CANALWAY TRAIL EAST LETTERBOX:
AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted:
August 14, 2007
Length:
Amsterdam
to Canajoharie; about 24 miles
Amsterdam
to
Schoharie
Crossing
State Park
; 7 ½ miles
Amsterdam
to Letterbox; 3 ¼ miles.
Bridge
Street to Letterbox; 1.1 miles.
Canajoharie to Fort Plain (Lock 15); 4.7 miles.
Fort Plain (Lock 15) to Little Falls; 16 ¾
miles.
Difficulty:
Amsterdam
to
Schoharie
Crossing
State Park
; Easy. Flat, paved trail.
Schoharie
Crossing
State Park
to Canajoharie; Easy. Flat, stone-dust trail.
Canajoharie
to Fort Plain (Lock 15); Easy. Flat, paved trail.
Fort Plain (Lock 15) to Little Falls; Easy. Flat, stone-dust and paved (in
Little Falls) trail.
Directions:
To start from
Amsterdam
; From I-90 take exit 27 to Route 30 north. Take your first right
onto Route 5S eastbound. Travel about 2 miles and you'll see where the
trail starts on your left. There is parking for only a few cars. For an
alternative location to park for a shorter trip to the Letterbox; Instead of
turning off Route 30 north, continue underneath Route 5S and take your
next right onto
Erie Street
. This will bring you alongside the bike trail. Park along
Bridge Street
and head west on the trail. To return to Route 30, follow
Bridge Street
right and then take a right onto
Gilliland Street
for the Route 30 southbound ramp.
To start from
Schoharie
Crossing
State Park
; From I-90 take exit 27 to
Route 30 north. Take a left onto Route 5S westbound. Travel for at least
5 miles? Until you come to a sharp downhill curve. Route 5S bears left,
you bear right on
Main Street
(there will be signs for
Schoharie
Crossing
State Park
). If you cross over the river you went too far. Just after the trail crosses
the road, turn left down
Railroad Street
. This will bring you to the park.
To start from Canajoharie; From
I-90 take exit 29 to Route 5S. Turn left (east) and look for
Cunningham Road
on the right. A small pull-off is available for parking. It will be directly
across from a NY DOT center. The paved section of the trail starts here and
heads west.
To start from Fort Plain (Lock 15); From
I-90 take exit 29 to Route 5S. Turn right (west) and travel 3 ½
miles to Fort Plain. When you come to Route 80 turn right and follow Route 80 (
Main Street-Willett Street-River Street
) underneath I-90. Turn left immediately onto
Otsquago Club Road
and a parking lot is located just past Lock 15.
To start from Little Falls; From
I-90 take exit 29A to Route 169. To start from Lock 17;
Take a left down an access road just before you cross over the river. To
begin from the start of the Canalway Trail; Continue along Route 169 to
Route 167 and head left (west). Stay on Route 167 until it takes you back over
the river. Take a left onto
West Casler Street
, another left along
Flint Street
and then a right down
West Shore Street
where the trail starts.
These sections of the Canalway Trail are
mostly located in
Montgomery
County
, which currently has a total of approximately 12 miles of paved trail and 28
miles of stone-dust. Starting from
Amsterdam
, you have an uninterrupted run all the way to Little Falls. The Canalway
Trail runs along the former West Shore
Railroad which was chartered
December 5, 1885
, as successor to the
New York
,
West
Shore
&
Buffalo
Railway. Called in its day "the eighth wonder of the world," the
Erie Canal
remains one of
America
's best known and enduring icons. A marvel of nineteenth-century engineering,
the canal, begun in 1817, followed a path already popular to westward-moving
Americans, following the Mohawk River through the Appalachian
Mountains and then on to Lake Erie. Building the canal was a
tremendous feat. Workers had to dig a 363-mile ditch that was 40 feet wide and
four feet deep, through rocky hills and swamps and across rivers. What's more,
this ditch had to slowly rise 565 feet on its way from the
Hudson River
to
Lake Erie
, which it did through a series of locks. Derided as "
Clinton
's Ditch," after New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, within months of the
canal's opening in 1825 the doubters were proven wrong by the canal's
overwhelming success. The canal gave rise to additional connecting canals,
including the
Oswego
, Cayuga-Seneca, and Champlain, the last of which actually opened before the
Erie Canal
. For more information visit; CANALWAY
TRAIL . For some historical pictures of the Canalway visit; ERIE
CANAL . East of Amsterdam the Canalway Trail is called the Mohawk-Hudson
Bikeway. For three more Letterboxes located along that trail See; Mohawk-Hudson
Bikeway Letterboxes and Mohawk-Hudson
Bikeway South Letterbox .
Starting from
Amsterdam
; This paved trail parallels Route 5S and the
Mohawk River
for the first mile and then pulls away from the road. Mileage markers
occur along the trail indicating the miles of the trail that pass through
Montgomery
County
. Keep an eye out on your right side at 1.8 miles for an old cement Whistle
Stop marker. You then travel below Route 30 and pass by another relic of the
railroad (some type of rail sign). After briefly passing through a section of
town and across Bridge Street, the trail crosses over an old trestle and
heads into the woods at 2.3 miles. You'll need to keep a sharp eye to your right
after 3 ¼ miles for a small fisherman's path that leads you down to the
Mohawk River
and the dam for Lock 11. A second path is just past the first one. You
can clearly see the dam from the trail. The path takes you to a cement spillway
leading to the dam which looks like an old bridge. Across the river is the Lock
and there's a good chance you'll see a train going by. From the top of the
cement spillway, look for a yellow gas pole to your left. It’s next to the
second path. Put your back to this pole and see a grove of small trees to the
left of the spillway. Take 5 paces (2 steps = 1 pace) into the grove to a Beech
tree. Just past this tree will be a pile of rocks with a single rock on top of a
flat rock. Lift these two rocks up to reveal the Canalway Trail East
Letterbox. Please replace the rocks as you found them to protect the box and
help the next seeker. Continuing along the trail, you come to a road crossing at
4.8 miles and a great side detour.
Note;
Turn right down this road for the Schoharie Crossing State Park; Yankee Hill
Lock-Canal Store site. You'll discover the remains of Lock 28, from
the old Enlarged Erie Canal as well as the old Putnam Lock
Grocery. Restrooms are located inside this building. Interpretive signs tell
the areas history and picnic tables are located alongside the
Mohawk River
next to a dock. Not to be missed and it’s just off the trail.
Continuing along the trail you come to
Main Street
at 7.1 miles.
Note;
You have two choices from here; turn right to get to the Schoharie
Crossing State Park, 0.4 miles distance or continue straight along the trail
(paved trail ends after 0.6 miles). Turning
right, then left down
Railroad Ave
brings you to Schoharie Crossing State Park. Here, you'll find a museum,
the remains of the original
Erie Canal
, picnic tables, interpretive signs, the remains of the Schoharie
Aqueduct (1841) and views of Schoharie Creek.
Continuing straight
on the trail, you cross an old iron bridge over Schoharie Creek. The
Route 5S Bridge is to your left and the I-90 Bridge upriver. The
pavement ends at 7 ¾ miles next to the boat launch road. The trail continues as
stone-dust for approximately 16 miles until you reach Canajoharie.
Starting from Canajoharie; This
paved trail parallels Route 5S as it heads into Canajoharie. Mile markers
are painted along the trail. Looking right you'll see the large white buildings
of the Beech Nut Company. After just a ½ mile the trail jogs left over
an old black iron bridge over Canajoharie Creek. You come to a signboard
describing the areas history and then a tiny park with benches, information
booth and an old railroad mileage marker reading NY192 or 192 miles to
New York City
. This is downtown Canajoharie and if you look up on the West
Hill, you'll see where the Canajoharie
Academy was built in 1824, followed by a stone building in 1849. Both of
these burned and were demolished to make way for the present stone
West
Hill
School
, constructed in 1892. It was in a classroom of this earlier academy that Susan
B. Anthony began her career as a school teacher. She later left teaching and
Canajoharie to lead the early campaign for Women’s rights. After crossing the
street the trail briefly utilizes the sidewalk. Just follow the Canalway
signs. Your back on the paved trail at ¾ miles. After 1.3 miles you come to a
parking lot and sign board and leave the town behind. The trail parallels Route
5S and I-90 off to your right, but is not loud. Cross another old
iron railroad bridge at 3.5 miles and travel along a berm. After crossing
another iron bridge over Otsquago Creek you come to
River Street
and Fort Plain at 4 miles. A parking lot is located on the left after
crossing the street. A sign board is here as well. The trail then takes you
underneath I-90, past some nice murals and ends at
Otsquago Club Road
after 4.7 miles. Lock 15 is located directly across the road. Worth
checking out. To reach the next section, there is a short 1 mile on-road detour.
Starting from Fort Plain (Lock 15);
From the end of the last section (coming from Canajoharie) when you reached
Otsquago Club Road, turn left and follow this low traffic road past Lock
15 and the parking lot. There is a sign board located near the parking lot.
After a mile you'll return to the trail which consists of stone-dust. This
section is isolated with occasional views of the river and lots of bunnies.
After 5.4 miles you come to
Bridge Street
. A sign board, benches and picnic table are located here.
Note;
You can take a short detour and check out a remnant of the old Enlarged Erie
Canal (Lock 33) by heading right on
Bridge Street
and then right at the sign. About ¾ miles. Also, heading right over the bridge
will take you to St. Johnsville.
Continuing along the trail you'll come to the
entrance for Lock 16 just past a gate at 7 miles. Traveling along the river,
after 8 miles the trail veers left and parallels
River Road
for less then a mile before heading back along the river. At around 10 miles
you cross over Nowadaga Creek in
Danube
. There is a signboard and picnic table located here. A great spot to go wading.
You come to the Herkimer Home State Historic Site at 13.5 miles. A bike
rack is located here so that you may visit the site. For more information visit;
HERKIMER HOME
.
Note;
After checking out the site you'll spot a stone-dust trail leading off the main
trail. This takes you through the fields to a dock along the river.
Continuing along the trail you come to Route
169. USE CAUTION crossing. Travel past a marsh and at 14.5 miles the trail
becomes paved as you head down to
Fink Basin Road
. Take a right and then a left to rejoin the paved trail. This brings you up
along a ridge with views of the
Mohawk River
down to your right. After 15.5 miles you'll come to a sign for Lock 17.
Note;
A great side detour here! Turning right, a switchback trail takes you down to a
signboard. If you head right along the Lock 17 access road you'll find a remnant
of the old
Erie Canal
(Lock 36) and a parking lot. Access to this lot is off of Route 169.
Heading left up the access road brings you to Lock 17. You must climb (or carry
your bike) up a steep set of stairs to the top of the Lock. Lock 17, at 40.5
feet is the highest lock in NY. Worth the climb. You may continue your detour by
crossing over the Lock to Moss Island. A paved trail takes you past the
Lock along the Riverfront Trail to a small pavilion at the end of
Ann Street
. Only a mile from the Canalway Trail. There is a map board here and you can
visit the nearby
Historic Canal Place
in Little Falls. For more information visit; LITTLE
FALLS .
Back on the Canalway Trail and heading west, you'll travel through a tunnel
after a ½ mile and emerge in a steep rock cut carved out by the railroad. You
come to
West Shore Street
and parking at 16.2 miles. Follow the road straight and another trail picks up
again on your right. It takes you underneath Route 167, past a playground and
out onto Southern Ave. Travel down this road to reach the Little Falls Canal
harbor after 16 ¾ miles. There are benches and a picnic area overlooking the
river.
HH
CLICK
HERE FOR MAP
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED
ON
AUGUST 14, 2007
TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION
CLICK
HERE
BEFORE YOU SET OUT BE
SURE TO READ THE
WAIVER
OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER
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