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Trail Visits, Cycling & Paddling

Set out for adventure by foot, bicycle or paddle craft along hundreds of miles of trails and waterways for an up close and personal journey along the NYS Canal System.

Your Trail Visit

Helpful resources to planning your visit to the Canalway Trails with information on routes, where to go and what to see along the way, and much more courtesy of Parks & Trails New York.

Prep for Your Trail Visit

Cycling

The Canalway Trail features more than 420 miles of networked trails you can explore by bicycle. Use the resources below to help plan and prepare for your cycling trip.

Prep for Your Cycling Visit

  • Hours: Dawn to Dusk
  • Speed Limit: 15 mph
  • What to Bring: Helmet, bike lock, drinking water, headlight/taillight, eye protection, first aid kit, spare tire & tube, compact hand pump.
  • E-bikes: Class 1 & 2 E-bikes not capable of peddle-assist beyond 20 mph are allowed

PADDLING

Venture down 524 miles of historic and scenic canal waterways with more than 125 publicly available access points. Be sure to learn and get all the information you need to plan a safe and enjoyable journey on the water.

Prep for Your Paddle

Whatever your paddle craft—kayak, canoe or paddleboard—you'll want to be prepared for your outing on the waterways with this list of essential and optional gear, and helpful tips.

Plan Your Paddle

Locking Through While Paddling 

Experience Locking Through via paddle craft. The Canal waterways are home to dozens of locks, lift bridges and guard gates. There are specific ways to travel through these features while paddling the waterway, so read up before you go. Kayaks and canoes can lock through but paddleboards are not allowed to lock through for safety reasons.
How to Lock Through

Abandoned But Not Forgotten

Try walking, cycling or paddling the calmer, more intimate trails and waterways of New York State’s out-of-use canals that are still accessible on foot and non-motorized vessels.

Rules for the General Public While on Canals Corporation Property

The following are rules that visitors must adhere to when entering on to Canal Corporation property: 
  • No entering or remaining on Canal Corporation property when the site is explicitly closed
  • Parking is limited to designated locations
  • Camping is permitted only at designated lock locations for a maximum of 48 hours
  • Pets must be kept on a leash (6 feet maximum) and under the owner’s control and supervision at all times
  • Visitors must stay behind lock safety railing and keep a distance of 6 feet from the lock chamber walls
  • No soliciting
  • No smoking
  • No unreasonable noise or disturbances
  • No creating hazardous or offensive conditions
  • No obstructing vehicle or pedestrian traffic
  • No littering or dumping of garbage. Waste receptacles are not provided at all trailheads and/or lock houses. Please ensure that all trash is collected upon leaving
  • No excavation on Canal Corporation property without express written permission from CanalPermits@canals.ny.gov / (518)449-6086
  • No destroying, defacing, removing, filling in, tampering with, or cutting away any property, tree or other plant life without express written permission from CanalPermits@canals.ny.gov / (518)449-6086
  • Visitors are prohibited from collecting firewood while on Canal Corporation property.
  • No open fires. Fires for cooking must be limited to designated charcoal grills provided by the Canal Corporation or to individual personal camping stoves. Please use water to extinguish all lighted matches, charcoal, or other burning objects. Improperly extinguished burning objects can do major damage to Canal Corporation property.
  • No throwing stones or other objects
  • No climbing on any wall, fence, or other canal structure
  • No hunting on, at or near canal locks or any other canal structure
  • No fishing from lock chambers or from lock walls
  • No swimming or diving in the lock chambers, lock walls, or any other canal structure
The following are additional rules that visitors must adhere to when entering the trails on Canals Corporation property: 
  • Visitors are required to stay on the trails, overlooks, roads and other ways established and provided for public use by the Canal Corporation. Be respectful of private property.
  • Maximum Trail Speed limit of 15MPH must not be exceeded
  • No horseback riding
  • No motorized vehicles
  • No all-terrain vehicles
  • No one-wheel, electric skateboards
  • No E-Scooters (motorized or powered scooters having two in-line wheels and require the user to stand and balance on the scooter)
  • No Class 3 E-bikes (those that provide peddle assist propulsion beyond 20 MPH)
  • Class 1 and 2 E-bikes (those that are not capable of peddle-assist beyond 20 MPH) are permitted when equipped with fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power
  • Snowmobile use is prohibited on Canal Corporation property unless permitted through the Canal Corporation’s Real Property Department. Please contact CanalPermits@canals.ny.gov / (518)449-6086 for more information on approved locations.
The following are additional rules that visitors must adhere to when using the waterways on Canal Corporation property: 
  • No polluting the waters
  • No moving explosives through the canals
  • Paddleboards are not permitted in the lock chambers
  • No boats shall be moored at any Canal Corporation owned dock or terminal in excess of 48 hours in any calendar month, without first obtaining an official permit
  • In dug sections of the canal system, float speed shall not exceed 10 MPH, except within 100 feet of a dock, pier, raft, float, anchored or moored, float speed shall not exceed 5 MPH. Waterway Speed limits are available here: https://www.canals.ny.gov/Navigation-Information/Bridge-Heights-and-Canal-Speed-Limits
  • When approaching a lock, boat operators must stop at a safe distance and follow specified signals provided by the lock operator
  • Float operators intending to enter a lock can contact the lock operator via marine band radio channel 13, three distinct blasts of a horn or by calling the lock house