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Anonymous01/25/26, 03:55No.2858889Paddling the canal
Anybody ever paddle the Erie Canal?
Slept on a lock in Brockton for a roadtrip last year and the idea has stuck in my head ever since. Never kayaked such a distance before so any advice would be appreciated. Planning for late august 2026/2027
Mainly how do you handle the car? My current plan is to drive to buffalo, drop my shit somewhere private, park at the airport, and take an uber to the canal. Then when I finish hide my shit, fly/bus back to buffalo, and drive back to Albany to grab my stuff. That seems like a ton of work but I don't have any contacts in the region or friends willing to drive that much just to pick me up/drop me off
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Anon01/25/26, 04:55No.2858896
>paddling hundreds of miles through petroleum covered lockshave fun bro.
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Anon01/25/26, 17:02No.2858925
no but looks kino
https://eriecanalway.org/explore/watertrail
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Anon01/25/26, 19:38No.2858942
seven miles I feel wiped so probably 15 miles a day is reasonable sun-up to sun-down. I've been wanting to do some similar and canal water is easy to paddle.
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Anon01/26/26, 03:51No.2859049
I live right on the canal west of Rochester. I’ve paddled between two towns but that’s all I got. Lots of cool places to camp.
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Anon01/26/26, 13:14No.2859094
>Trying to navigate the Eerie Canal
Yep that’s a paddlin’
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Anon01/26/26, 16:40No.2859113
I live in Western NY and have done a few daytrips on the canal with my kayak. It's a pleasant paddle, especially around sunrise/sunset, but would become a bit samey over the entire 300+ mile stretch I'd imagine. I prefer sea kayaking on Lake Ontario when I'm up that way.
In Medina (one of the canal villages between Buffalo and Rochester), there's a unique paddling route that takes you to the base of a 40 ft. waterfall. It's right next to the canal and would be a nice side journey that's more interesting than the canal itself.
There's a camping spot in Macedon ("Lock 30 campsite" just east of Rochester) and other lodging in various towns along the route.
Looks like there are other public and private campsites along the way:
https://empiretrail.ny.gov/activities/camping
https://www.canals.ny.gov/Trails/CampingYou can also bike the entire Erie Canal Trail which is more appealing to me because you can knock out long distances quicker on that flat-ass path.
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Anon01/26/26, 21:45No.2859184
Anyways. What's a good logic for the car? Maybe driving to buffalo then having a friend fly to buffalo and drive to Albany then fly home so my car is at the end waiting for me. That seems so silly but I can't come up with a better method.
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Anon01/29/26, 02:17No.2859491
I'll report back any good tidbits
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Anon01/29/26, 04:09No.2859504
>estimated duration is 2.5-3 weeks for end to end
>get a nice "if found" sticker from the coast guard for free https://www.wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=130-04-08&category=if-found-contact
>Joseph dart invented the steam-powered grain elevator in 1842. Gtk
>guide has you starting in buffalo then up niagra river. harlem rd fishing site for the full 359.1 miles
>actual canal starts at abt mile 339 dropping at niawanda like anon mentioned. Very commercial around buffalo so it would be safer/easier to drop here buuuuut I mean to do /almost/ the whole thing isn't as fun
>cool aquaduct ruins in Montezuma
>there are a few places where you're going upstream even when traveling east
>canal markers run across the middle of onieda lake but the rec route is to follow the shoreline
>couple lighthouses
The rest is a super granular list of each bridge and associated mile marker