AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Bellamy Harbor Park is the waterside spot in Rome, New York, where the story of the Erie Canal literally begins. On July 4, 1817, workers drove the first shovelfuls of earth for the canal just here, and the park still sits at the meeting point of two eras of water transport: the calm, modern Barge Canal and its great feeder, the Mohawk River. Today that waterfront is a relaxed public park—picnic tables, a kayak and canoe launch, boat docks, paved trails and interpretive markers—where a traveler can stand on the ground that linked the Atlantic to the Great Lakes.↗↗↗
Easy to reach and good for families and dogs, the park doubles as a trail hub: its paths tie into the Empire State Trail / Erie Canalway network, and it lies only about a mile's walk from Fort Stanwix National Monument. A waterfront walk, a paddle, a picnic lunch and a taste of canal history fit neatly into a single visit.↗↗↗
