Here is something worth knowing about the region you live in: you are surrounded by one of the most historically significant and scenically beautiful waterways in American history, and most families have never seen it from the water.
The Erie Canal is 201 years old this year. It changed everything about New York State and the young United States, connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes and turning small communities across our region into places that mattered. And today, you can put your family on a boat and cruise through a working lock, watch the water rise and fall, and understand in your body what took a textbook full of pages to explain.
Here’s where to do it.
Syracuse Boat Tours: Lock 24 Erie Canal Historical Tour
7439 Hillside Rd., Baldwinsville, NY | syracuseboattours.com | (315) 439-4719 Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This is the anchor for Central New York families wanting an Erie Canal experience on the water.
The Erie Canal Historical Educational Tour cruises through Lock 24 in Baldwinsville and teaches passengers how the canal was built, how it operates, and how it shaped the country. The 45-minute narrated cruise includes live narration and flexible content. Prices range from $15 to $59.
Owner Annette Peters describes the canal system as “a little golden nugget that a lot of people don’t know about. It’s always calm and serene, and just being on the water.” The tour departs from Dutchman’s Landing Dock on the Seneca River, just three miles west of Liverpool.
For families, there is also a dedicated Family Ride option among the regularly scheduled tours. The boat has a cash and credit bar on board serving soda, water, beer, wine, summer specialty cocktails, and mocktails, along with snacks and charcuterie. Lunch from Angry Smokehouse is included with the Erie Canal Historical Tours.
This is the best family introduction to the Erie Canal in Central New York. Watching a boat go through an actual working lock, with the water rising visibly around you, is one of those moments that kids ask questions about for days after. Book at syracuseboattours.com or call (315) 439-4719.
Mid-Lakes Navigation
Skaneateles and Baldwinsville, NY | midlakesnav.com
Mid-Lakes Navigation provides sightseeing cruises and narrated history tours that entertain and educate passengers of all ages. Operating out of both Skaneateles and Baldwinsville, Mid-Lakes is one of the longest-running boat tour operations in the region and runs both the Finger Lakes and Erie Canal routes. Their Skaneateles Lake cruise is among the most scenic boat experiences in the region, and their canal options give families a different lens on the same historic waterway. Visit midlakesnav.com for current schedules.
Erie Canal Cruises: Through Lock 18
eriecanalcruises.com
Erie Canal Cruises offers sightseeing cruises departing daily, including a cruise through Lock 18 on the Erie Canal. Group sightseeing tours and school field trips are also available, with the company emphasizing history coming alive for students and families on the water. This operation focuses on the canal itself, making it one of the more historically concentrated options for families who want the educational experience front and center.
Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride
5 Gooding Street, Lockport, NY | (716) 438-0174
We covered this one in our caves guide, but it deserves a mention here too. The Lockport experience is the Erie Canal from inside the canal itself, through a man-made hydraulic tunnel blasted from solid rock. For families who want the most dramatic, immersive Erie Canal experience available, Lockport delivers something no surface cruise can match. About 2.5 hours from Corning.
Erie Canal Adventures: Houseboat Rentals
Macedon, NY | eriecanaladventures.com
Erie Canal Adventures in Macedon offers houseboat rentals that allow families to captain their own vessel and explore the canal at their own pace. This is the multi-day option for families who want to go deep. Rent a houseboat, navigate the locks yourselves, and spend a few days living on the canal the way people did 200 years ago, with modern plumbing. It is the most memorable Erie Canal experience available and worth planning around for a summer adventure.
Before You Book
Most Erie Canal boat tours operate seasonally from mid-May through October.
Book tickets in advance for summer weekends, especially the lock tours, which fill up. Wear layers on morning departures because the water keeps the air cooler than you expect.
And bring a camera: the lock experience, watching the gates close and the water rise, is the kind of thing worth photographing at every stage. 🚢