Champlain Canal

Construction started in 1817 and was completed in 1822.  The Canal starts in Waterford at the junction of the Mohawk & Hudson rivers and allows for passage to Lake Champlain and on to Canada through the Richelieu Canal.

Today its path travels a little more than 60 miles to the southern junction with Lake Champlain.  This Canal could best be described as a path through history.  Before our countries independence this waterway played an important role in our countries formation.  The British, French and Americans all traveled north and south through this stretch of the region.  Forts were constructed such as Ticonderoga and Edward.  The battle of Saratoga, George Washington etc.  it’s all here on the Champlain

Before the construction of the Canal, the most widely used route from New York City to Canada was up the Hudson River to Fort Edward then by portage to Lake George, another portage to Lake Champlain and on to Canada.  The completion of the Champlain Canal offered an all water route from New York to Canada and beyond.

No matter how you plan to visit the Champlain, whether by boat, car or bike, discover the communities that make up this part of the NYS Canal System, check out the all the historical sites associated with not just with the Canal, but also those that define the history of the nation.

Communities of the Canal

Check out the Directories page!

Champlain Canal News & Articles

  • Electric Houseboats Cruising the Erie Canal

    Electric Houseboats Cruising the 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 […]
  • 1.5 Billion Dollars Generated Annually Through Events Along The Erie Canal

    1.5 Billion Dollars Generated Annually Through Events Along The 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 […]
  • Champlain Canal Centennial Roundtables

    Champlain Canal Centennial Roundtables

    Four roundtables celebrating the Champlain Canal Centennial have been scheduled for May. Each will feature a presentation, an informational sharing session, networking opportunities and a discussion period. The roundtables are designed to bring together museum professionals, historical societies, archivists, local historians and community members to foster collaboration and to create unique thematic experiences for visitors […]
  • Canal Clean Sweep 2018

    Canal Clean Sweep 2018

    Each year to correspond with Earth Day, communities and organizations up and down the Canal organize to clean the banks of the Canal  This year 38 separate events are scheduled.   This event now in it’s 8th. year continues to grow in size. To learn more about all the events along the Canal visit the https://www.ptny.org/events/canal-clean-sweep
  • Barge Canal Centennial Celebrations Planned For Rochester

    Barge Canal Centennial Celebrations Planned For Rochester

    We currently travel on the third generation of the Erie Canal, commonly referred to as the “Barge Canal” 2018 celebrates the centennial of the opening of this version of the Canal system. The fact that we travel today on infrastructure designed and built 100 years ago is a great testament to the engineers and builders […]
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