The Canalway Trail: Unlock the Adventure
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Business Along The Erie Canal

The Canalway Trail: Unlock the Adventure, also, Business Along The Erie Canal. . , Welcome to the Canalway Trail System, offering hundreds of miles of scenic trails and numerous parks for walking, bicycling, cross country skiing and other recreational activities. The Canalway Trail parallels the New York State Canal System, comprised of four historic waterways: the Erie, the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. The Canal System spans 524 miles across New York State, linking the Hudson River with the Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, the Niagara River and Lake Erie., Cooperative initiatives between the New York State Canal Corporation, volunteers, local governments, and federal and state agencies have created this great network of trails for public use. When completed, the Canalway Trail will span over 500 miles connecting numerous cities, towns and villages along the Canal System, making it one of the most extensive trail networks in the country., Business Along The Erie Canal , Just as land near highway interchanges is valued today by developers, merchants assumed that certain businesses benefited from being close to canal-related structures, such as locks, toll collectors offices, basins, and city bridges. Grocery stores, taverns and inns were particularly popular at these locations because canal travelers needed food and drink along their journey. One canal traveler in 1843 reported that at nearly every lock along the Erie Canal there were 3 to 6 taverns and stores, all catering to the traveling public. Signs advertising bread, milk, groceries cider, beer, rum and whiskey for sale met the eye every few miles. Storeowners eagerly awaited the arrival of boats. Tavern keepers served hot meals as well as drinks to passengers and boat workers., Freighters and packer boats alike needed to make frequent stops when traveling along the Erie Canal. Hamlets like Adams Basin developed specifically for this reason. The building across the street was constructed around 1825, when the original Erie Canal was completed. It was first used as a general store, offering food, drink and mail service to canal travelers and later housed a tavern. Although the building has passed though several owners, it has functioned as an inn for most of its existence.