FAQs: Public Engagement

The Erie Canal is 339 miles long from Waterford (Albany) to Tonawanda (Buffalo). Including its laterals, the Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca Canals, the entire system mileage equals 524.

One should budget a minimum of five (5) days to cruise between Albany and Buffalo on the Erie. (The Erie Canal begins at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers at Waterford, just north of Albany, and meets the Niagara River at Tonawanda/North Tonawanda, just north of Buffalo.)

There are a total of 57 locks and 17 lift bridges on the Canal System (including the lateral canals).

All Canal System lock dimensions are 328 feet long and 45 feet wide. The area available for vessels within a lock is 300 feet long, 43.5 feet wide.

The standard published depths can be found in the About the Canal System section. Any shallower departures from these depths are listed by waterway in the regularly updated NavInfo tables. Any sudden change in depth would also be announced in a notice to mariners.

The governing overhead clearances for the various canal sections can be found in the About the Canal System section. Alternatively, they are listed at the top of the NavInfo table for each waterway. Additionally, in these tables the air draft under each overhead structure is listed in tenths of a foot. Even more detailed bridge height information can be found in the Bridge Height Tables. In these tables the "Normal Overhead Clearance" column represents the typical overhead clearances under all but extraordinary conditions (extreme weather/high water events).

An unpermitted dinghy may be towed behind a permitted vessel through canal structures, as long as its motor is off, it is of a configuration that will not cause damage to other vessels (Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) preferred) or snag on lock ladders, is obviously a dedicated landing craft (not a personal watercraft, distressed vessel in tow, etc.), and has the mothership owner's contact information clearly on it (in the event that it becomes disconnected and lost underway).

At its northernmost point in Ticonderoga, Lake George is a few miles away from Lake Champlain. The two are connected by the 3.5 mile long LaChute River, a cascading 225 foot drop, non-navigable waterway. There is, however, portage available through Snug Harbor Marina for boats under 32' in length.

Saratoga Springs is 12 miles away from Schuylerville (mile 25) on the Champlain Canal. Boaters can stop at Schuyler Yacht Basin and take a taxi cab into Saratoga Springs.

Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, is 27 miles away from Herkimer (mile 87) on the Erie Canal. Boaters can stop at Gems Along the Mohawk docks or nearby harbors in Little Falls or Ilion and rent a car.