Explorers Guide Erie Canal A Great Destination Exploring New Yorks Great Canals

Offers information on Erie Canal's history, accomodations, attractions, restaurants, and shopping.

The Erie Canal: Great Destinations is the first comprehensive travel guide to New York State Canals and the communities and attractions found along them. Each chapter covers one canal, providing historical background as well as information on wineries, canal museums, restaurants, lodging, canal cruises and bike paths in all the major cities, many of the small towns and villages, and the two biggest Finger Lakes. The guide offers separate sections on Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse, Utica, and Rochester and their outlying areas, as well as a chapter on Niagara Falls. With coverage of three smaller canals in the region (the Oswego, Champlain, and Cayuga-Seneca) this is undoubtedly the most extensive guide to the canalways of the state.

The Erie Canalway Trail is a cycling destination for riders of all abilities. Following one of the world's most famous manmade waterways, it spans New York State between Albany and Buffalo. Whether enjoying a leisurely ride from one village to another, or spending a week completing the entire 360 miles, the Erie Canalway Trail offers endless adventures exploring the charming towns, living history, scenic beauty, and cultural attractions of New York State. The trail route follows both active and historic sections of the Erie Canal. For several decades now, state and local governments have been transforming the old towpath and abandoned rail corridor into a 360-mile multi-use pathway. The guidebook is designed primarily for use by bicyclists, but it is also useful for those planning to enjoy the trail on foot, travelling the canal system by boat, or visiting the Canal corridor's many sites by car. The fifth edition includes information on the statewide 750-mile Empire State Trail, which the Erie Canalway Trail is now part of; updated maps, trail routing, and surface conditions; and an updated, comprehensive listing of attractions, historic sites, visitor centers, public transportation options, easily accessible lodging, bike shops, parking, and other services. This guide is an indispensable resource for dedicated cyclists planning to bike across the state or the casual rider looking to take the family out for a couple of hours.

An indispensable resource for dedicated cyclists planning to bike across the state or the casual rider looking to take the family out for a couple of hours. Great for walkers, boaters, and auto travelers, too. The Erie Canalway Trail is a cycling destination for riders of all abilities. Following one of the world’s most famous manmade waterways, it spans New York State between Albany and Buffalo. Whether enjoying a leisurely ride from one village to another, or spending a week completing the entire 360 miles, the Erie Canalway Trail offers endless adventures exploring the charming towns, living history, scenic beauty and cultural attractions of New York State. The trail route follows both active and historic sections of the Erie Canal. For more than thirty years, state and local governments have been transforming the old towpath and abandoned rail corridor into a 360-mile multi-use pathway; by 2015, more than three-quarters of the off-road route was in place. The guidebook is designed primarily for use by bicyclists, but it is also useful for those planning to enjoy the trail on foot, travelling the canal system by boat, or visiting the Canal corridor’s many sites by car. The revised edition includes new inset maps to guide trail users through complicated stretches. All new trail segments developed since 2012 have been added, along with on-road routing updates. The guide’s comprehensive listings of attractions, historic sites, visitor centers, and parks make it an indispensable resource for dedicated cyclists planning to bike across the state or the casual rider looking to take the family out for a couple of hours.

Focusing on the joys of travelling the canals of New York State and the famous Erie Canal, this accessible guide addresses the practical aspects of navigating canals. Featuring 225 colour photographs that showcase the waterways in all four seasons accompanied by informative text, it presents the canal system's evolution from an industrial transportation route to an exciting recreational waterway. Addressed are suggestions for taking full advantage of the canals when cruising on them; information on the mechanics of their unique locks, guard gates, and dams; and ideas for enjoying the cultural, recreational, and scenic opportunities along their routes.

During the early 1800s, it was difficult and expensive to transport goods from the East Coast to the Great Lakes region. The Erie Canal connected these two areas, causing a population boom in western New York and encouraging settlement around the Great Lakes. Readers learn the history of this important canal through the main content and fun fact boxes, and also discover the many ways travelers can use and enjoy the canal today. Full-color photographs introduce cool destinations near the canal and showcase the locks and other canal structures still in existence.

Those who built and used the Erie Canal were a bizarre society, proud pioneers on the waterway known in song and story as "the Horse Ocean," "the Roaring Giddap," or "the Raging Erie." Their considerable influence on American life and literature is the basis of this book. Canallers were colorful characters, from the "hoggee" on the towpath to the "shipshape macaroni" with stovepipe hat and badge of service taking command of a packet with the pride of an admiral, even though he was restricted by law to a speed of four miles per hour! Games and diversions were rough-and-tumble, fighting being as natural as breathing to the canallers. Stories about heroes like Sam Patch and Paddy Ryan, or the big fish that could haul a canal boat, or the big pumpkin that drained the canal—these were logical products of this "frontier" atmosphere. So were the songs—carefree, bawdy, or sad, inspired by the canal and sung throughout the land. Photographs and drawings, music and words to folk songs, maps, notes, and index are included in this first paperback edition.