Just east of the town of Lockport, New York, the Erie Canal is postcard pretty, rock lined, tranquil, clean and practically litter free. Its north bank is flanked by a biking trail that, like the canal it hems, crosses most of New York state.
The public access to the canal off Market Street includes a concrete launch ramp, fishing pier, dock, picnic area, parking lot, restrooms and a nearby marina. It’s spacious and clean. The ramp is wide enough to launch two boats. About a quarter-mile east of the boat ramp, a bridge crosses the canal. On a Tuesday morning, traffic is light.
The surrounding countryside has a gentle roll but is primarily flatland with patches of timber. The houses are well kept.
While Capt. Frank Campbell and I unload my Old Town Topwater kayak from the roof rack of my Subaru, a pleasure boat the size of a small house idles up and ties off near the ramp. The boat is heading east toward Rochester. A man and woman appear on deck. The man is speaking into a cell phone with some apparent urgency. The woman, carrying a beverage and with a relaxed demeanor, offers a friendly wave to the kayakers and takes a seat on the front deck. But she soon returns to the ship’s cabin to escape a howling west wind, which soon sidelines my kayaking plans.
When proposed, the idea of building the Erie Canal had plenty of skeptics. It was, by any measure, an audacious undertaking. When the idea was presented to President Thomas Jefferson—the same guy who a few years earlier had sent the Corps of Discovery up the Missouri River to explore hundreds of miles of uncharted country that likely was teeming with unfriendly Native Americans in search of a Northwest Passage and water route to the Pacific—he declined, considering the idea folly.
The famed waterway, which set the precedent for American engineering genius and ingenuity, opened on Oct. 26, 1825, following seven years of backbreaking toil. Dynamite was yet to be invented, so gunpowder was used for the blasting work. Mules, shovels, axes, saws and manpower did the rest.
The canal has been expanded several times, most recently in 1918. It now is used primarily for recreational traffic—paddling is popular—although it remains open to commercial shipping.
When the canal opened nearly two centuries ago, it was 4 feet deep, 40 feet wide, and 363 miles long. It included 83 locks and was almost immediately too small for the volume of traffic that wished to use it. The first expansion work started in 1836, and when completed in 1862, the canal was 7 feet deep and 70 feet wide. Locks were expanded from 90 to 110 feet long and from 15 to 18 feet wide. The original locks, which were engineering marvels, were designed to accommodate a canal boat approximately 61 feet long with a 7-foot beam and 3 foot draft. The expanded locks could accommodate bigger boats that could haul up to 240 tons.
Today, following the 1905-1918 expansion, the canal ranges from 12 to 23 feet deep and is 120 to 200 feet wide. It employs 57 locks, each 310 feet long.
The western section of the Erie Canal harbors some surprisingly good fishing, although its angling action usually is overshadowed by the nearby fish-rich Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which combine for some of the best and most varied fishing in North America. Like most Kentucky waters, the Erie holds smallmouth and largemouth bass, catfish and a variety of panfish. Canal waters also surrender walleye and northern pike, carp and perch.
I climbed in the kayak and turned west into the wind toward Lockport in hopes of landing a few bass before maneuvering the boat through the Flight of Five locks, a stair-step system and engineering wonder blasted through stone that lifts the canal across the Niagara escarpment before beginning a 1-inch-per-mile drop across a 7-mile run on its way to the Niagara River and Lake Erie. The unrelenting wind thwarted those plans, although my colleague, Alan Clemons, did rebuff the gale long enough to land an Erie Canal smallmouth.
The Flight of Five lock system, which straddles the heart of Lockport, still contains some of the original work. A set of man-powered wooden lock gates gives visitors a glimpse of the cost of commerce that helped open the country. It’s a reminder that Americans can do things.
A 42-foot Durham-style boat (the Erie Traveler), which was built by local volunteer craftsmen, floated calmly in one of the remaining locks from the first expansion. The lock no longer carries through boat traffic but is used for demonstration purposes. Durham-style boats—flat-bottom freight haulers that were poled or pulled by mules from shore—were the early transport vessels on the canal but were soon replaced by rigs that could haul more load. The Durham boats have another historic niche: When Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey on Christmas 1776 to pay the British a visit, they likely were carried by Durham-style boats. The Traveler is a historically accurate reproduction.
The Erie Canal today is part of the National Park Service Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. It’s worth a visit. Bring your kayak and/or canoe and bike. These also are available to rent from local outfitters. There is no better way to see the canal than by paddle and pedal. Also, plan on some fishing. While the canal is a fun and quirky and historic waterway in which to cast a line, angling—while always good—is often spectacular on Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. For guide services, contact Capt. Frank at niagaracharter.com. He will put you on fish. And don’t miss Niagara Falls State Park. There’s no entry fee, and the falls are as magnificent as you imagine.
Details at niagarafallsusa.com.