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About the Canals


The New York State Canal system is operated, maintained and promoted by the New York State Canal Corporation, a subsidiary of the New York Power Authority. New York’s Canal system includes four historic canals: the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca. Spanning 524-miles, the canal waterways link the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain.

Following much of the original towpaths, the Canal system also includes the 365-mile Canalway Trail, which runs from Albany to Buffalo and from Albany to Whitehall, and is all part of the 750-mile Empire State Trail—the nation’s longest multi-use recreational trail network.

New York State’s Reimagine the Canals initiative is transforming the iconic Canal system into a viable ecotourism destination while simultaneously enhancing economic development and improving the resiliency of canalside communities.