Schenectady to Rensselaer, NY: Farewell Erie Canal, Hello Hudson River!

Yesterday we traveled the last 21 miles on the Erie Canal, completing the 340 miles in about two weeks. The canal ends in Waterford, NY, where it meets the Hudson River, and finishes in a big way. At Waterford, the canal drops 170 feet over 1.5 miles—the highest elevation change to distance ratio of any waterway in the country—through a series of five locks, each with a drop of 33-35 feet. We had a warmup at Lock 7, where we were lowered 27 feet, then had another first at Guard Gate 2, which was closed to control access to the canal. We had to radio the guard gate operator to get it raised, then drove underneath the dripping door. Once through, we joined in the Lock 6 queue with two Canadian sailboats, and were followed by a large Fleming motor yacht to round out our foursome for the flight of five locks. It took two hours to get through them all, and was an amazing experience; quickly dropping down inside each lock, then moving on to the next, with two-way traffic in between each lock. Map Link: Waterford, NY

When we exited the last lock (which is Lock 2–there is no Lock 1) we were surprised to discover that the Waterford Welcome Center had closed most of their floating docks for maintenance with little warning. Our Plan B was to tie up to the very high concrete wall to the east, but were quickly told that it was reserved for a barge that was coming later. The one wall that was open on the west end was already full, and rafting up to other boats isn’t our thing, so we got on the phone, and found a marina with room for us, 11 miles away in Albany. We entered the Hudson River heading south, and passed through the federal lock at Troy, NY, which lowered us 16 feet to sea level, which we haven’t seen since Carrabelle, FL in January. After 30 miles, seven locks and more than 210 feet of elevation change, we arrived at the Albany Yacht Club, which is actually across the river in Rensselaer, NY.  Curiously, the well known Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is not here, but 10 miles away in Troy. We walked into town and celebrated the completion of the Erie Canal at Illusive Restaurant, reflecting on the beautiful scenery, welcoming towns, friendly people and the relaxed pace of canal cruising, all of which suited us perfectly. Map Link: Rensselaer, NY