Begin With The Walking Tour

You will explore the historic and newly rehabilitated “Flight of Five” Erie Canal Locks 67-71, constructed in 1838 and Locks 34 & 35 which allow boats to travel “uphill” 60 feet through the Niagara Escarpment ridge of rock. View the Historic Engineering Marvels on the Erie Canal from the 1800’s and examine industrial ruins, allowing a glimpse into America’s industrial revolution and the fortitude it took to build the Erie Canal. Once inside you’ll view stalactites, flow stone, various geological formations in their early stages of development and artifacts left behind by the workmen who built the tunnel and factories.

 

Ride The Boat Underground

Experience an underground boat ride that is both Unique and Mysterious: The next part of your journey is a one-of-a-kind underground boat ride. Embark on one of America’s longest underground boat rides along the Erie Canal and experience a trip of wonders. Visitors are awestruck as they take a ride that has been described as both “peaceful and eerie” as the boat glides through the lifeless water, illuminated only by small, sporadically placed electric lights.

Let History Surround You

Walk through a 2100 foot water power tunnel blasted out of solid rock. The Hydraulic Tunnel provided water power to several industries. The tunnel was the invention of Birdsill Holly, a mechanical genius, whose inventions might never have been realized without the water power provided by this tunnel. Holly’s inventions include the life-saving fire hydrant, central steam heat and the rotary pump. During his lifetime, Holly held over 150 patents.

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