As we navigated the Erie Canal, we stopped at a number of welcoming small towns. Many of them had town docks alongside the canal with room for boats to spend the night. We spent two nights on the town wall at Little Falls, New York, and enjoyed it! The town has a lot of history connected to the Erie canal, and used to be a large manufacturing center. Most of the manufacturing (including Mohawk Carpet Mills) moved away, but the town shows signs of past prosperity, with many historic homes and business buildings.
The Erie Canal runs parallel to the Mohawk River through Little Falls. It is an odd sensation to travel in an artificial waterway looking down at a river far below!
One evening we joined a group of boaters who walked into town for dinner at an Italian restaurant. The food was excellent, the portions huge!
On our day in Little Falls, I joined a group of cyclists who rode around town and followed the bike trail to the next lock.
Spending two days in one port gave us a chance to sightsee, rest, relax and enjoy sunset on the canal.
And then we were off, into the next lock and to the next Erie Canal town.
