Waterford, NY, is best known as the eastern start of the Erie Canal, which travels some 363 miles to Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal has 83 locks that raise the elevation of the canal over 676 feet by the time it reaches Oswego.

Along the Waterford shoreline is an excellent free (up to two nights) floating dock with shore power, water, showers, and a computer with Internet access. Provisioning opportunities are close by (within walking distance).

Use NOAA Chart 14786.

Approaching from the south, you will first pass under the 112th Street Bridge (20-foot vertical clearance) in Troy, and then follow green can “239,” green can “241,” red nun “242,” and lastly, green can “1” to port, which marks the entrance into the Erie Canal. There is a sign on shore at the junction of the Champlain Waterway and the Erie Canal, the Champlain Waterway is to starboard and Erie Canal to port.

Once you have entered Waterford and the Erie Canal, you will pass under the first two bridges in the canal system (E-1; 27-foot fixed vertical clearance and E-2; 26-foot fixed vertical clearance) before you get to the first lock (Lock 2), which starts the Waterford Flight, a series of five locks that will raise you 169 feet in about two miles distance.

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Town of Waterford

Village of Waterford