Erie Canal Locks and Transit Table

For those boaters and cruisers making the entire passage on the Erie Canal from Albany, NY to Buffalo, NY, Lake Erie, or beyond; there are a total of 36 locks that you will have to negotiate. The Federal Lock at Troy, NY operated by the USACE, 34 locks (E2 thru E35) on the Erie Canal operated by the New York State Canal System, and the Black Rock Lock also operated by the USACE.

NOTE: There is no Lock E1 or Lock E31 on the Erie Canal.

For those bound for Lake Ontario, you will have 23 locks; the federal lock at Troy, NY and Locks E2 thru E23 (NYSCS) before arriving at Three Rivers Junction and turning northbound for the Oswego Canal.

When westbound, these locks will raise you a little more than 563 feet, from the Hudson River on the eastern end to the Niagara River on the western end.

The highest single lift found on the canal is Lock #E17 in Little Falls, NY with a lift of 40.5 feet. The smallest lift is found on the western end of the canal at locks #E25 near the junction with the Cayuga-Seneca Canal and lock #E26 near Clyde, NY, with a total lift of only 6.0 feet each.

The highest combined lift on the Erie Canal is the "Waterford Flight" which is comprised of Locks #E-2 through #E-6. These five locks raise you a total of just over 169 feet over a distance of a little more than 1.5 SM.

Communications

Communications with the locks is done on VHF Channel 13 (156.650 MHz). While we have listed the phone numbers for each lock, the cell phone should not be considered a primary means of communications with the lockmasters and only used when all other methods have failed to get a response.

Erie Canal Locks Table

The table below lists the locks on the Erie Canal and its approaches: from the Troy Lock, just south of the Erie Canal Junction, the Erie Canal itself, and the Black Rock Lock on the Niagara River. It provides the lifts for each lock, the distance to the next lock, and the estimated time enroute between locks. It does not include lockage time for each lock.

   NYSCS - Erie Canal Locks
Waterford to Buffalo ...

Erie Canal Locks
Lock #	Mile Marker (SM)	Location	Lift	Next Lock	Distance (SM)	Transit Time @ 10 MPH	Lockmaster
Troy Lock	154.0	Troy, NY	14.2’(NB SB)	E-2	3.43	00:21	518 272-6442
E-2	0.63	Waterford	33.6’(WB EB)	E-3	0.46	00:03	518-237-0810
E-3	1.09	Waterford	34.5’(WB EB)	E-4	0.51	00:03	518-237-0812
E-4	1.60	Waterford	34.5’(WB EB)	E-5	0.27	00:02	518-237-0818
E-5	1.87	Waterford	33.3’(WB EB)	E-6	0.28	00:02	518-237-0821
E-6	2.15	Crescent	33.0’(WB EB)	E-7	10.92	01:06	518-237-4014
E-7	13.07	Vischer Ferry	27.0’(WB EB)	E-8	10.97	01:06	518-374-7912
E-8	24.04	Scotia	14.0’(WB EB)	E-9	5.03	00:30	518-346-3382
E-9	29.07	Rotterdam	15.0’(WB EB)	E-10	5.95	00:36	518-887-2401
E-10	35.02	Cranesville	15.0’(WB EB)	E-11	4.27	00:26	518-887-5450
E-11	39.29	Amsterdam	12.0’(WB EB)	E-12	6.23	00:37	518-843-2120
E-12	45.52	Tribes Hill	11.0’(WB EB)	E-13	7.60	00:46	518-829-7331
E-13	53.12	Yosts	8.0’(WB EB)	E-14	7.83	00:47	518-922-6173
E-14	60.95	Canajoharie	8.0’(WB EB)	E-15	3.35	00:20	518-673-3314
E-15	64.30	Fort Plain	8.0’(WB EB)	E-16	6.72	00:40	518-993-4161
E-16	71.02	St Johnsville	20.5’(WB EB)	E-17	7.97	00:48	518-568-2636
E-17	78.99	Little Falls, NY	40.5’(WB EB)	E-18	4.20	00:25	315-823-0650
E-18	83.19	Jacksonburg	20.0’(WB EB)	E-19	11.85	01:11	315-823-2419
E-19	95.04	Frankfort	21.0’(WB EB)	E-20	10.28	01:02	315-733-5041
E-20	105.32	Whitesboro	16.0’(WB EB)	E-21	18.10	01:49	315-736-4617
E-21	123.42	New London	25.0’(WB EB)	E-22	1.32	00:08	315-336-8229
E-22	124.74	New London	25.1’(WB EB)	E-23	28.91	02:53	315-336-4329
E-23	153.65	Brewerton	6.9’(WB EB)	E-24	18.77	01:53	315-676-4171
Oswego Canal Jct.		160.45	From Lock E23		6.80	00:41
E-24	172.42	Baldwinsville	11.0’(WB EB)	E-25	30.69	03:04	315-635-3101
Cayuga-Seneca Canal Jct.		201.51	From Lock E24		29.09	02:55
E-25	172.42	May's Point	6.0’(WB EB)	E-26	5.83	00:35	315-365-3241
E-26	208.94	Clyde	6.0’(WB EB)	E-27	12.05	01:12	315-923-9720
E-27	220.99	Lyons	12.5’(WB EB)	E-28A	1.28	00:08	315-946-4062
E-28A	222.27	Lyons	19.5’(WB EB)	E-28B	3.98	00:24	315-946-4410
E-28B	226.25	Newark	12.0’(WB EB)	E-29	9.79	00:59	315-331-3296
E-29	236.04	Palmyra	16.0’(WB EB)	E-30	2.98	00:18	315-597-4691
E-30	239.02	Macedon	16.4’(WB EB)	E-32	16.12	01:37	315-986-5631
E-32	255.14	Pittsford	25.1’(WB EB)	E-33	1.26	00:08	585-586-1837
E-33	256.40	Rochester	25.1’(WB EB)	E-34	64.28	06:26	585-244-2150
E-34	320.68	Lockport	24.6’(WB EB)	E-35	0.07	00:00	716-434-3140
E-35	320.75	Lockport	24.5’(WB EB)	Black Rock Lock	25.90	02:35	716-434-3140
*No Lock E1 or Lock E31 on the Erie Canal
Troy Lock and Black Rock Lock are not part of the Erie Canal System. They are operated by the USACE.

The Erie Canal Locks Table above can be downloaded for your personal and private use. The file contains the table in SM’s, NM’s and KM’s/meters. The file is in Zipped Adobe (.pdf) format.

Erie Canal Lock Transit Table - Download

Lock Chamber Waypoints

The table below list the latitude and longitude for the approximate center of each lock chamber for those who wish to use them as waypoints.

The Erie Canal Lock Chamber Waypoint’s Table can be downloaded for your personal and private use. The file is in Zipped Adobe (.pdf) format.

Erie Canal Lock Chamber Waypoints - Download

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