June 16, 2020
There was a time when we thought we would complete all our New York 100 on the Erie Canalway Trail. We had campgrounds and routes tentatively planned. Our goal now, due to the pandemic, is avoiding crowds and campgrounds.
Ground broke on the Erie Canal on July 4,1817. And here we are 203 years later riding our bikes along this historic route.
In the 1960s some of the Canal communities that had lost most of their commercial traffic were seeking new ways to benefit from the Canal. They began building trails on remnants of the old towpath. Pittsford’s Schoen Place is an excellent example of the revitalization along this section of the canal. There are shops and cafes right on the canal. You can walk your bikes through this area or detour using the road which is what we did on our return as it was becoming very congested.
We parked at Lock 32 Canal State Park. We were able to squeeze our RV into a parking spot. When we returned from our ride the park getting full and parking spots were becoming sparse.
There is an area about 3 miles east of Pittsford called the Great Embankment. A 70 foot high, mile long fill was constructed to carry the Canal above Irondequoit Creek. Here the tops of the trees are practically level with the trail. Interesting, but to be honest we passed by this area without really seeing this. The guide book said we would know when we were traversing this canal skyway. Oh well…
Fairport was a busy little town we passed through. There was ongoing bridge construction which had us detour on the road for a short distance. A very busy area – drivers were very respectful of bikers. Yeah!!
We had views of beautiful homes with pontoon boats, wooden boats or bass boats tied to their docks on the canal. Bike traffic increased on our return, making for more and more dust. We did travel west a few additional miles towards Rochester and Lock 33.
There is a Camping World near our next planned trail. They offer free overnight parking, a dump station and water. Perfect!! We took the opportunity to enjoy extra long showers. Spent less then $25 at Camping World – a record for us.