The trail is hard pack/gravel from Oriskany to Marcy and then is paved all the way to Aqua Vino in North Utica.
We like this part of the trail because it has nice views of the water.
Remember bug spray!
This cache starts with lots of goodies for little ones. You are looking for a large size power tool container.
Some history on the Erie Canalway Trail-
For thousands of years the Valley of the Mohawks provided the only east-west passage through the mountain barrier that runs from Maine to Georgia. At first this passage was traveled on foot, by dugout or elm bark canoe. By the early 1700s, flat-bottomed boats were pushed, pulled and poled up and down the river, and carted and carried around rapids and falls. By the late 1700s a few short canals cut across sharp bends in the river and a few wooden, water-powered elevators (locks) bypassed the worst rapids and longest carries.
In the early 1800s a hand-dug canal that featured dozens of stone and mortar locks, and provided flat-water boating from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, bypassed the river. It was called the Erie Canal. In the early 1900s, the Erie Canal was bypassed by a wider and deeper canal with bigger and fewer locks that utilized much of the original course of the Mohawk River. It was called the Barge Canal. By the late 1900s, the Barge Canal was bypassed by a wider and deeper canal with bigger locks that utilized the waters of the St. Lawrence River. It was called the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Today the commercial use of the cross-state canal has diminished to a trickle, and the recreational use of the Canal Corridor has taken center stage. Now the passage through the mountains can be traveled on foot, by bike or boat. It's called the Erie Canal and the Canalway Trail.
The New York State Canalway Trail System presently consists of some 240 miles of recreational trails across upstate New York. It will eventually span more than 500 miles of the canal corridor, including the cross-state canals and sections in the Finger Lakes and Champlain Valley.
In the Mohawk Valley the Canalway Trail will provide more than 110 miles of trail, along sections of the 1800s Canal and the 1900s Canal, that can be used for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, bird watching, fishing access and in some areas, hunting.
The longest completed section in the Mohawk Valley is the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway; a 25-mile trail along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers between Rotterdam and Cohoes. Much of this trail is on the original Erie Canal towpath. Except for the crossing between Schenectady and Scotia and under the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87), the trail is continuous.
The newest completed section of the Canalway runs along the oldest section of the original Erie Canal. Years before the canal was completed in 1825, the Rome to Utica run was open for business. A few years ago a 5-mile section of trail was built along the old canal from Stanwix (just east of Rome) to the village of Oriskany.
About the Canalway Trail
The Canalway Trail is a network of approximately 300 miles of multiple-use trails across upstate New York. The Canalway Trail follows the towpaths of both active and historic sections of the New York State Canal System as well as adjacent abandoned rail corridors.
Major portions of the Canalway Trail follow the legendary Erie Canal route from Buffalo to Albany. Along the way, the Erie Canalway Trail links the cities of Rochester, Syracuse and Utica. Over 75% of the Erie Canalway Trail is completed off-road. TheCycling the Erie Canal guide by Parks & Trails New York ![]()
provides recommended on-street links that complete the trail route across the state. Other portions of the Canalway Trail follow the Champlain, Cayuga-Seneca and Oswego canals.
The Canalway Trail is not only a great long distance bicycling destination, but also an ideal close-to-home recreational resource for biking, walking, jogging and other types of seasonal trail activities. Trailhead parking and interpretive kiosks with historic information about the Erie Canal and New York State Canal System are located at many points along the Erie Canalway Trail. The Canalway Trail primarily consists of a stone dust surface with some asphalt segments.
Find the Canalway Trail Today
A free map of the Canalway Trail is available from the Canal Corporation. To obtain a copy, pleasecontact us online or call 1-800- 4CANAL4. A more detailed Cycling the Erie Canal guide is available fromParks & Trails New York ![]()
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Distinctive trailblazers mark the Canalway Trail route and make it easy to find.
For more information on the New York State Canalway Trail System see: http://www.canals.state.ny.us/trail/index.html
http://www.mpaulkeeslerbooks.com/Chap19Recreation.htm
http://www.ocgov.net/oneida/sites/default/files/planning/InsetMaps/2011/BikeAtlasTrailsWeb.pdf
http://www.mpaulkeeslerbooks.com/BargeCanalwayTrail.html
http://www.ptny.org/canalway/index.shtml
http://www.canals.ny.gov/trails/about.html