Day 324

Total Miles Walked To Date:438.5 Miles
Total Miles Run To Date:365.4Miles
Total Miles Walk/Run To Date: 803.9Miles
Average of 2.48 Miles a Day

Old Erie Canal State Park Trail - July 11, 2009

On the weekend of July 11, 2009 I head to Syracuse for the wedding of my niece Alexandra to John. While I was there I took the opportunity to take a run on the Old Erie Canal State Park Trail, at it's starting point in De Witt, NY. It was a good day for a run, Louis and Vinny joined me for the run, it was a good day for a run but even a better day for the wedding!

The Old Erie Canal State Park Trail is 36 miles long, and links Dewitt with Rome. The park was created from an abandoned section of the original Erie Canal. Almost the entire trail runs along the Old Erie Canal. The trail comes within four miles of Oneida Lake (a major tourist area) a few miles south of Higginsville.There are many things to see and do in both Verona Beach and Rome.
Old Erie Canal Trail Information:
New York State Canal Corporation
800/4CANAL4

Old Erie Canal Trail Links:
New York Canalway Trail System

New York State Canalway Trail System

The New York State Canalway Trail System is comprised of a network of more than 260 miles of existing multi-use, recreational trails across upstate New York. Major segments are adjacent to the waterways of the New York State Canal System (see our map) or follow remnants of the historic original canals of the early 1800s that preceded today's working Canal System.

The Canalway Trail System is comprised of four major segments: the 100-mile Erie Canal Heritage Trail in Western New York; the 36-mile Old Erie Canal State Park Trail in Central New York; the 60-mile Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway in the eastern Capital Region, and the eight-mile Glens Falls Feeder Canal Heritage Trail in the foothills of the Adirondacks near Lake George. In addition, there are smaller segments of Canalway Trail.

These trail segments and other areas of the Canalway Trail System connect with trails leading throughout New York State, providing one of the most extensive trail networks in the country.

Erie Canal Heritage Trail - a 100-mile Trail between Tonawanda and Newark in Western New York. This Trail segment is designated as a National Recreation Trail and has numerous access points, primarily where local roads intersect. Parking is available at many of the access points. Sign kiosks containing maps and historic information are located at many trailheads. Trail Uses: Hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing (all sections); horseback riding and snowmobiling in some sections (for details call the Canal Corporation). Trail Surface: Stone dust; some portions in Tonawanda and Rochester are asphalt. Biker-Hiker-Boater Campsites are located at Lock 30 in Macedon and at the Holley Canal Port.

Old Erie Canal State Park Trail - a 36-mile Trail within the linear State Park between DeWitt and Rome in Central New York. Designated as a National Recreation Trail, this segment incorporates an abandoned section of the nineteenth century-era Erie Canal. Parking areas with foot-bridge access to the Trail are located at Poolsbrook and Cedar Bay picnic areas within the park.

Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway - a 60-mile Trail along the Erie Canal and Mohawk River between St. Johnsville and Waterford in the Capital Region. Many sections of this segment were built on former grades of the nineteenth century Erie Canal towpath. The trail is continuous except for a segment between Rotterdam Junction and Amsterdam, a short segment under Interstate Route 87 (Adirondack Northway) in the Town of Colonie, and short segments in Schenectady and Cohoes. The bikeway route is signed along connecting roadways.

Glens Falls Feeder Canal Heritage Trail - an eight-mile Trail between Glens Falls and Fort Edward along the historic Feeder Canal near the Hudson River and Old Champlain Canal. The Trail follows the towpath along the Feeder Canal, which is one of the last surviving sections of the original 1820s Canal System. The Feeder Canal was built in the late 1820s to help maintain the water level in the Champlain Canal, since the section between Fort Ann and Fort Edward was higher than the rest of the Canal. A link between the Feeder Canal Heritage Trail and the Warren County/Bikeway leading to Lake George is signed along connecting roadways in Glens Falls.

WATCH THE CANALWAY TRAIL SYSTEM GROW

The New York State Canal Corporation's long-range goal for the Canalway Trail System is to create a cross-State network of multi-use trails that will span nearly 500 miles across upstate New York, paralleling major portions of the 524-mile New York State Canal System.
When completed over the next several years, the Trail System will provide a means for those who are not boaters to enjoy the beauty and the history found all along New York's Canals. The System will include both urban and rural trails to meet the needs of both visitors and local residents alike.

Completion of the Trail will involve the creation of partnerships between the New York State Canal Corporation and a variety of organizations, including local governments, not-for-profit organizations, other New York State government agencies, and the National Park Service.

FIND THE CANALWAY TRAIL TODAY

A free map of the New York State Canalway Trail System is available from the New York State Canal Corporation. To obtain a copy, or to learn more about the Canalway Trail, call: Toll-free (800)-4CANAL4 or write: New York State Canal Corporation P.O. Box 189 Albany, NY 12201-0189.

HISTORY

One of the longest of the great American canals built in the 19th Century. The Erie Canal extends from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, at Buffalo. The idea was to get goods back and forth from the Great Lakes to New York City (via the Hudson River, which connected with the Erie Canal). The Canal was built between 1817 and 1825 and had paid for itself within 10 years. The building of the Canal also helped settle Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other states on the Great Lakes.

At the dawn of the 19th century, New York businessmen were getting anxious. New York was losing out to other port cities as a center for trade. New York offered no easy way -- besides a long, hard, overland trip -- to ship goods between the city and the Midwest, where a growing population wanted to trade.

In 1810, Mayor De Witt Clinton proposed a dramatic solution. He suggested digging a canal between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. Clinton asked President Madison for financial aid but was rejected. Determined, he persuaded New York State to fund the project, even though some politicians nicknamed it "Clinton's ditch."

Construction began in 1817 and was finished in 1825. The canal was an amazing 363 miles long, but only 40 feet wide and four feet deep. That may sound shallow, but it was deep enough for its flat-bottomed boats. The canal also had 83 stone locks to help raise and lower boats across steep inclines.

In 1825, when the canal was completed, Clinton traveled on the first boat from Buffalo, at the Lake Erie end, to Albany, then on down to Manhattan. When he got there, the city celebrated.

July 19, 2009 Miles Update

Total Miles Run To Date: 353.3 Miles

Total Miles Walked To Date: 425.5 Miles

Total Walk/Run To Date: 778.8 Miles