follows the route of the Potomac River for 184.5 miles from Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, MD. The canal operated from 1828-1924 as a transportation route, primarily hauling coal from western Maryland to the port of Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of original structures, including locks, lockhouses, and aqueducts, serve as reminders of the canal's role as a transportation system during the Canal Era. In addition, the canal's towpath provides a nearly level, continuous trail through the spectacular scenery of the Potomac River Valley.

http://www.nps.gov/choh/BoatRides/Images/Mule1.gif

Hey, thanks roger and Whoda (and scoates, too, I think)!

Panzade, I've been to that canal - to the great falls.

The Erie is open from the Hudson River at Cohoes to the Great Lakes. Its open as a seasonal pleasure boat route . The cities along the way have accomodations if you dont sleep aboard.
I want to try it some year . In his book "River Horse" William Least Heat Moon, did a trip from NY to the Pacific by boat. He only had a few major portages and he had a rather small boat. I think he had problems on the Missouri and , of course , the Continental Divide. But his journal along the Erie was interesting. PBShas a set of CDs on 'Cruising the US waterways" or some such title. They had an entire episode on doing the canal. You have to make calls ahead to the lock tenders so that you can get elevated , and sometimes there are certain locks that are closed. I suppose theres a website for pleasure boaters.

You could head west on the Mass pike and go to Champlain and then go to Cohoes on the hudson. I hear that kayakers do the canal also.

Sorry about the multiple posts earlier ... I miss broadband.

This place is a real step back in time, very authentic. Think Williamsburg, but for the Canal Era:

http://www.roscoevillage.com/

Heres a site that combines a few authors and guidebooks about cruising the Erie. Its more like som "cliff notes " about River HorseCRUISING THE ERIE CANAL

picture of a C-Dory

The C-Dory is a good little boat with enough beam to be comfortable . It can take some decent seas for its size. I wouldnt, however, recommend deep water cruising unless you go up to something over 30 ft. Least Heat Moon made it to "the Columbia Bar " with this thing. HEs got more cojones than smarts for that little feat. Cruising is like flying, you aint gonna get old if you wish to be bold, safest passages are always foremost in mind

ooooohhhh, boating and drinking beer.... nice.

When I attended Syracuse U, I did a photo essay for an urban history class comparing (then) present-day views of downtown Syracuse with the mid-late 1800s when the Erie Canal went through it. Other than asphalt replacing water, some of the views were amazingly similar!

Team Venture

welcome to our humble forum. Sure wish we could see your project

I'll second Panzades wishes.

doesnt the canal go around Syracuse via Oneida Lake?

Thanks, and I wish I could see it too! As I recall, I don't think the instructor gave it back to me, which kinda cheesed me as I took my own photographs & developed & printed them also. I was proud that many of my shots duplicated historical views pretty nicely. I might have kept the 35mm negs, but who knows where they've gotten to in the intervening years...

To Farmerman, no, it went right through the downtown!! Even below Onondaga Lake I believe, which is closer. There are some views here that show it passing right next to buildings. The NYS Thruway of its day.

Team Venture