At 200, An Erie Canal Cruise Is A Bucket List Adventure

Discover the magic of a New York canal cruise on the iconic Erie Canal.

Slow travel back to 1817, when construction began on a waterway to connect the Hudson River with Lake Erie. Just eight years later in 1825, the human-built canal from Albany to Buffalo became the source of the original E-commerce.

The Erie Canal lowered the cost of shipping, expanded manufacturing, encouraged settlers to move west and south, and spawned the Industrial Revolution.

Experience the Erie Canal’s historic locks, aqueducts and bridges with a houseboat or canal boat rental. The Canal’s innovative engineering transforms a laidback Erie Canal barge vacation into an unforgettable 100% American-made, bucket-list adventure.

A Relaxing Erie Canal Cruise Back in Time

Progressive ideas, abolitionist politics and Yankee ingenuity traveled 363 miles down the Canal and spread across America. Once known as “Clinton’s Big Ditch” after Governor DeWitt Clinton, who championed it, the Erie Canal was an instant commercial success. And it all happened 200 years ago!

To commemorate the Bicentennial, we booked Otisco, a two-bedroom houseboat rental from Erie Canal Adventures. With best friends. we self-skippered the barge west from Macedon Landing to Spencerport for a unique travel experience.

Learn to Barge the Erie Canal on a New York Canal Cruise

Day 1, the patient staff at Erie Canal Adventures takes bargeloads of newbies through a rigorous four-hour training session.

No experience? No problem! Whatever lessons you don’t memorize in the classroom are repeated, in person, with a trainer, as you cruise away from shore, navigate a lock, and master 360s with your barge!

How to Captain Your Canal Barge Rental

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Steering a barge, whose effective speed tops out at 6mph, challenges patience and alertness. Not driving skills. That’s part of what makes a boating holiday safe enough so kids can take the helm.

Forget the mules who pulled barges at 2½ mph along the Canal Towpath back in the day. Today’s boats have engines and bow thrusters for easy maneuvering. A responsive tiller points the way from the stern.

The confidence built by captaining a New York canal barge guarantees a lifelong love of boating.

Conquer Locks and Bridges on a New York Canal Cruise

The Erie Canal changes 568 feet in elevation between Lake Erie and the Hudson River. To control the water level, 83 stone locks were built for the Canal’s opening; 34 (some added later) are still in use.

During the lesson phase, your trainer demonstrates how to navigate Lock 30, part of Macedon Landing Canal Park. “Conquering” locks requires clear communication with the Lockmaster, who manages the gates and lineup of boats. You’ll need this knowledge to traverse Lock 32 and Lock 33 on your boating adventure. Most important, pay attention to the safety lights!

Pro Tip: Opt for a seven-night charter eastbound to reach Lockport. This tranquil Canalside town near Niagara Falls is famed for its Flight of Five Locks.

Admire Bridges on a New York Barge Vacation

Remember the refrain: Low Bridge, Everybody Down…We Must Be Getting Near a Town?

That song was written between 1905 and 1918, when the Canal was deepened and widened to accommodate larger vessels. Pay attention to the graceful mechanics of lift bridges added during this period, all authentic to this impressive waterway.

Learn to use the marine radio to communicate with the 15 lift bridges still operating on western New York canal cruises.

Check out which routes cross locks and bridges on the Canal Corporation’s great map of the New York canal cruise system and the entire Erie Canalway.  

Ease on Down: A Chill New York Canal Boat Vacation

We moored our houseboat barge the first night in Bushnel’s Basin at Perinton. It took 20 hair-raising minutes of steering closer and closer to the town dock…but not close enough… to tie it up.

Soon, we were toasting each other with a bottle of Prosecco at Branca’s, a noted destination Italian restaurant near the port.

Pro tip:  A tiny port like Bushnel’s Basin is a great alternative to larger docks crowded with recreational boaters.

Rolling into 19th-Century Pittsford

Don’t miss Pittsford, where verdant lawns and converted farmhouses charm visitors. Remnants of a portside mill recall how the Erie Canal boosted local manufacturing, earning nearby Rochester the nickname “Flour City.”

Take advantage of the easy mooring for a nostalgic stroll to Pittsford Dairy, a class act farm market. Picnic tables, a kids’ pony corral, shade trees and clean restrooms invite boaters to linger. Explore the scenic Canal Towpath winding through dense trees. It’s perfect for a leisurely walk or bike ride (bikes are included with each rental).

If this is an Erie Canal boat holiday for families, sweeten your day with an extra scoop of famous Lumberjack ice cream. Overnighters enjoy a meal at Erie Grill, just a five-minute walk from the marina.

Pro Tip: Pittsford is a good place to stock the galley with casual breakfast and lunch fare. Each town has provisions and grills so you can barbecue — or dine out – at supper.

Things to See on an Erie Canal Barge Trip: Spencerport

After a tranquil Canalside picnic, we mastered two busy locks to reach Spencerport. Larger than it looks from the pier, Spencerport is packed with gingerbread homes, century-old oaks and church steeples. Make time to visit the Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum, open select days May 31 to late October.

Dining options range from the funky Texas Bar-B-Que, where draft beer and ribs come in portions befitting the state that inspired it, to the more sophisticated The Coterie. Locals say Spencerport VIC’s (Village Ice Cream Parlor) is a mandatory stop!

Pro Tip: Relax and enjoy the timeless pace of recreational boating.

Gem Among Erie Canalway Attractions: Fairport

The picturesque Fairport Lift Bridge, built in 1913, is an Insta-worthy tourist magnet. Make sure you dock early enough to explore this sophisticated, gentrified factory town. The railroad depot and legacy mills have been converted to craft breweries, artisanal bakeries, vintage clothing stores, upscale eateries and more.

At night, check out the Irish bars with live music directly across from the marina. The Porterhouse is a fun steak and seafood place above the town dock that overlooks the Erie Canal. Cross the illuminated lift bridge and try Compane Trattoria and sample the bourbon from Iron Smoke Distillery next door.

The Erie Canal Makes the Finger Lakes Commercial New York Waterways

All the villages we visited were settled as Erie Canal construction progressed. Each prospered as workers, goods and families moved to the region.

Soon Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, of the Finger Lakes, could access the Great Lakes. Visit them on a seven-day eastern itinerary from Macedon Landing!

Seneca Falls is one of the best-known ports on an eastbound canal boat vacation. It is the birthplace of the Suffrage movement that brought the right to vote to American women. Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist and journalist who lived in Rochester, attended the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848.

Other canal boat, houseboat and barge rentals are available in the Finger Lakes.

The Cost of Renting a Barge or Houseboat for a New York Canal Cruise

Forget ordinary vacations — imagine a surprisingly luxurious Class A motorhome on water. To us, the red and green Erie Canal Adventures rental barges evoked the past. The reality is that they’re all steel hulls modeled on what European families have vacationed in for generations.

Some Canal houseboats have two double-bedded rooms and others, a double room and two bunks. In both models, the lowered dining counter meets upholstered bench seats to form a third double bed. Everyone shares two bathrooms (one shower), two closets, ample storage, a full kitchen with coffeemaker, half fridge and more. (“Cabins” are tiny and beds are compact, so they may not suit tall or large torsos.)

What You Get for Your Canal Cruise Bucks

An Erie Canal Adventures three-night, four-day journey starts at $3,050 for a well-designed 42-foot-long, two-bedroom barge, sleeping up to six. One-bedroom barges, 34 feet in length with just one double berth, start at $2,625 for a three night charter.

Pet-loving families can bring their dog, since there’s one of each size barge designated as pet-friendly. An additional nominal fee covers the extra cleaning requirements.

Erie Canal Adventures provides helpful Eastbound and Westbound itineraries with suggested overnights, plus a free app that details each village’s facilities.

Chase down the harbormaster at your overnight ports to pay $23 for water, an electricity hookup and WiFi. It’s money well spent to explore and support vintage Americana.

The Best Time to Cruise the Erie Canal

The Erie Canal Adventures company rents canal barges between mid-May and October, when the Erie Canalway is operational.

Early and late season promise the best rates and availability, but you may experience rain, chilly weather (40s to mid-60s F) and high winds. The prime months of July and August typically bring sunny days in the 70s and 80s, more crowds and higher prices.

Pro Tip: Especially if traveling with kids, consider a midweek rental to avoid the weekend recreational boaters, kayakers and rowers on the Erie Canal.

More Ways to Explore the Erie Canal Waterway: Ohio

Soon after the Erie Canal opening, the Ohio & Erie Canal project was launched to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River. Running 308 miles, the O&E eventually reduced travel time between Cleveland and Cincinnati to just 80 hours. Explore parts of the original canal and bike the Canal Towpath in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. For a deeper dive, join Discovery Bicycle Tours supported inn-to-inn cycling on the Ohio to Erie Trail.

Special Events for the 200th Anniversary of the Erie Canal

Celebrate the majestic Erie Canal during the 2025 summer season in all the regions the Canal traverses.

For example, Cayuga County, which boasts the second largest aqueduct in the system, is hosting events at the Montezuma Canal Heritage Park. Be sure to visit Auburn, home to the famed Underground Railroad heroine, Harriet Tubman.

Buffalo kicks off immersive programming in the city’s Canalside neighborhood in late May. Look for museum exhibits and tour the replica Seneca Chief barge that Governor Clinton used during its coming out party. From Sept 20-24, 2025, that barge will make a Bicentennial Voyage, calling on 28 ports from Buffalo to New York Harbor.

It’s possible to bike along the Canal towpath any time, but cyclists claim the annual Parks & Trails Cycle the Erie Canal Trail ride is a must. This Bicentennial year, riders can bike the full 400-mile route from Buffalo to Albany from July 12-20. A four-day leg (Buffalo to Syracuse) ranges from $200 for under-5s to $800/adults including meals and supported camping.

In recent news: New York State has allocated $50 million towards preserving the Erie Canal’s infrastructure in the coming century.

Plan now to experience the moonshot legacy of this 200-year-old wonder for yourself!