The Cayuga-Seneca Canal is the shortest canal section in the New York State Canal System. Beginning at its junction with the Erie Canal at Montezuma, NY the Cayuga-Seneca Canal runs South and West to Seneca Lake.
The navigation season for the Cayuga-Seneca Canal is the same as for the rest of the New York State Canal System: early May through November from 0700 to 2200 daily. However, prior to Memorial Day and after Labor Day these hours are typically restricted to 0700 to 1700 daily.
Canal Passes may be purchased at many locations, but for those in transit, passes are most easily obtained at the first and last locks CS-1 and CS-4.
You can complete and print or download for future use The NYSCS Recreational Vessel Pass Application here
17.0 miles from Montezuma, NY to Seneca Lake.
Red markers are kept to starboard south and west bound from the Erie Canal Junction to Seneca Lake.
NOAA Chart #14786, provides coverage of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal system.
The Cayuga-Seneca Canal Lock Chamber Waypoint’s in both Garmin (.gdb) and Adobe (.pdf) file formats are available for your use. This is a zipped file of 12 KB.
Cayuga-Seneca Canal Waypoint’s - Download
There are 4 locks in the Cayuga-Seneca Canal. All Lock chambers are the same; 328 feet long and 45 feet wide.
12 feet in the channel and 12 feet over the lock sills.
Minimum bridge clearance is 16.5 feet.
All lockmaster's maintain a watch on VHF channel 13.
Lakes-no speed limit, rivers - 45 mph, land cuts / rock cuts - 10mph, or as posted.
As a general guide, the Erie Canal Junction at Kipp Island to Seneca Lake will require about 4 hours @ 10 knots.
The latest navigational information can be found at Canal System Notice to Mariners. Anyone planning to transit the canal system should check these notices for last minute information on closures and restrictions.
This lock and transit schedule can be downloaded for your personal use as a ZIP file. The file contains the schedule in Adobe (.pdf) file format.
Please note: This is a Zipped file of 65 Kb.
Cayuga-Seneca Canal Transit & Lock Schedule - DownloadCayuga - Seneca Canal |
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| **Transit Time Includes Lockage Time | |||||||
| Lock # | Elevation | Next Lock | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Lift | Eastern End | Western End | Distance | **Transit Time @ 10 kts | Lockmaster | |
| Erie Canal | Kipp Island | --- | --- | --- | CS-1 / 3.88 Miles | 00:23 | --- |
| CS-1 | Cayuga, NY | 8.9’ |
374.0’ | 382.9’ | CS-2 / 3.91 Miles | 00:53 | 315-253-7523 |
| CS-2 | Seneca Falls, NY | 25.9’ |
382.9’ | 408.8’ | CS-3 / 0.00 Miles | 00:30 | 315-568-5797 |
| CS-3 | Seneca Falls, NY | 24.5’ |
408.8’ | 433.3’ | CS-4 / 4.25 Miles | 00:56 | 315-568-5797 |
| CS-4 | Waterloo, NY | 13.0’ |
433.3’ | 446.3’ | Seneca Lake / 4.98 Miles | 01:00 | 315-539-3242 |