07/11/2026
Day 5 heading east on the Erie Canalway Trail was once again different from the day before (which was different than the day before, and the day before). The first half of today was the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, which is mostly unpaved (but also with sections that are paved) and follows the route of the Enlarged Canal, between Dewitt and Rome. This trail is quiet and lovely. There area also opportunities to access businesses (and get coffee!) in Chittenango and Canastota. Neither village is particularly bike-friendly. However, Chittenango is in the process of completing a connecting trail that will take cyclists closer to downtown, where there is a Wizzard of Oz museum (with yellow brick sidewalks). Canestota gets an high amount of truck traffic. It’s not fun to bike around. But you can get a great sandwich there!
After Canestota, the trail becomes very rural. You pass very few businesses and there are no places to get water, no restrooms, etc. for 18 miles. Some of this riding is on-road, although the roads are very quiet.
When the trail enters Rome, the environment changes. First, you pass a historic marker noting the place where the first construction on the Erie Canal began. Then the route goes on-street through much of the City of Rome. There isn’t a lot of traffic. In Rome you can go to the Fort Stanwix historic site (or you can just go in the visitors center to get water, since there haven’t been any water fountains for 20 miles!). I chose to take a slight detour and try out the Mohawk River Trail which connects to a hotel that some of my self-guided clients use. This hotel is better than the hotel along the trail, which is now boarded up. Also, the Mohawk River Trail is nice because it follows the headwaters of that river (and also passes by and abandoned elementary school)
After Rome, the trail becomes bucolic and quiet as it goes through the marshlands near Utica. If you want to see Utica, you have to get off the trail and bike down this horrible road called Genesse Street. But you can also ride on the sidewalk. That’s what I did because I wanted to go to this great restaurant to get chicken riggies and Utica greens. So good!
After this, it was another nice 5 miles down the trail, followed by 5 miles of on-street riding to the Village of Frankfort. Here you can camp at the marina for free. But they also have a brewery, so you just end up spending money there!
