Boat the Erie Canal

Seneca Chief 2026

21 March 2026
Categories: Bicentennial, Boat the Erie Canal, Eastern Erie Canal, Western Erie Canal

2026 Back to Buffalo Tour

About the 2026 Back to Buffalo Tour

After traveling east to New York City to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal’s opening in the fall of 2025, the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief will travel westward along the canal to return to the city of Buffalo, where it all began.

The Back to Buffalo Tour is a statewide education and community engagement initiative led by the Buffalo Maritime Center, designed to connect students, educators, and canal communities with New York’s living maritime heritage. From May to October, the tour invites learners of all ages to explore the Erie Canal through guided boat tours, hands-on demonstrations, public events, festival appearances, and a homeward voyage along the canal. The Seneca Chief serves as a moving symbol of shared history and a platform for statewide learning.

You can also join the Back to Buffalo Tour virtually by following us on Facebook and Instagram. Each episode of our Virtual Voyage series will feature real-time updates, educational spotlights, and behind-the-scenes moments with our port partners and crew.

Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief Tour Timeline:

MAY 15: Guided Tours, Waterford

MAY 16: Waterford Canal Festival, Waterford

JUNE 6: Voyage Departure Event, Waterford

JUNE 6 – JUNE 27: Back to Buffalo Voyage, Along the Erie Canal

JUNE 27: Back to Buffalo Homecoming Event, Buffalo

JUNE 28 – SEPTEMBER 27: Guided Tours & Demonstrations, Buffalo

OCTOBER 3: Locktoberfest, Lockport

OCTOBER 4 – OCTOBER 15: Guided Tours & Demonstrations, Lockport

The Back to Buffalo Voyage | June 6 – 27, 2026

Building on the momentum of the 2025 Bicentennial Voyage – a defining event for Buffalo Maritime Center and New York State – the Back to Buffalo Voyage serves as the centerpiece of the tour, shifting from a commemorative journey to an education-first program.

Over 22 days, the boat will visit 16 ports along the Erie Canal, delivering NYS curriculum-aligned programming and public engagement opportunities expected to reach more than 5,000 students and thousands of community members statewide.

Back to Buffalo Tour Map & Itinerary for Website

Student and Community Programming

The tour features longer port stays that allow for schooltime visits and deeper, place-based learning experiences.

Students and visitors will learn traditional boatbuilding skills and explore the Erie Canal’s environmental, economic, cultural, and Indigenous history. The on-board experience lets people interact directly with the historic replica boat, life on the canal, and the importance of community.

Please click here to fill out the Field Trip Interest Form. Buffalo Maritime Center’s Education Director will contact you to schedule your visit to the canal boat and you will be added to a mailing list for future educational opportunities. Due to limited capacity, the field trip schedule will be developed on a first come first serve basis.

Support the Back to Buffalo Tour

The Back to Buffalo initiative builds on the success of the 2025 Bicentennial Voyage, positioning the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief as a traveling ambassador for New York’s canal heritage and a hands-on educational resource for learners across the state. To be a part of making this possible, click here to Donate Today.

The Buffalo Maritime Center is seeking partnerships and sponsorships for this season-long program. To become an official Sponsor, click here or contact Brian Trzeciak, Executive Director, at 716.881.0111 or via email at brian@bu 

Houseboats in Rome NY

15 November 2025
Categories: Boat the Erie Canal, Eastern Erie Canal

Could a houseboat community be coming to Rome NY, well yes if a local developer is able to receive the necessary zoning and planning board permission.   The plan would be to re-configure the marina to allow for 21 year-round houseboats to be placed at the Erie Canal Marina.  As is the case with several marinas on the Canal system, they have been forced to forgo maintenance as use of the Canal has lessened

The idea of creating houseboat communities along the Erie Canal has been of great interest to us at East Coast Houseboats.  When the Re-imagine the Canals, competition was first announced it got us thinking about how the Canal might benefit from the idea that houseboats could be a great way to get people out on the water.  With 524 miles of navigable waterway and more than 30 marinas located within the system it seems as if there are countless opportunities.

The obvious location for these boats would be in the existing marinas.  For these marinas, it would give them the opportunity to fill up any unused slips or even monetize areas of the marina that in the past have been unusable such as those with shallow water.  

What about the miles of unused sections of the Canal that could sustain small communities of houseboats?  What about the idea of creating mini marinas where groups of 5 or 6 boats could be located?  These marinas could be built with minimal infrastructure, there would be no fuel docks required, not even a travel lift.  A crane could be brought in for a day each Fall to pick the boats from the water and the process repeated in the Spring.  These boats could be built to be used completely off the grid, using Solar and wind generation which would provide virtually no carbon footprint. This could provide opportunities for businesses already located within the NYS Canal System to expand or even bring new investors to the area. 

The owners of these houseboats would now have access by water through the Canal System to go anywhere in the world or just sit on their floating front porch and fish, watch wildlife, kayak, canoe or bike or hike the Canalway Trail. 

 These boats could be placed in vacation rental platforms such as home-to-go or Airbnb offering opportunities to visitors to the Canal  a completely new way to experience the Canal Corridor.  These mini marinas could be set up so boat owners could park their day boats next to their houseboats for those trips out on the lake for a day of watersports or a trip to a dock and dine.

East Coast Houseboats builds and launch’s these boats at our production facility in Windsor NY.   The boats can be floated through the Canal System to their desired mooring locations

 

2025 Navigation Season on the Erie Canal

9 March 2025
Categories: Bicentennial, Boat the Erie Canal

2025 Navigation Season

Conditions permitting, all portions of the New York State Canal system are scheduled to open on Friday, May 16, 2025, marking the 201st consecutive season of navigation along New York’s Canals and the 200th anniversary of the original Erie Canal’s completion and opening on October 26, 1825. 

There are no tolls or fees for recreational use of the Canal system this year.

As part of the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial commemoration, the Canal Corporation is extending this year’s navigation season. The Canal system will remain open for both recreational and commercial vessels until Monday, November 3, 2025, at 6:00 pm. Hours of operation will be announced this spring.

This year’s extended navigation season is being offered to accommodate vessels traveling to and from New York City with the Buffalo Maritime Center’s replica Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief in late October.

Electric Houseboats Cruising the Erie Canal

3 January 2022
Categories: Boat the Erie Canal, Cayuga/Seneca Canals, Champlain Canal, Eastern Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Western Erie Canal

The E-Houseboat is being designed and built to be the first all-electric propelled and powered houseboat commercially available within the US.

The design team at East Coast Houseboats has been actively working on a completely unique way of building houseboats, and the E-Houseboat will be the first to benefit from this method. 

Starting with a fiberglass pontoon platform, the hulls are designed to minimize weight and provide less resistance as it travels down the waterway.  The cabin is built completely with lightweight composite materials but without sacrificing the level of year-round comfort that is common to our standard boat designs

East Coast Houseboats has been fortunate enough to partner with marine industry leaders such as Yanmar Mastry and Glendenning Marine to provide the propulsion and control engineering.

The design includes the necessary infrastructure to not only propel the boats, but re-charge it’s battery bank as she plies the Erie Canal in part due to the large rooftop array of lightweight solar panels.

 Capitalizing on the latest lithium-Ion battery technology, controls, and propulsion from industry leaders, and including features such as 12v led lighting throughout, 12v refrigeration, 12v HVAC.  All of which include products chosen for their ability to be integrated into the overall design and build of the boat.

 

At 30’ LOA, with a beam of 12’ the E-Houseboat will comfortably accommodate a family or 4 as a cruising houseboat or can be configured as the perfect day boat anchored in a cove. 

Looking to design your own version, we can build these boats from 22’ to 30’ and in beams from 10’ to 15’9”.  The engineering can be configured to focus less on daily cruising and more on daily living, as an example these boats could be completely off the grid cabins located in remote locations.

Outdoor spaces include a front deck, as well as a large roof deck space perfect for great views and sunsets.

E-One the first boat of its kind is scheduled to launch on the waters of the Erie Canal System in New York during the 2024 Navigation season.  The boat during its sea trials will be available for lock tours, boat shows and on the water events throughout the year.  E-One will then be available for bareboat charters on the Erie Canal. 

 

Lyons NY Peppermint Days

5 July 2018
Categories: Boat the Erie Canal, Western Erie Canal

Peppermint Days, Lyons NY 2018

If you like parades, fireworks, concerts, food, car shows and small-town charm then you want to be in Lyons NY from July 13th – July 15th. 2018. Lyons celebrates its heritage as the Peppermint Capital of the world. In 1841 E.G. Hotchiss located his essential oils business to Lyons where he processed the locally grown peppermint plants into oils and other related products.

Lyons is the county seat of Wayne County, the village is full of historical buildings and architecture, six village properties are listed on the NYS and National Register of Historic Places. It is also a “Main Street USA” designated village.

Read More

1.5 Billion Dollars Generated Annually Through Events Along The Erie Canal

19 May 2018
Categories: Bike/Hike the Canals, Boat the Erie Canal, Canal Road Trips, Cayuga/Seneca Canals, Champlain Canal, Eastern Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Uncategorized, Western Erie Canal

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor just released a study which shows that an estimated 1.5 billion dollars is generated annually by events such as boat tours, bicycle and paddle-sport rentals and historic site and museum tours along the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Events and tours drew more than 3.3 million visitors in 2017
Erie Canalway commissioned this study in part to determine the impacts of tourism throughout the Canal Corridor. The analysis was conducted by Level 7 Market Research  and supported by a grant from Market New York through I Love NY.
Over the last 10 years, the number of events along the Canal system has increased dramatically to include concerts, art festivals, cycling and paddling events as well as celebrations of local foods and beverages and events that focus on history and heritage. The NYS Canal Corporation website calendar listed more than 470 events.
The Erie Canal from Waterford to Brewerton is scheduled to open on May 15th. weather permitting with the entire canal system scheduled to open on May 18th.
In 2018 events include the 20th. Anniversary of Cycle The Erie Canal Bike Tour organized by Parks & Trails New York and the cross-canal journey of the Corning Museum of Glass GlassBarge, traveling with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s Canal Schooner Lois McClure
For the full Canal Event Analysis and Visitor Research Study, click here.
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor spans 524 miles across the full expanse of upstate New York, encompassing the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego, and Champlain canals and their historic alignments, as well as more than 230 canal communities.  Read the entire report

New Kayak Launch Baldwinsville NY

14 February 2018
Categories: Boat the Erie Canal

 

The Village is pleased to announce completion of a new kayak launch in  Community Park.  This launch provides easy access for kayaking in the Seneca River.  This portion of the river provides great flat water kayaking with the opportunity to view many species of wildlife including heron, water fowl, bald eagles, muskrats and more.  Parking is readily available and there are restrooms directly adjacent to the launch site.  This launch will be open until mid-November (depending on weather conditions).  We encourage all local kayakers to come and try it out

2018 Navigation Season On The Erie Canal

1 February 2018
Categories: Boat the Erie Canal, Cayuga/Seneca Canals, Champlain Canal, Eastern Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Western Erie Canal

Dates & Hours of Operation during the 2018 Navigation Season on the Erie Canal

The New York State Canal Corporation announced once again that the navigation season on the Erie Canal will be shortened to a schedule similar to the 2017 season.

Boaters are advised that, conditions permitting, the Eastern Erie Canal (locks E-2 Waterford through E-23 Brewerton will be opened on Tuesday May 15th. at 10:00 

The balance of the New York State Canal System, including the Champlain Canal, Western Erie Canal, Oswego Canal and the Cayuga/Seneca Canal will be opened on  Friday May 18th. at 7:00 a.m. conditions permitting.

The entire Erie Canal System will close for the season on Wed October 10th. at 5 p.m.

The standard hours of operation for the 2018 season are 7 a.m. to 5 pm. with the following locks and lift bridges having extended hours until 10 p.m. from May 18th. to Sept. 12th.

  • Lock C-1, Halfmoon
  • Lock E-7, Niskayuna
  • Lock E-23, Brewerton
  • Lock O-1, Phoenix
  • Lock O-2, Fulton
  • Lock O-3, Fulton
  • Lock E-24, Baldwinsville
  • Main Street Lift Bridge, Fairport
  • Lock E-32, Pittsford
  • Lock E-33, Henrietta
  • Spencerport Lift Bridge
  • Adams Basin Lift Bridge
  • Park Avenue Lift Bridge, Brockport
  • Main Street Lift Bridge, Brockport
  • Holley Lift Bridge
  • Hulberton Lift Bridge
  • Ingersoll Street Lift Bridge, Albion
  • Main Street Lift Bridge, Albion
  • Eagle Harbor Lift Bridge
  • Knowlesville Lift Bridge
  • Medina Lift Bridge
  • Middleport Lift Bridge
  • Gasport Lift Bridge
  • Exchange Street Lift Bridge, Lockport
  • Lock E-34/35, Lockport
  • Lock CS-1, Cayuga
  • Lock CS-2/3, Seneca Falls
  • Lock CS-4, Waterloo

In addition to the structures listed above, Locks E-2 through E-6 and Guard Gate #2 in the Waterford Flight will operate on demand from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. from Thursday through Monday from May 18th to September 12th.  During the same period, the hours of operation for the Waterford Flight will be 7:00 am to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Due to roving operations, some delays may be experienced during certain periods in the Waterford Flight.

Vessels are required to arrive at a lock at least 15 minutes prior to closing to ensure being locked through, and at a lift bridge at least 5 minutes prior to ensure an opening. 

If there is any positive information out of the Canal Corporations continued reduction in the length of the navigational season it’s the fact that they have once again suspended the fees associated with recreational boating.

We welcome your comments on this years schedule.  All comments will be forwarded to the Canal Corporation.

 

 

The Richmond Aqueduct on The Erie Canal

11 January 2018
Categories: Boat the Erie Canal
The Richmond Aqueduct Montezuma NY

As the second longest of the aqueducts that were used to transport boats over rivers on the enlarged Erie Canal, The Seneca River Aqueduct also known as the Richmond Aqueduct named after the engineer who designed and directed the construction Van R. Richmond.

The construction of the more than 840’ long structure was started in January of 1849 and was completed and put into use during the spring of 1857. Thirty piers and two abutments of Limestone supported a timber trough carried canal water over the river. Thirty-one stone arches supported the towpath. All but seven of the arches were removed in 1917 to allow for the current day path of the Canal.

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