Erie Canal Maps
Where do I find the best Erie Canal maps?
Nautical charts, topological maps, electronic, paper… The answer usually depends on what your doing, but hopefully the information on this page saves you time and helps you find the answer.
Here’s what I found useful:
Google Maps:
Google Maps is a great resource. Its free, easy to use and you can start exploring sections of the canal in no time. You can even start your own map with custom information, images, and lines. If your just starting out this might be a good choice for you. Its also whats being used for the Canalway Water Trail Map. The downside is that you need to do a lot of manual work. There are no street addresses for the canal.
NOAA Chart #14786:
Chart #14786 contains the nautical chart coverage of the New York State Canal System as provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Its free, but there are a couple of problems caveats. First, its only available in formats that most people cannot use (BSB/S-57 ). Unless you have a raster chart display system or an electronic charting system your out of luck (1). Having said that its not incredibly hard to convert the files to images if your familiar with Linux, libbsb, and shell scripting. I would share them but the NOAA user agreement makes it sound like a bad idea. If you do some googling you will find them. The second caveat is that Chart #14786 does not cover the entire canal. It only covers from the Hudson River westward to Lyons, NY.
1 There are a couple of iPhone apps that you can use. EarthNC ($10) or iNavX ($50).
NYS Canal System Cruising Guide:
The Official Cruising Guide to the Canal System is released by the New York State Canal Corporation. Its 185 pages long and contains maps of the entire canal system along with just about every service or amenity available. Its cost $20 plus tax and shipping. If your looking for the Erie Canal instruction manual this is it. The only downside, there is no electronic version.
