The New York State Canalway Trail is a network of multi-use trails that runs parallel to current or former sections of the Erie , Oswego , Cayuga-Seneca , and Champlain canals. When completed, the system will have 524 miles (843 km) of trails following current and former sections of the canals. The longest of these is the 365 miles (587 km) long Erie Canalway Trail. The Erie and Champlain Canalway Trails are also part of the statewide Empire State Trail system.
9-651: A partnership of national, state, local and non-profit organizations is working to complete a continuous system of trails along these canals. Among the organizations involved are Parks & Trails New York, the New York State Canal Corporation and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor . Before the railroad era, New York had an extensive network of canals. As commercial freight shifted away from canals and towards rail and highways, communities along
18-626: The New York State Thruway . This did not come to pass. The New York Power Authority has been financially responsible for the Canal Corporation since April 2016 and has owned it since January 1, 2017. In 2004, it was discovered that officials of the Canal Corporation had attempted to sell private development rights to large stretches of the Old Erie Canal to a single developer for a mere $ 30,000, far less than
27-668: The Erie Canal portion of the system. The current director of the New York State Canal Corporation is Brian Stratton , who was appointed to the position by Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Spring of 2011. Executive officers report to a 7-member board of directors. For 2018, the board approved an expenditures budget of $ 82 million for operations and maintenance, $ 40 million for capital expenditures, and $ 3 million for Canal Development Fund expenses. In 2012,
36-578: The Erie Canalway Trail is 100% complete. As part of the Empire State Trail project, the remaining gaps in the trail were filled and completed, both on-road and off-road, by the end of 2020. Some of the individual sections are included below: Segments are listed from west to east. New York State Canal Corporation The New York State Canal Corporation is a New York State public-benefit corporation responsible for
45-468: The New York State Canal Corporation employed 529 people, consisting of 458 full-time employees and 78 seasonal workers. Its spending accounted for about 10 percent of the New York State Thruway 's total $ 1.1 billion in annual spending. In 2012, the Canal Corp.’s operating budget was $ 55.7 million and its capital budget was $ 51.4 million. An August 2012 report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said
54-527: The canal system "contributed to the deterioration of the Authority's financial condition over the past decade", even as canal traffic had dropped nearly one-third since the period immediately before the Thruway Authority assumed control. In May 2006, Governor George Pataki proposed recreating the New York State Canal Corporation by 2010 as an independent agency no longer under the oversight of
63-484: The canals needed new ways to generate commerce. In 1995, the Canal Corporation issued a recreation plan, which offered a view of the Canal as a linear park, including trails linking communities along the trail. Biking, hiking, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, canoeing, and fishing are among activities promoted. The original canals were flanked by towpaths , where mules walked while pulling barges through
72-424: The canals. Many of the canalway trails follow former towpaths. Some trails follow canals that are still in use, serving mostly recreational boating. Other towpath trails pass by the ruins of abandoned locks and other structures. Many communities along the canal have made progress in establishing parks, improving towpaths and raising funds for restoration of old canal structures such as locks and aqueducts. As of 2021,
81-862: The oversight, administration and maintenance of the New York State Canal System , which consists of the Erie Canal , Cayuga–Seneca Canal , Oswego Canal and Champlain Canal . It is also involved with the development and maintenance of the New York State Canalway Trail and with the general development and promotion of the Erie Canal Corridor as both a tourist attraction and a working waterway. The canal system totals 524 miles in length, and includes 57 locks and 17 lift bridges. The corporation suggests that canal boat travelers reserve 5 days to traverse
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