A Route Well Traveled

A Route Well Traveled. . , From Native Americans to today's boaters, the gap between the Adirondack and Green Mountains has long been a corridor for travel, trade, and warfare. The Champlain Canal, opened in 1823, created an all-water connection between Lake Champlain and New York City. The canal carried forest products, ore, and farm produce from the Adirondacks, Vermont, and Quebec to factories and markets along the Atlantic coast. In 1916, Champlain Canal traffic moved from the narrow hand-dug ditch on the right to the larger channel in the Hudson River to the left. The canal is popular today for recreational boating and paddling. The 60-mile-long Champlain Canalway Trail provides off-road and on-road experiences for bicyclists and hikers., Right: Saratoga Battlefield bluffs overlook overlook the Champlain Canal while a pair of mule-drawn canal boats jockey for position. To pass each other, the vessel opposite the towpath (where the mules walk) would stop, let the tow rope slacken and then drop to the bottom of the canal. The boat on the towpath side would then continue forward passing over the top of the submerged tow rope Artist: James L. McElhinney, 2021., [Below] Right: New York State Canal System Survey Map, Stillwater, New York showing the Champlain Canal Hudson River and adjacent landowner properties c. 1834, Left: A romantic view by Benson Lossing showing mules towing a canalboat carrying goods and passengers north along the Champlain Canal. The Hudson River and Taconic Mountains are in the background. 1851, This interpretive panel was developed in partnership with Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor with support from the National Park Foundation.