Erie Canal

Offering miles of light terrain that stretches across the center of upstate NY, the Erie Canal is a lovely avenue for both walking and bike riding.

Visit the Aqua Vino  for lunch or dinner to enjoy delicious food and canal-side dining.
Take a walk after dinner beside the canal and visit Lock 20 found right here in the city of Utica.

Directions from the Inn to lock twenty.

One of the drawing features of this historic site is the lock system that allowed boats to effectively travel over uneven terrain. A boat carrying goods or people would go into the lock the door behind them would come down stopping water from flowing down river then the door upstream would be lifted allowing for the higher water to enter the lock raising the boat level with the canal ahead. The idea was simple, efficient for it's time, and still in use today for the leisure boats traveling down this historic waterway.

Moss Island offers both nature and history. Walk along the Erie Canal, see the largest lock still in operation, and enjoy the beauty and sounds of Little Falls. Moss Island also is made up of a very unique geological construction with round hollows throughout cutting deep into rock.

Read about the history behind this advancing form for transportation of goods and people alike.