See all 31 routes on Old Erie Canal
New York | Onondaga and Madison Counties / DeWitt to Chittenango
Old Erie Canal
Cedar Bay Park, DeWitt to Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum
Route planning details, access notes, and local verification guidance.
Route location
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Need to know
Why this call
Conditions
Gauge history and hourly forecast
Use the gauge context and hourly forecast to verify local conditions before launching.
Gauge detail
Gauge history & hourly forecastDetailed view
Gauge
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampMN DNR provides the current paddling level here, but not chart-ready recent samples.
Weather
Hourly forecast
Checking weather.
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Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
Checking the next several hours.
Route overview
Quick facts and what's next
Distance, difficulty, shuttle basics, and the near-term outlook before you commit to the drive.
Quick facts
Plan ahead
Upcoming outlook
These are early planning reads. Re-check live conditions before you commit to the drive.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Plan
Plan your trip
Launch points, shuttle details, distance, and access notes.
Route logistics
Access and shuttle
A 9.4-mile one-way Old Erie Canal State Park paddle from Cedar Bay Park to Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum. Erie Canalway describes this towpath-era canal as still watered but bypassed since 1918, with two stone aqueduct crossings and shorter options for exploration.
Plan a shorter segmentOptional
Access planner
Pick a shorter segment
This changes launch and take-out logistics, not today's river score.
Peltier Lake to Long Lake is the full route. Shorter access pairs are useful when wind, time, or group energy changes the plan.
Prepare this trip
Take the plan with you
Download the canonical route, add a calendar hold, or send a simple float plan to your group.
Put-in
Cedar Bay Park Old Erie Canal launch area, DeWittCedar Bay is named by NYS Parks and Erie Canalway as a public park/launch context, but the stored coordinate is an access-area anchor rather than a guaranteed wetted-edge ramp. Confirm the current launch and carry on arrival.
Take-out
Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum Old Erie Canal launch areaChittenango Landing has a documented dock and launch slide, but the Canalway notes that the kayak launch requires navigating a slope. Confirm the slope, water level, parking, museum hours, and whether an event changes access.
Plan this segment
Pulling access map tiles. Usually under 5 seconds.
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- Cedar Bay is named by NYS Parks and Erie Canalway as a public park/launch context, but the stored coordinate is an access-area anchor rather than a guaranteed wetted-edge ramp. Confirm the current launch and carry on arrival.
- Chittenango Landing has a documented dock and launch slide, but the Canalway notes that the kayak launch requires navigating a slope. Confirm the slope, water level, parking, museum hours, and whether an event changes access.
- Poolsbrook is retained as an intermediate planning anchor from the current park map, not as an assumed staffed emergency exit. Do not use an unsigned trail bank or private shoreline as a bailout.
- The route ends at Chittenango Landing. Continuing toward the village, Chittenango Creek, or the newer Erie Canal requires a separate access, water, and shuttle review.
- No numeric paddling threshold is published for the nearby creek proxy. Keep this route planning-only and make shallow-water, obstruction, weather, and direct visual checks the controlling decision controls.
Watch for
- USGS 04244000 unavailable, rapidly changing, or inconsistent with local canal depth; no numeric route threshold is published
- shallow water, mud, weeds, fallen limbs, strainers, beaver obstructions, aqueduct edges, footbridges, culverts, and cold-water immersion
- Cedar Bay seasonal access, Poolsbrook carry and parking, Chittenango Landing launch slope, museum/event restrictions, park construction, and a delayed shuttle
Route gallery
See this route on the water
Photos help show what the access looks like and what the route actually feels like on the water.
Score & sources
Data and sources
See the gauge, weather, and source notes behind today's call.
Why this scoreToday's evidence strength is checking
Evidence strength mostly comes down to three things: how direct the active gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking evidence-strength notes.
- Checking evidence cautions.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | Chittenango Creek near Chittenango, NY |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| Discharge | Checking |
| 24h trend | Checking |
| 24h change | Checking |
| Current band | Checking |
| Rain last 24h | Checking |
| Rain last 72h | Checking |
| Air temp | Checking |
| Water temp | Checking |
| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Ideal range | Needs paddler reports |
| Known low-water floor | Not calibrated yet |
| High threshold | Not calibrated yet |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Official and local sources |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | No numeric Old Erie Canal runnable threshold published; use water depth, obstructions, weather, park notices, and direct visual inspection |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesWhat to know before you go
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Named Canalway day tripCedar Bay Park, DeWitt to Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum; 9.4 miles; one way
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor publishes this exact one-way paddling itinerary and describes the watered historic canal and two stone aqueduct crossings.
- Cedar Bay public park contextOld Erie Canal State Historic Park; Cedar Bay operated cooperatively with the Town of DeWitt
NYS Parks identifies canoeing, fishing, Cedar Bay day-use facilities, and the park’s sunrise-to-sunset operating posture.
- Chittenango Landing water access717 Lakeport Road dock with launch slide and transfer bench; no motorized boats
The Canalway adaptive-paddling listing documents the dock and launch infrastructure inside Old Erie Canal State Park and flags the launch slope.
- Park map and intermediate accessOld Erie Canal State Park trail maps identify the watered canal, Chittenango Landing, and Poolsbrook access area
NYS Parks maps are used for route geometry and intermediate access-area planning; exact carries and wetted-edge conditions require field verification.
- Regulated watershed proxy gaugeUSGS 04244000 Chittenango Creek near Chittenango
USGS provides current nearby watershed telemetry and says flow is regulated by Cazenovia Lake and Erieville Reservoir. It is not a gauge on the Old Erie Canal and supplies no route-specific depth threshold.
- Route-specific safety postureUse PFDs, inspect shallow/obstructed water, respect aqueducts and park structures, and obey current Canalway notices
The Canalway safety and park material support the cold-water, obstruction, lock-free historic-canal, and access-verification posture.
- Camping and logisticsNearby road-access basecamp only; no route camping claimed
The current trip and park sources document day-use recreation, museum, trail, and community services, not a water-access campsite on this exact segment.
- Approved route imageChittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum and Old Erie Canal context
This official Erie Canalway photograph depicts the route’s historic canal and endpoint context and is used as presentation imagery, not as a current launch-condition guarantee.
- Canonical river geometryOld Erie Canal trace between Cedar Bay Park and Chittenango Landing
The curated trace follows the watered historic canal corridor through the Old Erie Canal State Park and snaps to the named access-area anchors.
- Same-river proxy gaugeUSGS 04244000, Chittenango Creek near Chittenango, NY
USGS 04244000 is a current Chittenango Creek station about 1.6 miles south of Chittenango, not a gauge on the historic Old Erie Canal. USGS says flow is regulated by Cazenovia Lake and Erieville Reservoir; use it only for nearby watershed trend and storm context, never as a canal-depth or launch-clearance reading.
- Safety and river conditionsCheck live gauge, recent rainfall, trend, debris, bridges, and access conditions before launch
Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor / NYS Parks Old Erie Canal State Historic Park and its linked safety material warn that conditions change rapidly and require local inspection.
- Image decisionApproved watershed/proxy-gauge context image used for route presentation
The image is clearly labeled as watershed/proxy-gauge context and does not claim to depict this exact reach.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
- Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor / NYS Parks Old Erie Canal State Historic Park route record
- NYS Parks Old Erie Canal trail maps and Canalway Water Trail guide
- USGS 04244000 Chittenango Creek near Chittenango current conditions
- NYS Canalway Water Trail safety guidance
- USGS 04244000 monitoring location
- USGS 04244000 current conditions
- Old Erie Canal context image
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
Reports
Paddler reports
See recent photos and notes from people on the route.
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Quick answers
Old Erie Canal paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Old Erie Canal?
Paddle Today watches Chittenango Creek near Chittenango, NY and uses Not calibrated yet as the conservative low-water floor for this route. The ideal range still needs more paddler reports.
Where does this Old Erie Canal route start and end?
This route starts at Cedar Bay Park Old Erie Canal launch area, DeWitt and ends at Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum Old Erie Canal launch area, about 9.4 Canalway miles from Cedar Bay Park in DeWitt to Chittenango Landing on the water.
Is this Old Erie Canal route good for beginners?
This is listed as a moderate route. Expect more planning than an easy float, and use the live score, route notes, and source links before committing.
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Access, hazards, wood, and shuttle details change. Send a quick correction if something looks off.