The Mohawk Towpath Byway (excerpted from Cycling Along The Canals of New York State.)
This on-road ride, which closely follows to the original canal alignment, is the result of a coalition of community members (Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway Coalition, Inc.) who have worked diligently to design, designate, and promote the route. The Mohawk Towpath Byway (MTB) has two routes to Crescent/Halfmoon. One starts from Cohoes, the other from Waterford. Food and water are available in Waterford, Halfmoon, Rexford, and Schenectady.
Whether you arrived here from Cohoes or Waterford, there is only one MTB route heading west from Crescent. This is Canal Road, which heads west from the traffic light at the foot of the NY 9 bridge on the north side of the Mohawk in Halfmoon. This is the path of the Erie Canal. As you cycle along Canal Road you’ll be following the route of the canal, which was used as a landfill site from 1920 to as recent as the 1970s. In just over two miles, take a right up Clam Steam Road, and then an immediate left onto Riverview Road.
Follow Riverview Road west for two miles and you’ll come to the beginning of the historic Erie Canal restorations in the vicinity of Vischer Ferry. Take a careful look at the map adjacent to the restored truss bridge over the old canal. The map will point out how to get onto the old Erie Canal Towpath, which extends west for two miles. This is a dirt towpath that I recommend you try — if it is dry you can ride it on a road bike.
Iron bridges across the Erie Canal were common in the period of the early 1840s up to the opening of the New York State Barge Canal. Many bridges were removed and sold to private landowners for their use, and the state scrapped some. Students and friends of Union College rebuilt the Whipple Iron Truss Bridge, stone abutments, and approaches at Vischer Ferry with no state, federal, or town funding. It stands as a great tribute to what can be done to preserve the engineering history of the canal.
The Whipple Iron Truss Bridge is one of many canal sites adopted and restored by Union College students, faculty, and friends.
Here, the town’s summer recreation program participants make a visit. Photo courtesy of Eric Hamilton
On the old dirt towpath trail, you’ll find old Lock 19 before you come into the historic village of Vischer Ferry. If you don’t want to ride atop this portion of canal towpath you can stay on Riverview Road and ride west into Vischer Ferry.
From Vischer Ferry, continue westward on Riverview Road five miles to NY 146. As you top the hill alongside the Mohawk, be sure to stop at the overlook. This looks down into the Mohawk River Gorge and you can see where the Erie Canal crossed back from the north side of the Mohawk (Rexford) to its south shore (Aqueduct). Then go left on NY 146 and cross the Mohawk River. Immediately on your left is a small park that celebrates the Erie Canal aqueduct that gave this place its name. This was another of the longest aqueducts ever built in New York (610 feet long with 14 arches).
Here at Aqueduct, the Mohawk Towpath Byway and the Mohawk-Hudson bike path merge. Regardless of which route you took from the east, I recommend that you follow the Canalway Trail the rest of the way (three miles) to downtown Schenectady.