Erie Canal - Towards the end....

Waking up refreshed after a good nights sleep I found an early morning Fairport as enchanting as I had seen it go to bed. Shops opened, people were up and about and the town slowly awoke. I had a morning breakfast of cereal and coffee and did a few things about the boat. Even being solo, I still put away my sleeping bag, folded clothes and wiped off the bugs that had attached themselves to my boat overnight. I made it a routine to have the boat clean and tidy every day and pack things away even though I would use them that night. Living in a small space encourages clean habits for me.

I travel pretty light with a few changes of clothes to make it through a few days and dress in layers so that I could adjust for the temperature through the day. It was to be another perfect fall day with the cooler morning rolling in to a warm fall afternoon. Spreading my maps and charts out I planned the day. I was now reversing course and headed back towards where I had started. My my first stop was going to be heading back towards Newark at mile marker 226 where I had passed through earlier in the trip.

The day's journey was uneventful and it was nice to see the canal from the other direction as I retraced my steps. I ended up spending the night in Newark which is a great little town. It had been a long day on the water so after traveling I tied up the boat, did some chores and wandered around the town. Newark is another town which welcomes boaters and has ample docking with electricity. There is a dockmaster's office with showers and bathrooms in the lower level as well as a number facilities nearby. The town is of a fairly good-size and there are plenty of other amenities for boaters should you need them. I spent a brief time walking through the town to stretch my legs. I ate a cold meal on the boat with some food that I brought, took a shower turned in for the night. I brought a few books and caught up on some reading. It is always nice to be snuggled in a sleeping bag with a good read as you drift off and I took full advantage of it.

The next day I got up early and continued to head East. I cruised back through Lyons as well as Clyde and came to the intersection of the Erie and Cayuga Seneca canal. This is a branch of the canal which goes down south and links to both Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake. It's amazing how vast and big the canal system is. I was so sad that I didn't have longer periods of time to explore all the length of the entire Canal so I picked the places that I knew were good. It had been a long day and I was getting short on time so I sort of sped up a little bit to make sure that I would clear the locks in the canal and be able to reach Seneca Falls in time. There's a long straight southbound stretch before you reach lock number CS1 and you pass underneath the New York State Thruway. It's funny to watch cars pass above you traveling in different directions as you travel slowly on your boat. As I passed underneath the road I stared up at the passing cars. Each of us were in motion going different ways with different destinations. I think I've passed over the canal several times on the Thruway and I've also looked out the window wishing I was on it. Now here I was being so lucky to be in a boat taking a trip that I had always dreamed of. I didn't spend much time lollygagging because there was one more lock after that at the entrance to Seneca Falls.

The stretch between lock one and the double locks directly outside of Seneca Falls is a really nice trip. You pass through the Montezuma National Wildlife Reserve which is absent of any signs of life and is a perfect afternoon boating trip. After clearing the first lock you have the option to either head south into Cayuga Lake or continue on the canal which will take you through Seneca Falls and into Seneca Lake. Heading straight out of the lock is Cayuga Lake with Ithica at its southern terminus - but that trip will have to wait for another time. The right out of the lock leads to the canal towards Seneca Lake and it is very pleasant. It is lined with a number of houses each of which seem to have their own personal dock with the number of great boats. The only problem with this stretch is that the speed limit is heavily regulated due to the number of houses along the canal. Between the two locks it is pretty much a no wake zone making speed an issue if you are rushing to make a 4:45 pm last locking.

I cleared the locks around 5 and ended up in Seneca Falls which was perhaps my favorite stop along the entire canal. With just 15 minutes before the locks closed I sneaked in and passed through without any issues. I had radioed ahead to the lock tender and he was kind enough to make sure that I locked through in time. I can’t say enough about the lock staff on the canal. My first day on the canal I had visited lock E2 in Waterford and spoke to the lock tender there who walked me through the procedure. When I did my first lock later in the week I felt well prepared. Perhaps it was because of the small size of my boat or the lack of other traffic but I had no issues in the locks. At the most there was usually a few minutes wait while the lock was prepared and I was able to go right through. In the summer I understand that it is much more busy and transits at locks may require boaters to tie up for a while while other traffic passes through.

The locks just outside of Seneca Falls are unique because they are double locked. This means that you pass through one lock and when the gate is opened you pass directly into a second lock. I have to say that the approach to Seneca Falls is probably one of the prettiest sections of the Erie Canal. You enter Van Cleef Lake on which is a giant granite Church overlooking the water. A quarter mile past that is the docking areas in the downtown.

Seneca Falls is said to be the model for the city in the movie It's a Wonderful Life and the town lives up to its reputation. It has a beautiful classic downtown with a main street and nice residential area. Several small restaurants line the Main Street as well as some local shops. Seneca Falls is also the birthplace of the suffrage movement and there is a National Park Service Museum in right in the center of town. Since I arrived late in the evening and planned on leaving early in the morning I didn't have a chance to visit the site but I strolled around the town and got a great feel for it. As with many of the other little towns along the way, small towns in upstate New York still face many challenges in terms of economics and employment. It seems like as much infrastructure as you can put into a town there still needs to be in investment in the people. I wonder how towns like Seneca Falls will continue into the next decade. It always seems like there are great people in these towns that are fighting hard to keep them alive. I wish them the best.

The public docks along Seneca Falls line both sides of the canal. On one side is a large grassy area with bollards along the canal, a taller stone wall, and plenty of room to tie up. That side has no amenities including no electricity. The other side is the city side and has free electricity as well as a clean and well-maintained restroom and shower area for boaters. I took a quick shower, cleaned up and headed out to explore the town. I stumbled along an excellent restaurant called 84 Fall where I had a few beers and picked a few items from their excellent menu. Well sated, and with a belly full of local beer, I wandered back to the canal where planned on tucking myself in for the night. I have to say than in terms of scenery my general experience here was one of the nicest ports along the canal. People told me to Seneca Falls was very welcoming to boaters as well as a excellent place to stop, and it definitely lives up to its reputation. It was a super perfect warm fall evening and I sat on the canal edge enjoying the warm autumn air. Several families walked up and down the canal and I had a chance to interact with a number of people. Everyone was welcoming and had so many questions about the boat as usual. I tucked myself in for the night as this was to be my second to last night on the canal. It couldn't have been a better spot. If you have a chance to visit Seneca Falls either by car or boat definitely do it. I have some friends who relocated to the area and I plan on next summer to head out there and explore both the Lakes. in the meanwhile those would have to wait as I had to head east again back to where I started.