One-Tank Trip / Erie Canal
An Erie Canal cruise offers history at your leisure
When the original Erie Canal opened in 1825 it immediately provided the speediest and most comfortable mode of travel across the state. Today, canal travel offers a much slower and more tranquil way to see the countryside and canal towns that are often just a blur along the New York State Thruway.
On board the Emita II, a 65- foot long refitted Maine passenger ferry, the pace is very leisurely — perfect for anyone looking for a relaxing way to get away from it all for a few days and experience an earlier mode of travel.
Mid-Lake Navigation Co., the oldest tour boat company on the Erie Canal, operates the Emita II. Owned by the Wiles family, the company is celebrating its 40th season this year. The late Peter Wiles started the company in 1968 with a mail boat cruise on Skaneateles Lake. It has since expanded to two boats on Skaneateles Lake, 11 canal boats available for weeklong charters, the Emita II and a large marina on the canal at Macedon east of Rochester.
“Dad had unusual vision,” said Peter Wiles Jr., president of Mid-Lakes Navigation. “He saw his company not only as a way to make a living, but also as a tool for teaching his children and a means of contributing to the success of the region. He knew that all those things were connected and working toward any one of his goals benefited the others.”
When most cargo traffic ended in the early 1970s, the justification for the continued existence of the canal system was gone. There was serious talk of closing the canals. It was Peter Wiles who led the successful campaign to save and re-brand the canals as major tourist attractions and as the engine for redevelopment of the state’s canal communities.
On board
The Emita II carries a maximum of 40 passengers and a crew of seven. It offers two and three-day cruises along the Erie Canal that you can take from Lockport, as well as day trips. During the multiple-day cruises, all meals are served on board and nights are spent in nearby hotels and motels. Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style and the friendly crew serves dinner. As on the big cruise ships, food was plentiful.
It is clear from the first sighting of the Emita II at the dock in Lockport that this was a cruise with a difference. In the era of massive cruise ships, this boat is certainly petite but proved to be comfortable and perfect for cruising under the canal’s low bridges. The top viewing deck half is protected by a canopy that had to be lowered to cruise under some of the low bridges. It is attractively furnished with deck chairs, tables and cushioned benches.
The call did go out from the captain with some regularity: “Low bridge, everybody down.” And we all immediately sat down for some bridges are quite low.
Mahogany trim accents the pilothouse where the captain maintains an open house policy for passengers with questions or anyone wanting a different vantage. Stairs lead down to the forward open deck and interior cabin. The dining room in the rear is arranged with long, custom- built wooden tables, banquettes and chairs. There is a small library and a bar. Board games and local newspapers are available.
Captain Dan Wiles (Peter’s brother) was at the helm and is a passionate canal booster. He is full of stories of the canal’s fabled history. He set the tone with a talk about our cruise before getting underway. A crew-member follows the boat in a van and is on hand at locks to help in “locking through” or to assist passengers with shopping for forgotten items.
Our intrepid group of passengers, captain and crew set out from Lockport with the goal of reaching Syracuse 160 miles away in three days. The maximum speed on the canal is an unhurried 10 mph so this was a comfortable goal.
We first traveled through Lockport’s double set of locks and under one of the world’s widest bridges. This area was the last section of the 1825 original canal to be completed. Lockport sits on top of a massive ledge of solid rock known as the Niagara Escarpment. Canal boats traveling west had to be raised 70 feet to the top of the stone mountain and those traveling east had to be lowered the same distance.
The solution was two sets of five locks so two-way traffic could be maintained. The twin set of locks was known as the “flight of five.” It took two years to build these locks and blast a deep canal channel in the rock west of Lockport. One set of the old locks remains though they are no longer used. Plans call for their restoration for demonstration purposes.
Once through the locks we turned around and headed east (the next set of locks were 64 miles away). The western section of the canal has been designated a heritage corridor by New York State. This corridor features the longest section of the Erie Canal that still follows its original path and retains its historic relationship to the communities and landscapes along its banks. The Canalway Trail follows the canal route and is ideal for biking or walking.
There are village main streets, lift bridges, farm fields, 20th century locks alongside historic lock ruins, canal engineering marvels, cobblestone and local sandstone buildings.
Orchards predominate along the canal between Lockport, Middleport, Albion and Medina. A giant apple sculpture greets visitors to orchard rich Medina. We disembarked here to explore the aqueduct that takes the canal over Old Orchard Creek.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Medina’s Main Street is one of the finest examples of 19th century commercial architecture on the Erie Canal. Today, the buildings house stores and restaurants.
Many buildings are built of the now famous Medina sandstone that was mined in the area and shipped via the Erie Canal around the world and used in the construction of the New York’s Brooklyn Bridge and London’s Buckingham Palace. For about 80 years, nearly 50 quarries were in operation mining the durable sandstone which ranges in color from deep reddish-brown to light gray.
Just outside town is Medina’s other claim to fame — a road under the canal. Our trusty van provided a demonstration of the amazing Culvert Road that actually goes under the canal.
We passed Albion and spotted buildings painted with colorful murals of historic canal scenes. Our final stop of the day was Brockport. It features a pleasant welcome center for boaters including a free shower and wagons for shoppers. We spent the night in a nearby Holiday Inn Express.
Back on board the next morning, our travels took us around Rochester and through historic villages. The original canal went right through downtown but today’s canal bypasses downtown. However, boaters can connect to the Genesee River and reach the Corn Hill section of the city, quite close to downtown. We passed through Genesee Valley Park and under several Frederick Law Olmsteddesigned stone bridges.
Between Pittsford and Fairport is the Grand Embankment created to fill the valley that confronted early canal builders.
“Canals don’t like hills and they don’t like valleys,” Wiles told us. “The solution was to build the embankment one mile wide and 70 feet deep with shovels and wheel barrows. Then the canal was put on top creating a waterway 70 feet above the surrounding land.”
In Fairport, one of the canal’s crown jewels, we made an ice cream stop. Some of us opted for gelato at the Royal Cafe, next to the Lift Bridge.
Our next stop was Palmyra where we saw an aqueduct from an earlier canal and received a lesson in the workings of a lock.
Teddy Roosevelt was responsible for today’s canals — 524 miles with 57 locks and many lift bridges — a project bigger than the Panama Canal that was under construction at the same time. Today’s canals, opened in 1918, make use of many natural waterways including the Seneca, Oswego, Hudson and Mohawk rivers that the original waterway had to avoid.
We spent the night in Newark at a Quality Inn alongside the canal.
The next morning we continued east through the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge where blue heron provided the entertainment. Then we passed small Cross Lake where the winds were kicking up small waves — something we hadn’t experienced on the canal.
Our final lock was Lock 24 in Baldwinsville, a suburb of Syracuse. Baldwinsville is another canal town that has embraced the waterfront in recent years with the transformation of an old mill into an elegant inn, an amphitheater that hosts weekend concerts along the canal, upscale houses and many waterfront restaurants.
Our cruise was soon over and we were driven back to Lockport where a double rainbow greeted us — a fitting end to our canal cruise.
If you go
For more information: The Emita II will resume multiple day cruises from Lockport in September, with the last cruise of the season departing Lockport on Oct. 11 for Macedon. Rates are $382-$693 per person. Call (800) 545-4318, (315) 685-7566 or visit www.midlakesnav.com . There are three-day cruises between Syracuse and Lockport, three-day cruises between Albany and Syracuse and two-day cruises between Lockport and Macedeon.
There are also day trips between Syracuse and Seneca Falls and on Oneida Lake in August. Otherwise, the Emita II takes passengers on lunch, dinner and sightseeing cruises out of Syracuse through Lock 24 at Baldwinsville in August.
