It's called the barge canal now and yes, it enters Oneida lake at Sylvan Beach. There are lots of raods now where the canal used to be. Oriskany Blvd in Yorkville, Erie blvd (!) in Rome, etc. There is the Erie Canal village in Rome, NY as well. The Barge canal is still used, but mostly for pleasure boats. The bigger boats use the St. Lawrence Seaway for access to the Great Lakes now.
I drive over the old Erie Canal every day and think little of it. It's odd how you get used to things, huh?
McG. Have you read River Horse? Its a ripping good tale about crossing the US by boat and the first leg was the Erie . I suppose those newer detours have been constructed just to keep the entire canal length experience alive. Ive never done the entire canal but Id like to. All I have to do is keep the tanks, water, and extra ballast so I draw over 5.5 ft so I can maybe clear the bridges at Newark to Tonawanda. Either that or rent someones C Dory and scud through while living topside in the pilot house. There used to be a series on Cruisin in American waters and there was a show on parts of the Erie and the much wider welland canal.
