Follow the Erie Canal
Go Sightseeing, recount American history, catch a Festival, and enjoy Recreational Fun
A visit to the Central New York Region gives you an opportunity to see the historic Erie Canal and explore its famed canal towns, where you'll find great restaurants, festivals, cultural events, and fun things to do. There's so much to like about this progressively historic area that it's a toss-up as to what to see or do first! Get started by visiting the Family Fun > Erie Canal page to see what's happening around the area.
Biking, hiking, kayaking, and paddling on the Erie Canal are all the rage during the Summer months, and have become great recreational pastimes for both locals and visitors alike. Boat tours including the Erie Canal Cruises at Herkimer carry passengers along the Canal and through the locks from mid spring to late October. Be sure to bring along your camera and binocs, as guides point out the local beauty, historical landmarks, key attractions, and nesting places where bald eagles raise their young - while you pass through New York's heartland, gliding by historic canal towns, scenic farmlands, and thriving wildilfe preserves !
Follow the Erie Canal as it courses through New York State
The Erie Canal is one of the crowning American technological achievements of the 19th Century, and can be appreciated any time of year. You can visit the hands-on Erie Canal Museum, housed in the only remaining weighlock building in Syracuse, and travel 40 mintes north to the City of Oswego where you'll find 400 years of Great lakes maritime heritage at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum. At the museum's Maritime Pier, you can board an original WWII LT-5 tugboat, see a 19th century canal barge, and take an exciting boat ride to a historic Great Lakes lighthouse in the Port City's harbor.
To see additional historical attractions, please visit the Erie Canal Attractions page. Once called the '8th Wonder of the World,' the Erie Canal forever changed the course of America's infrastructure and prosperity by opening up new trade routes with a new form of transportation between Buffalo and Great Lakes to the West, Albany in the East, and ultimately to New York City .. and its legacy still flows mightily through the locks, rivers & lakes, and fascinating communities it serves.
