Posts Tagged ‘Erie Canal’

New Camping Opportunities on New York’s Canals

July 10, 2021
The Erie Canal at Macedon. Tentrr now has a camping site at the Palmyra-Macedon Lock E-29 (Palmyra-Macedon which offers picturesque views of the Erie Canal and easy access to a whole lot of outdoor fun – especially biking on the Canalway © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Through a new partnership between the New York Power Authority, New York State Canal Corporation and Tentrr, the state is opening more hassle-free campsites alongside New York’s Canals this summer. As part of Governor Cuomo’s Reimagine the Canals initiative and the recently announced “On the Canals” excursions program, Tentrr created four fully-outfitted campsites for visitors to reserve, most within a short distance of a free “On the Canals” excursion opportunity.

Each of the Canalside camping locations offers turnkey, outfitted camping facilities, allowing guests to camp in style amongst the Canals. Each site is fully equipped with all the amenities for comfortable camping including spacious canvas tents atop a raised platform, queen size memory foam mattress, solar-powered showers, picnic tables and Adirondack chairs, set up in advance of arrival.

The campsites available this summer within 15 minutes of an “On the Canals” excursion include:

Yankee Hill Getaway (Amsterdam, Town of Florida) Wedged between the Adirondack and Catskills parks in the Mohawk Valley, the Yankee Hill Getaway site lies on a thin strip of land between the original Erie Canal and the current Canal system. Three sites available.

Oak Island Vista (Waterloo) Nestled between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes along the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, the beautiful Oak Island site offers easy access to the best of the Finger Lakes Region. Five sites available.

Montezuma Canal View at Lock E-26 (Galen) Campers at Lock E-26 will wake to views of the tranquil Erie Canal and have easy access to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Northern Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Six sites available.

Palmyra-Macedon Getaway at Lock E-29 (Palmyra-Macedon) The Palmyra-Macedon site offers picturesque views of the Erie Canal and easy access to a whole lot of outdoor fun. Five sites available.

To book, go to https://www.tentrr.com/pages/new-york-canals.

In addition to these new campsites, Camp Rockaway is managing a glamping site at Lock C-5 on the Champlain Canal in Schuylerville through September 8th.

Through the Reimagine the Canals initiative, Governor Cuomo and the New York Power Authority committed $300 million over five years to revitalize the Erie Canal corridor as a tourism and recreation destination while simultaneously boosting economic development and improving the resiliency of Canalside communities.

New York State’s 524-Mile Canal System Reopens for Navigation; Tolls Waived for Second Year

May 15, 2018

Erie Canal

Explore the Erie Canal on a Mid-Navigation Lakes Lockmaster canalboat. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Navigation has reopened for the 2018 season along the 524-mile New York State Canal System, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The eastern Erie Canal, stretching from Brewerton to Waterford, opens today. The remainder of the system, including the Erie Canal, from Brewerton to Lockport, and the Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca canals, opens on May 18.

For the second straight year, the Canal Corporation has waived tolls for recreational vessels to encourage more boaters to visit. The canals will remain open to recreational boaters through Oct. 10.

“New York’s canal system helped build the Empire State and it remains a key economic and tourism driver,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “I encourage New Yorkers and visitors alike to come and experience this great New York resource for themselves.”

This is the 194th year vessels have traversed the Erie Canal. The first boats of the year began their journey on the system following a ceremony this morning in Waterford, the Erie Canal’s eastern terminus.

“The Erie Canal is an integral part of New York history and has always been one of my favorite summertime destinations,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “For many years the Canal System was an essential part of our transportation economy and today is a significant driver of tourism across upstate, supporting jobs and small businesses. I look forward to another great season on the canal.”

New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton said, “This is always a special time of year because we once again get to show off our great New York State canals, which have become an increasingly important economic engine as more tourism and recreational assets become available.”

A study commissioned by the Canal Corporation found there is nearly $400 million annually of direct tourism and recreational spending tied to the canals and Erie Canalway Trail. The Canal System also has an estimated $6.3 billion economic impact from non-tourism spending tied to hydropower, irrigation, providing water to golf courses and factory operations as well as commercial traffic.

The state Canal System, formerly known as the Barge Canal, was first championed at the end of the 19th century by then-Governor Theodore Roosevelt, who wanted to enlarge New York’s canals and make them more competitive with railroads to attract freight shipments. The Erie Canal had first opened in 1825, but it had lost traffic because it was deemed too narrow and shallow to accommodate large shipments.

Instead of relying exclusively on manmade channels, as the first two versions of the canals did, engineers “canalized” large lakes and rivers and installed locks, movable dams and guard gates to regulate water flow and enable safe navigation channels.

The Barge Canal was built starting in 1905 and officially opened in Waterford on May 15, 1918.

Compared to the Panama Canal, which was built in roughly the same time frame, the Barge Canal is 10 times longer, has nearly 10 times as many locks, and yet was built for one-third the cost using only state money.

Major events on the Canal System this year include a four-month journey by the Corning Museum of Glass GlassBarge, to mark the 150th anniversary of when the Flint Glass Company moved its operations from Brooklyn to Corning and shipped its equipment on the Erie Canal. The GlassBarge, which will have a mobile glass-blowing theatre with 150 seats, will open to the public in Brooklyn on May 17 and make 28 public stops through September.

This is also the 20th year of the Cycle the Erie Ride run by Parks and Trails New York. The eight-day sojourn from Buffalo to Albany starts July 8. Last year, the event attracted more than 750 cyclists. (See: Cycle the Erie: 400 Miles & 400 Years of History Flow By on Canalway Bike Tour Across New York State)

Don’t have your own boat? You can rent a houseboat and travel along the canals wherever whimsy takes you, tying up and using the facilities that are all along the canals, having the delight of going through the locks and under the lift bridges.

Mid-Lakes Navigation, a family-owned company operating out of Skaneateles, New York, offers its specially designed lockmaster canalboats which are easy to maneuver, delightful to stay (galley, shower and toilet facilities), operating when the Erie Canal is open. They provide bikes (but you would do well to bring or rent your own) so you can spend the day riding on the Canalway and exploring the canaltowns. (Mid-Lakes Navigation, 11 Jordan St., PO Box 61, Skaneateles, NY 13152, 315-685-8500, toll-free: 800-545-4318, info@midlakesnav.com, https://midlakesnav.com/).

(See: Journey by boat and bike along the Erie Canal)

For a list of events on the canals, go to https://eriecanalway.org/explore/events. For more information on the Canal System, including hours when locks are open, go to www.canals.ny.gov.

 

For more travel features, visit:

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

instagram.com/krubin0830/

instagram.com/famtravltr/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures