Erie Canal

We took a very enjoyable boat trip in early July 2025 along a section of the Erie Canal in Lockport, New York while staying at the nearby Daisy Barn Campground RV Park in Wilson, about 30 minutes away. The trip lasted around 90 minutes and took us through two of the largest locks on the canal.

The Erie Canal runs 363 miles east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. It was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians. The Erie Canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, the westward expansion of the United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York state. It has been called “The Nation’s First Superhighway”.

Our narrated boat trip, operated by Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises traveled just a few miles along the canal but gave us a good understanding of the history of the canal from its opening in 1825, its commercial hay day through the first half of the 20th century, to its current mainly recreational use. A highlight of the trip was traversing the two large locks (labeled E34 and E35) that provide for a 49.1 foot elevation change at the Niagara escarpment. Notably, the escarpment is the cliff over which the Niagara River plunges at Niagara Falls a short distance away. These two locks run next to an original set of five historic locks that now function as a spillway. It was interesting to see the lock doors open and close and to gradually ride the increasing (one way) and decreasing (the other way) water level as the locks filled or emptied.

After heading upward through the locks, the boat turned around at a wide section of the canal a couple of miles later, and we returned back the way we came. The locks empty about twice as fast as they fill so our return journey downward through the locks went a lot quicker than our outward journey.

On the return journey we continued past our original starting point to pass under the historic Adams Street Lift Bridge that was built in 1917. We watched as the bridge was lifted for our boat to pass under on the outward and return journeys.

This was a great boat trip, we not only got to enjoy the beautiful weather and varied scenery but also learned about the history of the Erie Canal and the surrounding area. Photos of our trip are provided below. Click on the thumbnails to view the pictures.