In 2025, New York State will celebrate the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. Help decide the best sites on the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail between Albany and Buffalo (seen above at Canalside).
by Lisa Saunders
My husband, Jim, and I have walked over 95% of the way across New York State on the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail between Albany and Buffalo. After seeing many intriguing sites along the way, we’ve declared the “7 Wonders of the Erie Canal Trail.”Can you help us declare the 8th Wonder of the Trail in time to celebrate the Canal’s bicentennial in 2025? The 8th Wonder will be included in my upcoming book, “Walking the 360-Mile Erie Canalway Trail: A Search for 7 Wonders, Bathrooms and Beer.”We believe the following are the “7 Wonders of the Erie Canal”:
- “Flight of Five”: The c. 1862 “staircase” locks are seen alongside two deep, consecutive modern locks (34 & 35), Lockport.
- 1850 Syracuse Weighlock Building, last remaining structure of its kind (houses Erie Canal Museum), Syracuse.
- Lift Lock 17, "One of the highest lift locks in the world," Little Falls.
- Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, only restored, navigable aqueduct, Camillus.
- Historic dry dock complex in Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum, Chittenango.
- Tiny Locktender’s House, Jordan (Joran Historical Society & Museum)
- Mural Mania: "longest mural trail in the world of over 85 miles along the Erie Canal.”
Please vote on the 8th Wonder of the Erie Canalway Trail from the following:
- "Upside-Down Bridge", Lockport. A railroad bridge with the truss upside-down.
- Lift Bridges (there are 15, but the Fairport Lift Bridge is unique–it's an irregular decagon).
- Movable Dams (there are eight - not sure which should be a contender).
We walk new sections of the Trail about once a month - in all kinds of weather. Walking a level path may sound easy, but it isn't always! We've been chased by mosquitoes, biting flies, hissing geese and lightning. We've endured torrential downpours, blinding snow, chafing underwear, aching feet and swollen knees. We’ve faced snakes, floods, ice, angry dogs, and a smelly, dead opossum! (But in Buffalo, we enjoyed the sweet aroma of General Mills - we guess it was Lucky Charms.) My video, "Hiking the Erie Canalway Trail, Vote on 7 Wonders, Stop CMV", covers the history of the Canal and the challenges faced to become "end-to-enders" – those who walk, bike or kayak the entire Erie Canal. (My video, available on PAC-B TV YouTube channel, also covers why my great-great Aunt Rebecca drove into the Canal over 80 years ago, ending her life.)
Congress established the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor in 2000 because the canal “facilitated the movement of ideas …like the abolition of slavery and…women's rights…across upstate New York to the rest of the country…” (106th Congress). Jim and I are determined to become "end-to-enders" because we also have a "women's rights" issue to move from "upstate New York to the rest of the country" - cytomegalovirus (CMV). We are leaving Stop CMV rocks along the Trail to comply with Congress' recommendation that “more effort be taken to counsel women of childbearing age of the effect this virus can have on their children” (112th Congress, 2011). This year, Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Stop CMV Act of 2024 (H.R. 7542).
To help us decide on the”8th Wonder of the Erie Canalway Trail,” send me an email at: LisaSauders42@gmail.com or Vote in comments.
See you on the Trail – wheelchairs are welcome!
