These Five “Erie Canal Towns” Offer Much In History and Beauty!

These Five “Erie Canal Towns” Offer Much In History and Beauty!

Fairport, NY via Facebook

The Erie Canal is amazing.  This magical ribbon of water, running from Albany to Buffalo, was the engineering marvel of its time, and today is a watery sentinel to the past.  Once, it was a busy, hectic place of commerce and shipping, but today it is used for pleasure craft only.  But while the glory days of the Erie Canal story are now in the past, the legacy lives on in the many historic "canal towns" which dot the water route.  They were once bustling with business, and now are bustling with tourists.

Each of the five canal towns highlighted in this gallery have something fun, amazing, and historic to offer.  From welcome centers to watercraft landings, to shore-side restaurants, you will be hard pressed to find a more pleasurable journey than to follow the Erie Canal along its way, all the while stopping in these attractive, historic little communities.  From the amazing "Flight of Five" locks in Lockport, to the Fairport Canal Days Festival (which attracts thousands of visitors), this is a "happening place" in Upstate New York.

There are only five towns in this gallery, but it is just the beginning.  In future posts we will add more towns, until ultimately we have done all of them.  So, take a look, pick a town, and get out and visit them this fall.  It is a beautiful time of the year to "take a road trip" along the Erie Canal!

"Erie Canal Snapshot" A Look At 5 Pretty Canal Towns

The Erie Canal is our very own treasure. For miles and miles from Albany to Buffalo, this magical waterway plays hosts to many small "canal towns" along its way. This gallery looks at five of them (we will do other galleries featuring more towns, until we have covered them all).

Identified as "ports" and "fords," many of these villages have seen their better days when referencing their canal boom times. But even today, these places welcome thousands of visitors a year for fun and exploring. Each one of these, and the others, has a lot to offer and we highly recommend that our readers give them a shot when out on the road!

Gallery Credit: Chuck DImperio

Schoharie County Loves Their Breweries, Cideries, Distilleries, and Wineries!!

There must be something in the water out in Schoharie County. This large sprawling county has barely 30,000 people in it total. In fact it is the 5th least populated county of all the 62 in New York. But percentage wise it has a large variety of breweries, cideries, distilleries, and wineries from which to stop at and "enjoy the view." This is a list of 8 such places. You will find these venues on hilltops, along waterways, near one of the most famous natural attractions in the Empire State, and one in the heart of one of the county's largest communities. And these places are no small shake. In fact on this list your will find a small brewery, located high up "in the clouds" that was named the best New York State Craft Brewery in 2023. In all the state! Awesome. So what is it about the water, Schoharie County. (PS: You will note that I included a brewery just outside of Schoharie County on this list. But, it is so close you can drive there before three tunes play on your radio!).

Gallery Credit: Chuck D'Imperio

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