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Travel & Experiences

200 years later, game-changing Erie Canal traffics in tourists

A boat enters Lock 4 of the Erie Canal in Waterford, N.Y. The Erie Canal was an engineering marvel when it opened in 1825, linking the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and humming with activity that opened up the West.

A boat enters Lock 4 of the Erie Canal in Waterford, N.Y. The Erie Canal was an engineering marvel when it opened in 1825, linking the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and humming with activity that opened up the West.   (Mike Groll/Associated Press)

Chicago Tribune
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The still-working N.Y. waterway known as the Erie Canal, celebrating the bicentennial of its birth this year, is now a draw for vacationers.

Beginning of it all

A sign in Rome, N.Y., marks the spot where digging for construction on the Erie Canal began 200 years ago this month. When it was completed several years later, it stretched 363 miles.   (John Clifford/Associated Press)

Near Rome

Part of the original canal bed near Rome, N.Y., is filling with silt and weeds. Some of the original canal is still used today, but the route shifted in other spots when the waterway needed to be widened and deepened.   (John Bordsen/Chicago Tribune )

Great Loop

Jan Donnelly of Maryland, on her boat in Waterford, N.Y. She and her family were about to sail on the Erie Canal as part of their Great Loop trip, circling the eastern part of the country.   (John Bordsen/Chicago Tribune )

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Canalway Trail

Major portions of the multi-use Canalway Trail follow the historic Erie Canal route.

  (John Bordsen/Chicago Tribune )

Canalside

In Buffalo, outdoor activities at Canalside include concerts and free-to-use games.   (John Bordsen/Chicago Tribune )

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