NYFalls.com Talk

The 'Waterford Flight' refers to a series of locks that raise the Barge Canal (and once, the Erie) around Cohoes Falls. I included them on the route for my bike ride this past weekend, and came away with a few pictures as well.

The first lock, working up from Waterford, is E-2. The lock itself is open to the public, so you can walk around up on top and alongside the lock to get a close-up view of how much the water changes when a boat or ship passes through.

Right next to the Barge Canal lock sit the locks from the Erie Canal, now used as a spillway to route excess water around the big lock. You can walk right up to these too. And while the E-2 lock impresses because of its size, these locks impress because of the craftsmanship shown in the cutting and placement of the stone.

The old and the new, for comparison...

Next to Lock E-3, another spillway creates a small cascade.

Above Lock E-3 a group of working boats.

Lock E-3, viewed from a small park below the lock. You can get a sense of how massive the locks are by comparing the lock gates to the excavator near the lock.

As I passed Locks E-5 and E-6 I could tell they too had spillways to route excess water around the locks, as I could hear the water. At Lock E-4 I looked across the basin and saw a patient heron waiting at the top of the spillway, waiting to spear a meal or two.

Past the locks the road opens out into a boat launch area placed between the Mohawk River and a residential neighborhood. The view upriver opens up as well.

Thanks for the wonderful tour! I really enjoy learning about these lock systems.
So should the man-made cascades in the spillways be cataloged in the waterfall list? We have Holley Falls listed and a page on it. I have gone out and shot lock 32 last summer and will do a page on it soon. ... oh and lockport has a nice run of them too.