Erie Canal

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Erie Canal Transit Guide

The Erie Canal is the longest canal section in the New York State Canal System. Beginning at Waterford, NY, the Erie Canal runs generally west following the Mohawk River, Lake Oneida, and the Oneida River to Three River Junction where the Oswego Canal intersects. The Erie Canal then continues along the Seneca River to its junction with the Cayuga-Seneca Canal at Kipp Island and then on through mostly manmade land cuts to its convergence with the Niagara River at Tonawanda, NY and finally Buffalo, NY and Lake Erie via the Black Rock Canal.

Navigation Season

The navigation season for the Erie 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.

NYSCS Passes

Canal Passes may be purchased at many locations, but for those in transit, passes are most easily obtained at the first and last locks E-2 and E-35.

You can complete and print or download for future use The NYSCS Recreational Vessel Pass Application here

Length

338 miles from Waterford, NY to Tonawanda, NY.

Aids to Navigation

Red markers are kept to starboard west bound the entire length of the Erie Canal.

NOAA Chart #14786, provides coverage of the Erie Canal system with the exception a small section of the western end between Lyons, NY and Tonawanda, NY for which no chart coverage exists.

The Erie Canal Lock Chamber Waypoint’s in .PDF file format are available for your use. This is a zipped file of 12 KB.

Erie Canal Waypoint’s - Download

Locks

There are 34 locks on the Erie Canal. All Lock chambers are the same as the rest of the NYSCS; 328 feet long and 45 feet wide.

Channel Depths

From Waterford, NY to Three River Junction channel depths are 14 feet with 13 feet over the lock sills. Three River Junction to Tonawanda, NY you have 12 feet in the channel and over the lock sills.

Bridge Clearances

Minimum bridge clearances are 21 feet from Waterford to Three River Junction and then 15.5 feet on to Tonawanda, NY. Additionally, west of Three River Junction there are 15 operating lift bridges.

Communications

All lockmaster's maintain a watch on VHF channel 13.

Speed Limits

Lakes-no speed limit, rivers - 45 mph, land cuts / rock cuts - 10mph, or as posted.

Transit Times

As a general guide, Albany to Oswego, NY will require about 3 days @ 10 knots and Albany to Buffalo about 5 days at the same speed.

Notice to Mariners

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.

These tables can be downloaded for your personal and private use. The files are Zipped Adobe (.pdf) format. The Erie Canal distance files contain the tables in both NM’s and SM’s.




Erie Canal
*No Lock E-1 or E-31 on the Erie Canal / **Transit Time Includes Lockage Time

¹Lock E-23 to Three River Junction - 6.84 Miles / 01:11 Hours

²Between Locks E-33 and E-34 the elevation of the canal rises 2 feet

Distances on canals are SM unless noted otherwise.
*Lock #   Elevation Next Lock  
Location Lift Eastern End Western End Distance **Transit Time
@ 10 kts		 Lockmaster
The Battery New York, NY --- --- --- Troy Lock / 134.00 NM 13:24 ---
Troy Lock Troy, NY 14.0’Up Arrow --- --- E-2 / 3.27 Miles 00:50 518 272-6442
E-2 Waterford, NY 33.6’Up Arrow 15.3’ 48.9’ E-3 / 0.28 Miles 00:33 518-237-0810
E-3 Waterford, NY 34.6’Up Arrow 48.9’ 83.5’ E-4 / 0.62 Miles 00:34 518-237-0812
E-4 Waterford, NY 34.6’Up Arrow 83.5’ 118.1’ E-5 / 0.16 Miles 00:31 518-237-0818
E-5 Waterford, NY 33.3’Up Arrow 118.1’ 151.4’ E-6 / 0.28 Miles 00:33 518-237-0821
E-6 Waterford, NY 33.0’Up Arrow 151.4’ 184.4’ E-7 / 10.83 Miles 01:35 518-237-4014
E-7 Niskayuna, NY 27.0’Up Arrow 184.4’ 211.4’ E-8 / 10.83 Miles 01:35 518-374-7912
E-8 Glenville, NY 14.0’Up Arrow 211.4’ 225.4’ E-9 / 4.82 Miles 00:59 518-346-3382
E-9 Rotterdam, NY 15.0’Up Arrow 225.4’ 240.4’ E-10 / 6.16 Miles 01:07 518-887-2401
E-10 Cranesville, NY 15.0’Up Arrow 240.4’ 255.4’ E-11 / 4.05 Miles 00:54 518-887-5450
E-11 Amsterdam, NY 12.0’Up Arrow 255.4’ 267.4’ E-12 / 4.57 Miles 00:57 518-843-2120
E-12 Tribes Hill, NY 11.0’Up Arrow 267.4’ 278.4’ E-13 / 9.68 Miles 01:28 518-829-7331
E-13 Randall, NY 8.0’ Up Arrow 278.4’ 286.4’ E-14 / 7.90 Miles 01:17 518-922-6173
E-14 Canajoharie, NY 8.0’ Up Arrow 286.4’ 294.4’ E-15 / 3.35 Miles 00:50 518-673-3314
E-15 Fort Plain, NY 8.0’ Up Arrow 294.4’ 302.4’ E-16 / 6.71 Miles 01:10 518-993-4161
E-16 Mindenville, NY 20.5’Up Arrow 302.4’ 322.9’ E-17 / 7.77 Miles 01:17 518-568-2636
E-17 Little Falls, NY 40.5’Up Arrow 322.9’ 363.4’ E-18 / 4.20 Miles 00:55 315-823-0650
E-18 Jacksonburg, NY 20.0’Up Arrow 363.4’ 383.4’ E-19 / 12.00 Miles 01:42 315-823-2419
E-19 Frankfort, NY 21.0’Up Arrow 383.4’ 404.4’ E-20 / 10.30 Miles 01:32 315-733-5041
E-20 Careys Corners, NY 16.0’Up Arrow 404.4’ 420.4’ E-21 / 18.22 Miles 02:19 315-736-4617
E-21 Rome, NY 25.0’Down Arrow 420.4’ 395.4’ E-22 / 1.35 Miles 00:38 315-336-8229
E-22 Rome, NY 25.3’Down Arrow 395.4’ 370.1’ E-23 / 28.65 Miles 03:22 315-336-4329
E-23¹ Brewerton, NY 7.1’ Down Arrow 370.1’ 363.0’ E-24 / 18.75 Miles 02:23 315-676-4171
E-24 Baldwinsville, NY 11.0’Up Arrow 363.0’ 374.0’ E-25 / 30.75 Miles 03:35 315-635-3101
E-25 Mays Point, NY 6.0’ Up Arrow 374.0’ 380.0’ E-26 / 5.84 Miles 01:05 315-365-3241
E-26 Clyde, NY 6.0’ Up Arrow 380.0’ 386.0’ E-27 / 12.06 Miles 01:42 315-923-9720
E-27 Lyons, NY 12.5’Up Arrow 386.0’ 398.5’ E-28A / 1.25 Miles 00:38 315-946-4062
E-28A Lyons, NY 19.5’Up Arrow 398.5’ 418.0’ E-28B / 3.93 Miles 00:54 315-946-4410
E-28B Newark, NY 12.0’Up Arrow 418.0’ 430.0’ E-29 / 9.70 Miles 01:28 315-331-3296
E-29 Palmyra, NY 16.0’Up Arrow 430.0’ 446.0’ E-30 / 3.00 Miles 00:48 315-597-4691
E-30 Macedon, NY 16.4’Up Arrow 446.0’ 462.4’ E-32 / 16.10 Miles 02:07 315-986-5631
E-32 Pittsford, NY 25.1’Up Arrow 462.4’ 487.5’ E-33 / 1.30 Miles 00:39 585-586-1837
E-33 Henrietta, NY 25.4’Up Arrow 487.5’ 512.9’ E-34 / 64.20 Miles 06:55 585-244-2150
E-34 Lockport, NY 24.6’Up Arrow 514.9’² 539.5’ E-35 / 0.00 Miles 00:30 716-434-3140
E-35 Lockport, NY 24.5’Up Arrow 539.5’ 564.0’ Black Rock Lock / 26.0 Miles 03:06 716-434-3140

Erie Canal Transit & Lock Schedule - Download



Erie Canal Distance Table
All Distances in Nautical Miles
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NYC 0.0 134 137 155 169 189 206 214 236 248 267 275 311 333 351 379 391 405 415 431 437 441
Troy Lock 134 0.0 3 21 35 55 72 80 102 114 133 142 178 200 217 245 257 271 281 297 309 313
Waterford 137 3 0.0 18 33 52 69 77 99 112 130 139 175 197 214 242 254 268 279 294 306 310
Schnectady 155 21 18 0.0 15 34 51 59 81 94 112 121 157 179 196 224 236 250 260 276 288 292
Amsterdam 169 35 33 15 0.0 20 31 39 62 74 93 101 137 159 176 204 217 230 241 256 269 272
Canajoharie 189 55 52 34 20 0.0 17 25 47 59 78 87 123 145 162 190 202 216 226 242 254 257
Little Falls 206 72 69 51 31 17 0.0 8 30 42 61 70 106 128 145 173 185 199 209 225 237 241
Ilion 214 80 77 59 39 25 8 0.0 23 35 53 62 98 120 137 165 178 191 202 217 229 233
Rome 236 102 99 81 62 47 30 23 0.0 12 31 39 75 97 115 143 155 169 179 194 207 210
Sylvan Beach 248 114 112 94 74 59 42 35 12 0.0 19 27 63 85 103 131 143 157 167 182 195 198
Brewerton 267 131 130 112 93 78 61 53 31 19 0.0 8 44 66 84 112 124 138 148 163 176 179
3 River Jct. 275 142 139 121 101 87 70 62 39 27 8 0.0 36 58 75 103 116 129 140 155 168 171
Kipp Island 311 178 175 157 137 123 106 98 75 63 44 36 0.0 22 39 67 80 93 104 119 132 135
Newark 333 200 197 179 159 145 128 120 97 85 66 58 22 0.0 17 45 58 71 82 97 110 113
Fairport 351 217 214 196 176 162 145 137 115 103 84 75 39 17 0.0 28 40 54 65 80 92 97
Brockport 379 245 242 224 204 190 173 165 143 131 112 103 67 45 28 0.0 12 26 36 52 64 68
Albion 391 257 254 236 217 202 185 178 155 143 124 116 80 58 40 12 0.0 14 24 39 52 55
Middleport 405 271 268 250 230 216 199 191 169 157 138 129 93 71 54 26 14 0.0 11 26 38 42
Lockport 415 281 279 260 241 226 209 202 179 167 148 140 104 82 65 36 24 11 0.0 15 28 31
Tonawanda 431 297 294 276 256 242 225 217 194 182 163 155 119 97 80 52 39 26 15 0.0 13 16
Black Rock 437 303 306 288 269 254 237 229 207 195 176 168 132 110 92 64 52 38 28 13 0.0 4
Buffalo 441 307 310 292 272 257 241 233 210 198 179 171 135 113 96 68 55 42 31 16 4 0.0

Erie Canal Distance Tables - Download

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