Mohawk Towpath Byway
Places to Visit
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Church Hill Historic Overlay District (NY)
The Town of Halfmoon designated this "historic overlay district" just east of Route 9. The district features a collection of canal era structures, a part of the Hamlet of Crescent.
Location: The northern end of the Route 9 Crescent Bridge and adjacent Church Hill.
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Cohoes Music Hall and Visitor Center (NY)
Built in 1874, this is the fourth oldest functioning music hall in the country. It also houses the Riverspark Visitor's Center, which has labor and industry period displays as seen from the working person's perspective.
Distance from byway: 0.20000000298023 mi / 0.3 km Travel time: 1 minute Directions: From New Courtland Street turn south on Mohawk Street; then right on Cayuga Street; and left on Remsen Street. The Visitor Center is on the left.
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Erie Canal Flight of Locks (NY)
A series of sixteen locks brought the original Erie Canal up around the Cohoes Falls on the south side of the Mohawk River. It was a day-long trip through these multiple locks that became known as the "Terrible Sixteens".
Location: Lock 18 is located on Mohawk St. Stop at the parking lot on the south side of North Mohawk Street between Church Street and Manor Ave.
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Built about 1825, this Tavern catered to Erie Canal traffic and was the site of Clifton Park's Town Board meetings from 1828 through the 1860s. The building served as a tavern, hotel, general store and post office.
Distance from byway: 1.7000000476837 mi / 2.7 km Travel time: 4 minutes Directions: To reach Grooms Tavern from the Byway turn north from Riverview Road on Sugar Hill Road 1.7 miles. The Tavern is located on the left at the intersection with County Route 91 (Grooms Road).
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Harmony Mills Historic District (NY)
The Harmony Mills lie between the Erie Canal and the Mohawk River. When completed in 1872, Harmony Mill #3 was the largest individual cotton factory in the world. A prehistoric mastodon was discovered during construction of the building.
Location: North Mohawk Street, City of Cohoes
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Historic Schenectady Stockade District (NY)
This is a 17th-century Dutch settlement located at the junction of the Binnekill and Mohawk River. The Erie Canal made this area an island between the canal (now Erie Blvd.) and the Mohawk River.
Location: In Schenectady between Erie Boulevard and Church Street
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Separate segments from the original Erie Canal, Champlain Canal and current day Barge Canal are all located in this park just west of the Waterford Harbor Visitors Center. Interpretive signs tell the story of the NY State Canal System.
Distance from byway: 0.20000000298023 mi / 0.3 km Travel time: 1 minute Directions: From Route 32 in Waterford take Fourth Street south over the bridge and park in the gravel lot on the left on the south side of the bridge.
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The Town of Colonie maintains a pocket park, locally called "Freddie's Park" on the south side of the Mohawk River just east of the abutment for the Route 9 bridge. Part of this park includes an information kiosk.
Location: The Park is located on the south shore of the Mohawk River just east of the Route 9 bridge at Crescent.
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Peebles Island State Park (NY)
Located where the Mohawk River meets the Hudson, this state park is located on a rich floodplain that was inhabited by Native Americans and Colonists for decades as they planted and raised livestock. The island was also the site of a Revolutionary War battle.
Distance from byway: 0.7 mi / 1.1 km Travel time: 3 minutes Directions: From the eastern terminus of the Mohawk Towpath Byway (intersection of State Routes 4 and 32) go east on Broadway one block and turn right (south) on Second Street and follow it south across the bridge.
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Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve (NY)
This 600-acre preserve includes segment of the original Erie Canal and a restored 1862 Whipple Truss Bridge.
Location: There are several points of entry from Clutes Dry Dock site to Ferry Drive in Vischer Ferry, but the main entrance is at the intersection of VanVranken and Riverview Road.
