A Week Houseboating the Erie Canal

In July 2018, my husband I spent a week houseboating the Erie Canal in a canalboat rented through Mid-Lakes Navigation in Macedon, NY.  Over the course of eight days, we cruised 169.48 miles, crossed under 16 lift bridges (twice), passed through 5 locks (twice, again!), and visited 9 towns on the western portion of the Erie Canal (coming within 18 miles of the end of the canal).

Itinerary

Saturday – Day 1

7:00 am Wake up, shower, and have breakfast at hotel in Binghamton; top up gas

9:00 am Head to Macedon

11:30 am Go to Wegman’s or Walmart to get provisions and grab a quick lunch (there’s a Subway inside Walmart)

12:30 – 1:00 pm Arrive at the marina; get stuff on board, park the car, get unpacked

  • Dock and Marina Office, 1125 Marina Parkway, Macedon, NY 14502 (mile 240.13)

2:00 pm Orientation with Marina staff; on-boat instruction, driving practice, docking practice, locking-through practice, and return to the marina to practice docking again

4:00 pm Head west toward Pittsford (2.5 hours)

  • Pass by:
    • Fairport Main Street Lift Bridge E-128 (mile 246.67)
      • The bridge looks high enough to pass under, but it’s not – you need to radio the bridge operator to have it lifted!
    • Perinton Park (mile 247.65) – free dock on north wall at the park (5’ at wall)
    • Bushnell’s Basin (mile 250.66) – fee for docking, can tie up west of Marsh Road to floating dock. Power, water, and restrooms with showers are available.  Ice available at Hess Station (also where you pay to dock). Strip mall west of the bridge on south bank with a liquor store. Small strip mall east of the bridge on south bank with ice cream, drug store, etc.
    • Great Embankment Park (mile 251.81) – lots of wakes, the canal is 70’ higher than the north bank countryside (it’s not recommended that you stop here)
Mid-Lakes Navigation canalaboat, Canadice, tied up in Pittsford, NY
Our boat, Canadice, tied up in Pittsford, NY on our first day on the Erie Canal.

6:30 pm Arrive in Pittsford; free dock, tie up for the night on the north or south side of the canal (mile 253.47)

  • There is shore power and water available, but no shower/restroom facilities for boaters.  *We stayed on the south side of the canal since it was further away from the noise and crowds of the restaurants and brewery alongside the north side of the canal.

7:00 pm Dinner in Pittsford

  • *Aladdin’s:  Mediterranean food, including babaganouj, souvlaki, falafel, etc. – outdoor dining, right on the canal
  • Panther Pit:  Diner food with outdoor seating, nice looking ice cream sundaes/shakes! – open til 9pm
  • Hungry’s Grill:  Burgers, dogs, wraps, etc. – open late
  • Pittsford Pub: Beer and burgers and apps – lots of specialty salads and sandwiches – mixed reviews on Yelp about slow service, but the food looks good

8:30 pm Dessert

  • *Pittsford Dairy: Tons of flavors and specialty milkshakes – soooo good!

9:30 pm Brewery

  • Lock 32 Brewery: Right on the canal, no food but they have popcorn and delivery options, open til midnight. We hoped to make it here, but after eating all the ice cream we didn’t have any more room in our bellies!

Mileage – Macedon 240.13 to Pittsford 253.47 = 13.34 miles (plus an extra 2.22 miles for orientation), 1 lift bridge, 1 lock

Sunday – Day 2

8:30 am Showers and breakfast in Pittsford  (mile 253.47)

10:00 am Head west toward Holley (7 hours)

  • Beyond the village of Pittsford, there are two locks, Lock 32 and Lock 33.  Apparently, you can watch kayakers in the spillway bed at Lock 32 if you tie up west of Lock 32 (we didn’t get to do this ourselves, but we did see that they had a bunch of kayaks available to rent there!)
  • Pass through/by:
    • Lock 32 (mile 255.14) – free dock west of lock on the south wall
    • Lock 33 (mile 256.40) – free dock east or west of lock on the south wall
    • Genesee River (mile 260.55) – watch for northbound current as crossing river
    • The “Rock Cut” – when you pass the Genesee, you’ll start to head through the Rock Cut, which has much higher walls than the rest of the canal and lots of abandoned train tracks and bridges overhead
    • Henpeck Park  (mile 267.59) – no services but free dock on the north bank
    • Greece Canal Park (mile 267.95)

2:00 pm Take a break in Spencerport (mile 271.20)

  • Tie up east of lift bridge E-174 on south or north wall where power and water are available or west of the bridge on the south wall, which also has power and water hookups
  • The Village Plaza is within walking distance and has a TOPS supermarket if you need any additional supplies (we bought ice and more water here)

3:00 pm Head back out towards Holley

  • Pass through/by:
    • Spencerport – Union St. Lift Bridge (mile 271.28) – single operator for this and the Washington St. bridge at mile 274.21 – call ahead
    • Adams Basin – free dock east of lift bridge on the south wall (mile 273.3)
    • Washington St. Lift Bridge (mile 274.21)
    • Brockport – Park Avenue Lift Bridge (mile 278.76) – same operator for this and the Brockport Main St. bridge at mile 278.93 (you can see both bridges in one place, so you shouldn’t have to wait long for the operator here to get from one bridge to the other)
    • Town of Brockport (mile 278.85) – visitor center is on the south wall between the two lift bridges.  The center has restrooms, showers, laundry, shore power, and water available for a fee (fee varies by length of boat)
    • Brockport – Main Street Lift Bridge (278.93)
Holley Park Waterfall
We found the top of the waterfall!

5:00 pm  Arrive in Holley; tie up in Holley Canal Park for the night on either side of the canal (the park, falls, and town are on the south side) (mile 283.43)

  • Shore power, fresh water, gazebo with restrooms and showers (get combination # from the bridge tender)

5:30 pm Explore the falls and grill out in the park

  • To get to town, follow the paved path downhill through the park from the gazebo to the town park. After you’ll see railroad museum.  Turn left before museum on gravel road to little hollow with a second town park and *waterfall.

Mileage – Pittsford 253.47 to Holley 283.43 = 29.96 miles, 4 lift bridges, 2 locks

Monday – Day 3

6:30 am Showers and Breakfast

7:30 am Head west to Lockport (7-8 hours)

  • Pass through/by
    • Holley – East Ave. Lift Bridge (mile 283.48) – same operator for this bridge and the Hulberton Road bridge
    • Hulberton Road Lift Bridge (mile 286.58) – free dock, park with picnic tables west of the bridge
    • Hindsburg (mile 288.65) – free dock, west of the bridge on the north wall
    • Albion – Ingersoll St Lift Bridge (mile 292.98) – same operator at this, the Albion Main St., and the Eagle Harbor bridges
    • Albion Canal Park (mile 293.06) – free dock, tie up east of the lift bridge on the south side for shore power, water, restrooms, showers, etc. The lift bridge operator has the code for the facilities
    • Albion – Main St. Lift Bridge (mile 293.15) 
    • Eagle Harbor Rd Lift Bridge (mile 296.41) – can tie up ½ mile ease of the lift bridge on either side or tie up west of the lift bridge on the north wall though there are no services and there may be a small fee for docking here.
    • Anchorage (mile 297.94) – can anchor in the basin on the south side of the canal, but watch your depth if you do
    • Knowlesville Rd Lift Bridge (mile 299.47) – free dock west of the bridge on either side. Same operator for this and Prospect Ave bridge in Medina.
    • Culvert Road (mile 301.07) – before you get to Medina, wait for a few minutes for a car to drive under the canal at Culvert Road, which is the only place on the canal where this happens.
    • Medina Guard Gate (mile 302.65) – free dock on the north side, west of the gate
    • Medina Terminal Wall and Park (mile 302.79) – free dock on the north wall, no services, no cleats
    • State Street Park (mile 303.47) – free dock west of Pleasant St. bridge on the north wall, no cleats, no services
    • Canal Port Medina (mile 303.65) – free dock east of the Eagle St. bridge on both sides.  South wall has water, power, restrooms, and showers (get the code from the lift bridge operator).  No services on the north wall, but there is a waterfall north of and below the north wall. There is also a railroad museum in town.
    • Medina – Prospect Ave Lift Bridge (mile 304.13)
    • Medina (mile 303.94) – free dock east of Prospect St. lift bridge on either side.  Picnic tables on the north side. No power, water, facilities, etc.
    • Middleport – Main St. Lift Bridge (mile 308.87) – same operator for this and the Gasport Lift Bridge

12:30 pm  Tie up in Middleport (mile 308.99) to stretch legs/get groceries if needed (We had been so delayed that we ended up not stopping here, though by the end of the day we really wished that we had taken a break!)

  • You can tie up west of the lift bridge on the south side of the canal. Shore power and fresh water are available. Restrooms and showers are also available at the DPW building next to the canal.  You can also tie up east of the lift bridge where shore power is available. There is no charge to dock here, but the village apparently asks for donations in a drop box near the DPW building. 
  • There is a small grocery store, Wilson Farms (79 Telegraph Rd.) within walking distance.  Mr. Bill’s convenience store also available.
  • Other snack/lunch options:

1:30 pm Head back out towards Lockport

  • Pass through/by:
    • Gasport Road Lift Bridge (mile 314.15)
    • Gasport Landing (mile 314.19) – free dock west of LB on the south wall with shore power
    • Adam Street Lift Bridge (mile 319.92) – should be in a permanently raised position
    • Exchange Street Lift Bridge (mile 320.12) – free dock east of LB on the south wall with no services
    • Lock 34 and Lock 35 (mile 320.65) – Erie Canal Museum is here
20180709_1923261
Lockport, NY

5:00 pm Tie up in Lockport (mile 320.72)

  • You can’t stop or dock between Locks 34 and 35 because you need to pass through one right after the other.
  • There are apparently a few different places that you can tie up in Lockport. Ask the Locktender to recommend the best place. 
  • There is space for two 40’ vessels west of Lock 35 behind the north lock wall, *which is where we stayed.  (It’s fairly tight and if there is another boat there that is not docked all the way forward, you may have a very difficult time tying up here.  There was already another boat docked here that we tried to maneuver around, but it just wasn’t happening.  Fortunately, the owners of the other boat were onboard and offered to pull up and make space for us.)

5:30 pm Dinner and wandering in Lockport

8:00 pm Dessert at *Lake Effect Ice Cream: Lots of specialty flavors, including Pup Cups for your dog!

Mileage – Holley 283.43 to Lockport 320.76 = 37.33 miles, 11 lift bridges, 2 locks

Tuesday – Day 4

8:00 am Showers and Breakfast 

9:30 am Explore Lockport (or sleep in and skip this step like we did)

11:00 am Visit the *Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride

12:30 pm Have lunch on the boat

1:00 pm Head east to Medina (3-4 hours)

  • Lock 34 and Lock 35 (mile 320.65) 
  • Exchange Street Lift Bridge (mile 320.12) – free dock east of LB on the south wall with no services
  • Adam Street Lift Bridge (mile 319.92) – should be in a permanently raised position
  • Gasport Landing (mile 314.19) – free dock west of LB on the south wall with shore power
  • Gasport Road Lift Bridge (mile 314.15) – same operator for this and the Middleport Lift Bridge
  • Middleport – Main St. Lift Bridge (mile 308.87) – 
  • Medina – Prospect Ave Lift Bridge (mile 304.13)
  • Medina (mile 303.94) – free dock east of Prospect St. lift bridge on either side.  Picnic tables on the north side. No power, water, facilities, etc.

4:30 pm Tie up in Medina at Medina Canal Port (mile 303.65) on the south side of the canal; free dock east of the Eagle St. fixed bridge on both sides.  South wall has water, power, restrooms, and showers (get the code from the lift bridge operator).  There is also a railroad museum in town.

5:00 pm  Visit *Medina Falls and explore the town

  • Walk along the towpath on the north side of the canal to see the falls.
  • The Railroad Museum is a 100-year-old freight terminal with railroad memorabilia and model trains. The museum is about a half-mile from the canal. (It closes at 5 pm, though, so we did not make it in time to check it out.)
Main Street, Medina NY
Main Street, Medina NY

6:30 pm Dinner in town

  • *Avanti Pizza: Pizza and subs (the slices were enormous!)
  • Rudy’s Diner: Diner/comfort food
  • Fitzgibbons: Irish pub (closed on Tuesdays but it looked really nice and we’re sad we missed it)
  • Meggie Moo’s: Ice cream and soda fountain type food with a pool table in the back (also closed on Tuesdays, which was a bummer because we had hoped to head here for dessert and to play pool)

Mileage – Lockport 320.76 to Medina 303.65 = 17.11 miles, 5 lift bridges, 2 locks

Wednesday – Day 5

9:00 am Showers and breakfast

10:30 am Head east to Brockport (4-5 hours)

    • Pass through/by:
      • Prospect Ave. Lift Bridge (mile 304. 13) – if you’re staying in Medina, you should be past this bridge when you start out, but there is one operator for this bridge and the Knowlesville Rd. lift bridge
      • State Street Park (mile 303.47) – free dock west of the Pleasant St. bridge on the north wall, no cleats, no services
      • Medina Terminal Wall and Park (mile 302.79) – free dock on the north wall, no services, no cleats
      • Medina Guard Gate (mile 302.65) – free dock on the north side, west of the gate
      • Culvert Road – the only place on the Erie Canal where the road passes under the canal
      • Knowlesville Rd Lift Bridge (mile 299.47) – free dock west of the bridge on either side of the canal
      • Anchorage (mile 297.94) – can anchor in the basin on the south side of the canal
      • Eagle Harbor Rd Lift Bridge (mile 296.41) – can tie up a ½ mile east of the lift bridge on either side of the canal or you can tie up west of the lift bridge on the north wall. There are no services here and there may be a small fee for docking. Same operator at this bridge and the Albion Main St. and Ingersoll St. lift bridges.
      • Albion – Main St. Lift Bridge (mile 293.15)
      • Albion Canal Park (mile 293.06) – free dock, can tie up on either the north or the south side (preferred is east of the lift bridge on the south wall).

12:00 pm Take a break in Albion (mile 293.06)

  • Shore power and fresh water are available, and there is a comfort station with showers as well (the lift bridge operator has the code for the facilities)
  • There are a few grocery stores in town (Tops Supermarket, Pawlak’s Food Center, Yellow Goose Market) if you need to buy more supplies

1:30 pm Head back out towards Brockport

  • Pass through/by:
    • Albion – Ingersoll St Lift Bridge (mile 292.98)
    • Hindsburg (mile 288.65) – free dock, west of the bridge on the north wall
    • Hulberton Road Lift Bridge (mile 286.58) – free dock, park with picnic tables west of the bridge. Same operator for this bridge and the Holley lift bridge
    • Holley – East Ave. Lift Bridge (mile 283.48) – can tie up on either side of the canal.  Park is on the south side of the wall, with water, power, showers, and restrooms available (get the code from the bridge operator)
    • Brockport – Main St. Lift Bridge (mile 278.93) – same operator for this and Park Ave. bridge. Let bridge operator know you’re staying in Brockport and that they don’t need to left the Park Ave. bridge for you

4:00 pm Tie up in Brockport – Welcome Center (mile 278.85)

  • Dock in *Harvester Park along the south side of the canal. Shore power, fresh water, internet access, tv lounge, laundry, restrooms, and showers are all available. You’ll need to check in at the visitor center to pay a fee and to get access to the fresh water.
  • The fee for docking depends on the length of your boat (we paid $12 for a 34-foot boat). You can buy ice from the Kwik Fill two blocks north of the bridge on Main St. One mile south on Main Street is a Wegman’s and a liquor store
Main Street, Brockport, NY
Main Street, Brockport, NY

6:00 pm Dinner in Brockport

  • *Stoneyard Brewing Company: Brewpub with salads, sandwiches, and more, happy hour til 6, pizza and beer special for $12 on Wednesdays
  • *C&S Saloon: Dive bar with cheap beer and wings, pool table, darts, and arcade games
  • 58 Main: BBQ, beer, and live music (this place was recommended to us by a few different people, but we didn’t make it there ourselves!)
  • Barber’s Grill: Burgers, sandwiches, wings, tots, curly fries; recommended by the bartender at Stoneyard Brewing Company as a fun place to hang out

Mileage – Medina 303.65 to Brockport 278.85 = 24.8 miles, 7 lift bridges, 0 locks

Thursday – Day 6

8:00 am Showers and Breakfast

9:00 am Head northeast towards Rochester (4-5 hours)

    • Pass through/by:
      • Brockport – Park Ave Lift Bridge (mile 278.76) – call the bridge operator before you leave the dock in Brockport, as there is a single operator for both Brockport lift bridges
      • Washington Street Lift Bridge (mile 274.21) – single operator for this and the Union St. lift bridge in Spencerport
      • Adams Basin – free dock east of the lift bridge on the south wall (mile 273.3)
      • Spencerport – Union St. Lift Bridge (mile 271.28)
      • Greece Canal Park (mile 267.95)
      • Henpeck Park  (mile 267.59) – no services but there is a free dock on the north bank

12:30 pm Turn left an head north on the Genesee River (mile 260.55)

1:00 pm Tie up in Rochester at *Cornhill Landing (3 miles north of mile 260.55)

  • Cornhill Landing has shore power and water, and there is no fee for docking less than 24 hours. It is recommended that you call in advance to inquire about space: 585-325-7116. We didn’t have any issues finding somewhere to tie up, but we were told that they were completely full on the 4th of July so if there are other big events in Rochester when you’re in town, space could become an issue.
High Falls, Rochester, NY
High Falls, Rochester, NY

2:00 pm Explore town

  • *High Falls: About a 25-minute walk from Cornhill Landing. There is a museum and visitor center, and you get a lovely view of the falls from a pedestrian bridge.
  • *Genesee Brewery: Right across the river from the High Falls visitor center.  Restaurant and taproom with flights of their craft beer. Free tour available!
  • *Fifth Frame Brewery: Craft beer, coffee, and breakfast sandwiches/burgers
  • Scotland Yard Pub: On the same block as Fifth Frame; has a pool table!

6:30 pm Happy hour and dinner 

  • *Dinosaur BBQ:  BBQ restaurant with live music. Just across the bridge from Corn Hill Landing; happy hour goes until 7 pm

Mileage – Brockport 278.85 to Rochester 260.55 (+3N) = 21.3 miles, 3 lift bridges, 0 locks

Friday – Day 7

9:00 am Showers and Breakfast

10:00 am Head southeast to Fairport (3.5 hours)

  • Travel 3 miles south on the Genesee River to the canal and head east
  • Pass through/by:
    • Lock 33 (mile 256.40) – free dock east or west of the lock on the south wall
    • Lock 32 (mile 255.14) – free dock west of the lock on the south wall
    • Pittsford (mile 253.47) – free dock on the north and south walls with shore power and water available
    • Great Embankment Park (mile 251.81) – lots of wakes, the canal is 70’ higher than the north bank countryside (it’s not recommended that you stop here)
    • Bushnell’s Basin (mile 250.66) – fee for docking, you can tie up west of Marsh Road to a floating dock. Power, water, and restrooms with showers are available.  
    • Perinton Park (mile 247.65) – free dock on the north wall at the park (5’ at the wall)
    • Fairport Main Street Lift Bridge E-128 (mile 246.67)
      • The bridge looks high enough to pass under, but it’s not – you need to radio the bridge operator to have it lifted!

1:30 pm Tie up in Fairport (mile 246.58)

  • You can tie up east of the Main St. lift bridge on both the north and south walls, and power and water are both available.  There is apparently a fee for docking, but we never found the dockmaster, so I’m not sure how much it is! (There is more activity and foot traffic on the north wall while the south wall is residential and fairly quiet.  Try to dock away from the lift bridge if possible because the bells on the bridge, as well as the car traffic itself were a bit noisy.  There is a train that goes through town pretty frequently as well, but we didn’t find this to be bothersome while spending the night here.)
Lovely Fairport, NY after an evening rain.
Lovely Fairport, NY after an evening rain.

2:00 pm Explore town

6:30 pm Dinner in Fairport

8:00 pm Dessert

9:00 pm Get packed up!

Mileage – Rochester 260.55 (+3N) to Fairport 246.58 = 16.97 miles, 1 lift bridge, 2 locks

Saturday – Day 8

6:00 am Showers

7:00 am Head back towards Macedon

8:00 am Arrive at the marina; load up the car

9:00 am Head to Seneca Falls for breakfast

  • *Cafe XIX: Breakfast burritos, pancakes, baked goods (amazing cinnamon rolls!)
Trinity Episcopal Church, Seneca Falls, NY
Trinity Episcopal Church, Seneca Falls, NY

10:00 am Explore town

02:00 pm Head home!

Mileage – Fairport 246.58 to Macedon 240.13 = 6.45 miles, 0 lift bridges, 0 locks

*Denotes places we actually went to ourselves.

For more in the Erie Canal Houseboating series: