Chapter 19
Recreation
| Hiking &, Biking (below) | Sightseeing /Auto Tours |
| Canoeing/Kayaking (see Chap 11) | Family Fun |
| Snowshoeing | Lock 33 Park |
Hiking & Biking
| Erie Canalway Trail (below) | Walking Sticks |
| Barge Canalway Trail | Utica Marsh |
| Little Nose | Big Nose |
| Utica's South Woods |
The
Erie Canalway Trail
For thousands of years the Valley of the Mohawks provided the only
east-west passage through the mountain barrier that runs from Maine to
Georgia. At first this passage was traveled on foot, by dugout or elm bark
canoe. By the early 1700s, flat-bottomed boats were pushed, pulled and
poled up and down the river, and carted and carried around rapids and falls.
By the late 1700s a few short canals cut across sharp bends in the river
and a few wooden, water-powered elevators (locks) bypassed the worst rapids
and longest carries.
In the early 1800s a hand-dug canal that featured
dozens of stone and mortar locks, and provided flat-water boating from
the Hudson River to Lake Erie, bypassed the river. It was called the Erie
Canal. In the early 1900s, the Erie Canal was bypassed by a wider and deeper
canal with bigger and fewer locks that utilized much of the original course
of the Mohawk River. It was called the Barge Canal. By the late 1900s,
the Barge Canal was bypassed by a wider and deeper canal with bigger locks
that utilized the waters of the St. Lawrence River. It was called
the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Today the commercial use of the cross-state canal
has diminished to a trickle, and the recreational use of the Canal Corridor
has taken center stage. Now the passage through the mountains can be traveled
on foot, by bike or boat. It's called the Erie Canal and the Canalway Trail.
The New York State Canalway Trail System presently
consists of some 240 miles of recreational trails across upstate
New York. It will eventually span more than 500 miles of the canal corridor,
including the cross-state canals and sections in the Finger Lakes and Champlain
Valley.
In the Mohawk Valley the Canalway Trail will
provide more than 110 miles of trail, along sections of the 1800s Canal
and the 1900s Canal, that can be used for hiking, biking, cross-country
skiing, snowshoeing, bird watching, fishing access and in some areas, hunting.
The longest completed section in the Mohawk Valley
is the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway; a 25-mile trail along the Mohawk and Hudson
rivers between Rotterdam and Cohoes. Much of this trail is on the
original Erie Canal towpath. Except for the crossing between Schenectady
and Scotia and under the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87), the trail
is continuous.
The newest completed section of the Canalway runs
along the oldest section of the original Erie Canal. Years before the canal
was completed in 1825, the Rome to Utica run was open for business. This
past year a 5-mile section of trail was built along the old canal from
Stanwix (just east of Rome) to the village of Oriskany.
For more information on the New York State Canalway Trail System see: http://www.canals.state.ny.us/trail/index.html
Discovery:
A
Winter Hike Along the Old Erie
January
23, 2001; 20 degrees and partly cloudy
It was 10:45 a.m. when we started up the Canalway Trail from the Route
69 parking area at the Village of Oriskany. I had brought snowshoes, but
the trail was so well packed by snowmobiles we didn't need them.
I always enjoy hiking with my sister, Valaine. It
gives us a chance to talk about family and such, and she sees things that
I often miss. For instance, while I look for deer and coyote tracks, she
notices the unusual shape of a tree or a snow pile sculpted by the wind.
The eastern end of this section of the Canalway Trail
starts just off Route 69 at the village of Oriskany.
There were plenty of tracks in the snow that morning.
Most of them were cottontail rabbit tracks, but we also saw squirrel, coyote,
and turkey tracks. I was surprised at the lack of deer tracks.
There was no lack of unusually shaped trees. The
willows that grow along (and in) the canal have seen hard times and good
times, as attested by their size, slanting trunks and gnarled branches.
Maple, cedar and hemlock also grow along the canal.
In addition to the two canals and the Mohawk River,
the corridor includes roads and railroad tracks. We could hear, and sometimes
see, vehicles on Route 69 on our left, but it was the rail traffic on our
right that intrigued us the most. It was substantial. During our two-hour
hike, we saw two passenger trains and four freight trains. Seemed strange
to see a train without a caboose; replaced by an electronic sensor attached
to the last car.
A mile and a half down the trail we passed near,
but out of sight, of the famous Oriskany Battlefield where hundreds of
men were killed during the "bloodiest battle" of the Revolutionary War.
The creek in this area ran red with blood and was thereafter called Bloody
Creek. Today Bloody Creek, diverted from its original course by the old
canal, crosses under the trail a mile or so from the start of the trail.
A few trails and old farm roads cross the trail.
They are blocked by wooden barricades to prevent vehicle traffic. Active
roads that cross the trail are well marked, and the trail is blocked to
vehicle traffic. The remains of 1800s vintage canal walls are evident at
two of these crossings.
Mile marker signs start at the Stanwix end. When
we reached the 2-mile marker, three miles from where we started, we headed
back.
On the return trip, we discovered turkey tracks
crossing our boot prints. We missed the turkeys, but a flock of cardinals
more than made up for it. We saw a small flock of birds fly across
the trail. The last five birds were bright red. The other birds were undoubtedly
the less colorful female cardinals
A little further down the trail, where it passes
through the Oriskany Wildlife Management Area, we met a rabbit hunter and
his beagle. The hunter noted that he enjoys watching his dog chase rabbits
more than shooting them. He said he lets most of the rabbits go. I told
my sister I used to do that too, but not on purpose.
It was 12:45 when we got back to the car. The temperature
had climbed to 32 degrees and the sun was bright on the snow. We can hardly
wait to return to the Erie Canalway Trail in the spring.
The trail noted above will soon run from Fort Stanwix in Rome to the hamlet of Stanwix and on to Oriskany. Its total length will be six miles.
There is a 2-mile Erie Canalway Trail between
Fort Plain and Canajoharie, with a recently constructed extension into
Canajoharie.
Stanwix to Oriskany
Discovery:
A Spring Hike Along the Erie Canal
March 29, 2002, 45 degrees, Sunny and Breezy
Willows grew in the canal that had carried thousands
of boats loaded with people and goods to faraway places. When I mused about
the long ago importance of the canal, Bridget quipped, "How did they
get around all those trees?" Wise ass kid.
too high for most hikers to see over.
With Bridget's car parked at Oriskany, we drove
up Route 69 and started our discovery trek at the Stanwix end of the Erie
Canalway Trail. Showers were predicted, but by 9:30 the grey clouds had
dissipated and the sun lit up the landscape. After enduring the worst March
in recent history, the prospect of a 5-mile hike on a snowless trail was
refreshing
The wooden bridge and stonework at the start of the trail
are impressive. Everything seems oversize. Perhaps because it was designed
for bikers. The wooden rails on the bridges are too high for most people
to see over unless they're on a bicycle.
A half-mile from the start, the trail passes between
two streams flowing east. One is the tree-choked canal and the other the
Lost
River section of the Mohawk. (I canoed that part of the river two years
ago, and never realized how close it was to the Canalway Trail.)
Except for a couple of bends, the river parallels the canal for about a
mile before veering north.
Funny, these Erie Canal mallards don't look anything like beaver.
This area was recently covered with snow,
so I was surprised to discover patches of green grass between the canal
and the river. Closer examination revealed the grass was chive. I had never
found wild patches of chive before.
There
was considerable beaver sign along the canal, so I was primed to see a
beaver swimming in the canal. When a dark critter moved down the canal
followed by a wake, I whispered, "Beaver!" With younger eyes and
a daughter's diplomacy, Bridget replied, "There's a duck too." A pair of
mallards jumped off the canal and flew through the trees.
At 10:10 we came to a footbridge across the canal.
It was constructed of railroad rails covered with planks. The center pier
was made of cribbed railroad ties. A No Trespassing sign was posted
facing the trail. I recalled canoeing under a similar bridge on the river,
so we walked down to the river and discovered it was still there but
dilapidated. .
Ten minutes later we crossed another wooden bridge
On the canal side, the water was flowing from two directions before joining
to form a stream that passed under the towpath and into the river. Although
most of the trail is composed of compressed crushed stone and gravel, this
section of trail was paved. The pavement ended just beyond a second bridge.
This bridge was especially interesting. On its north side was the remnant
of a stone wall that I suspect was part of the old canal system.
Just beyond this second bridge, the current flow in the canal was
negligible, so much of it was still frozen. 
Two
Canada geese were swimming in a patch of open water. When we were too close
for comfort, they started honking, and with wings and feet flapping, ran
across water and ice before taking off through the trees.
In addition to the willows that grew in and beside
the canal, maple, cherry, boxelder, hawthorn and small stands of cedar
grew along the canal. Besides the ducks and geese, we saw woodpeckers,
chickadees and a number of robins---a sure sign of Spring.
Although we discovered several beaver dams and houses,
we didn't see a single beaver. We also saw a couple of muskrat houses made
of cattails, and Bridget spotted a muskrat before it dove for cover.
Rules of the Trail are posted at access points.
Two trains passed by before we reached the end of the trail in Oriskany at 11:50, and the noon whistle was blowing when we picked up my vehicle in Stanwix.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Stanwix Heights, select New York, press GO!
Note: The topographic map doesn't include the trail, however it does show the path of the Old Erie Canal.
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