New Water Sports Course With Whitewater Rafting Coming to Erie Canal

A new water course with whitewater rafting is part of a $300 million makeover on the Erie Canal.

The new whitewater destination, at the north end of Cayuga Lake near Seneca Falls, will rely on existing water control infrastructure to construct an active water sports course next to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.

Governor Cuomo unveiled the $300 million plan to reimagine the Erie Canal that will not only help boost tourism, but also mitigate flooding, enhance irrigation and recreational fishing and restore wetlands.

Adapting Industrial Property for New Uses: A canalside pocket neighborhood will be developed at a former industrial property in Canastota along the Old Erie Canal.

Celebrating "Iconic Infrastructure": Interactive, hydro-powered illumination of Canal "movable dams" - initially in Amsterdam and Canajoharie in the Mohawk River valley - will celebrate the Canal's heritage and its history as an engineering marvel.

Connecting Communities: The "Brockport Loop" project in Monroe County will connect SUNY College at Brockport to the Empire State Trail and the village of Brockport through the transformation of a canal guard-gate into a pedestrian bridge and overlook, with a supporting grant of $2 million from the Ralph Wilson Foundation.

Developing Destination Accommodations: The historic Guy Park Manor, on the Mohawk River in Amsterdam, will be reborn as a hospitality destination. A pedestrian bridge built across the Canal lock will provide access to additional overnight accommodation along the Empire State Trail on the opposite side of the river.

"When the Erie Canal was created in the 19th century it set the state and the nation on a path to prosperity, and this year we will repurpose the canal to fit our state's 21st century needs," Governor Cuomo said. "This bold and visionary plan to transform this historic waterway will build on the success of the Empire State Trail, grow tourism across Upstate New York, improve resilience of today's Canal communities and ensure the economic sustainability of the waterway into the future."

To help mitigate chronic summer and winter flooding in the Mohawk River Valley, $65 million will be used for deploying an icebreaker and undertaking dredging and filling in certain portions of the Mohawk to prevent ice jam formation;

Learn more on Erie Canal updates at Governor.ny.gov.