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Erie Canalway Trail Part 1
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: June 24, 2019
How cool would it be to ride your bike hundreds of miles across a state with relatively little of that cycling mileage on active roadway?
And wouldn’t it be the bomb if such a route was situated a mere several hours drive from the Greater Akron-Cleveland area?
Well I’ve got news for you…such a route does indeed exist and it’s called the Erie Canalway Trail.
Indeed, and what really astounds me is the fact that after having ridden across the United States multiple times, using multiple routes over the past 10 years, I’m just now discovering this amazingly long swath of cycling trail.
Okay, so I’ve come to learn that the western terminus of the Erie Canalway Trail is situated north of Buffalo, New York, up near Niagara Falls, and it meanders east all the way across the state to the capital city of Albany - for a grand total of 360 miles.
That alone is pretty darned impressive, but then if you add in the several north and south connector trails, suddenly you have a trail system that measures an astonishing 524 miles.
Now much like our Ohio & Erie Canal in the Cuyahoga Valley, New York’s Erie Canal was begun in the early 1800s and completed in 1820s. And it thrived as a vital commercial thoroughfare into the 1860s.
But just like all the other canals that crisscrossed the Eastern US, the Erie began to experience a decline in traffic with the advent of the railroad.
Those trains, in addition to motorized vehicles, eventually spelled the end of the canal as a thoroughfare with which to move merchandise and passengers.
As a consequence, New York’s Erie Canal languished in obsolescence for many years.
A smattering of canal communities built trails on the towpath in an attempt to benefit from the antiquated remnants of the canal, but those efforts were disjointed and few.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that a unified effort evolved––the Canal Recreation Development Plan (CRDP)––which was an endeavor to construct many of the current trail sections.
That CRDP was a good start, but what really to the ball rolling––leading to major league canal renovation––was the 1995 NYS Canal Recreation Development Plan, an all-encompassing project which looked at “preserving major historical features, promoting natural settings, enhancing recreation opportunities, and fostering economic development.”
What does all that mean?
It means the canal is fully functional today with working locks, canal harbors and service ports for recreational boat traffic.
Add to that a recreational trail which vacillates from crushed limestone, to earthen, to asphalt and follows the waterway almost every step of the way.
Now much unlike the Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley, which is an artifact of the past and largely devoid of water, New York’s Erie Canalway Trail is as much of a water trail as it is an earthen trail.
And this fact is a real plus when you see all the recreational boat traffic cruising up and down the canal as you’re cranking along the towpath on your two-wheeled steed.
Well, after having researched this storied trail system, my girlfriend and I were inspired to make the three-hour drive up to the greater Buffalo area this past spring to see what the hubbub’s all about.
And since we didn’t have enough time to do a “thru ride” (riding the whole route in one fell swoop), our game plan was to do a week’s worth of out-and-back trips along the much closer first half of the trail, the western half, and then later this year, using that same game plan, we’d ride the eastern half of the trail.
We began our cycling trek along what’s called the "Best 100 miles” of the Erie Canalway Trail (actually it’s 120 miles), from Buffalo to Lyons.
This particular stretch of the trail meanders through a host of western New York's unique canal villages.
And the perfect starting point to do those out-and-back rides along the “Best 100 miles” is Lockport, New York, where the trail goes west to North Tonawanda near Niagara Falls, and east towards Rochester.
Next week I’ll review those Best 100 miles of New York State’s Erie Canalway Trail