Erie Canal in Wayne County (from Cycling Along The Canals of New York State.)
Bike “5” passes directly through charming farm villages like Savannah, Clyde, Lyons, Newark, Port Gibson, Palmyra, and Macedon. The area between Rochester and Syracuse, in Wayne, Seneca, and Cayuga, offers some of the best roadways in New York State for cycling. Find a small town to stay in and don’t hesitate to explore.
An observant cycle-historian will notice that in the eastern portion of Wayne County the original Erie Canal and today’s barge canal alignments do differ a bit. Essentially, this is because the barge canal was placed into an “enlarged” Clyde River, which the original canal did not utilize. Here, like everywhere else across New York, the old Erie was completely in a land-locked canal bed, totally separate from rivers and streams.
There are many hidden Erie Canal treasures along the way. Between Clyde and Lyons, look for a small sign “Canal Park.” It is visible in both directions. This will take you to Wayne County’s Black Brook Area Canal Park, where there is good interpretive material on canal history and some stretches of well-maintained towpath for you to cycle. Less than a mile west on Bike “5” is Wayne County’s Lock Berlin Area Canal Park. It also has a well-maintained grassy towpath for cycling. If you are riding high-pressure tires, you’ll need to stay on Bike “5,” but be sure to stop and see the old canal structures. If you are comfortable cycling on a hard, grassy surface, you’ll be able to tour some of this hidden towpath.
Wayne County Park at Lock Berlin has excellent interpretive data.
The barge canal has some interesting stopping places. There is a pretty canal side park in Lyons at Barge Canal Lock 27. Lock 28, one mile west of Lyons, is right alongside Bike “5.” This is the western maintenance hub for the Erie Canal and you might see barges or tugs in dry-dock. An old Erie Canal lock lies just a bit west alongside Dry Dock Road.
Heading west at Newark, you have two good choices. You can choose to stay on Bike “5” or ride west on the Canalway Trail. The Canalway Trail resumes at Erie Barge Canal Lock 28B. This is the start of the longest continuous stretch of the trail and extends almost all the way to Lake Erie, almost 125 miles away. Most of it is unpaved but kept in excellent condition. The riding surface of the unpaved towpath is hard enough to support almost any bicycle type including high-pressure tires. Lock 29 in Macedon has interesting old Erie Canal structures right alongside.