These photos and a narrative [which I’ve condensed] were submitted by Ted Olsen, a member of the Canal Society and a devoted student of all things New York State Canals, and many other things. Ted may have been the first to complete this program described here, but there’s time in the 2025 navigation season to do so yourself. The rest of the text here is adapted from Ted.

“I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Erie Canal Tour Boat Explorer – a challenge activity set up to celebrate, and in conjunction with, the 200th Year Bicentennial of the opening of the historic Erie Canal back in 1825.

“I traveled from Virginia to upstate NY to attend the Fall field trip canal tour event conducted the Canal Society of New York State, that took place on Wednesday, 8/27/25. This tour consisted of a series of canal-related stops at various canal side locations of interest, which then
concluded with a cruise along a portion of the present day Erie (Barge) Canal aboard Colonial Belle, a boat based in Fairport, NY, an eastern suburb of Rochester. This cruise was 3 hours in length, and ably piloted by Captain Tammee. As we travelled along the canal corridor, we passed by the villages of Bushnell’s Basin and Pittsford – both deeply rich in canal history. We cruised the section of the canal that crosses over the Irondequoit Valley on the Great Embankment – a civil engineering and works marvel that extends back
to the earliest days of the first iteration of the Erie Canal (“Clinton’s Ditch”).

8/29 “On Friday morning, I take an Uber from my Rochester hotel down to the Corn Hill Landing for two reasons. First so I would not be worried with parking at Corn Hill Landing, and second, so I could then take an Uber from Rochester over to Pittsford for my next cruise in the afternoon. Since I had less than an hour from the conclusion of the Rochester cruise to travel over to Pittsford for my next cruise, I did not want to have to deal with finding a parking spot at Schoen Place in
Pittsford. The Uber driver could just drop me off at the boat’s ticket office at the Corn Hill Landing, where Riverie docks. I check in at their office and ask about the ink stamps. There should be two different
ones here – one for the canal cruise boat passport, and then one for the national park passport for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. They do have both and I stamp both of my passports. I go
outside on the plaza to await the arrival of Riverie to the landing from its previous tour cruise.

8/29 afternoon. “My Uber arrives at Schoen Place in Pittsford, and drops me right at the ticket booth for Sam Patch. I check at
the ticket booth kiosk, and ask about the ink stamps. They have the one for the canal cruise boat passport, and then also one for the national park passport for the Erie Canalway National Heritage
Corridor. I stamp both of my passports and wait briefly nearby until they call time to board the boat. Sam Patch is a replica of a packet boat that would have been in service on the 1800’s Erie Canal.

8/30. “We are now travelling aboard Lockview V in the section of the canal referred to as the “Deep Cut”. It is along here where
the first canal builders had to blast a cut through the Niagara Escarpment’s solid rock for several miles to create a pathway for the canal to get through this area. This formation of rock is the same geologic mass [ aka Niagara Escarpment] that Niagara Falls continues to cut and flow over 20 miles west of Lockport.

8/30 afternoon. “I arrive outside Geneva, on the north end of Seneca Lake. Stivers Seneca Marine is slightly east of Geneva. I check in with Bob Stiver –the owner of this store, marina, and the cruise boat Seneca Reel. I ask about the cruise boat passport stamp and he retrieves it from his back office. I stamp it into my passport.
Seneca Reel is docked at the pier, right beyond their open-air Tiki bar. The boat is a 1-level pontoon style boat, with
the seating area covered over. At this north end of the lake, we can see the city of Geneva across the way as we cruise south along the west side of the lake. Seneca Lake, along with many other lakes in the central region of the state are referred to as the Finger
Lakes.

8/31 “I had an early start this morning, driving from Rochester to Herkimer. I arrived at the Gems complex in Herkimer, located on the Barge Canal right off the NYS Thruway. Gems consists of a large souvenir shop, restaurant, small marina and docking wall, banquet room and tour boat launching site. I park and walk inside the gift shop to check in for my cruise tour. aboard Lil’ Diamond II. The ink stamp for the canal cruise boat passport program was obtained at the checkout counter inside the gift shop. Since this was my sixth and final cruise to take to earn the commemorative patch, the gift shop awarded me one.

“If the intent of the Erie Canal Tour Boat Explorer passport program, put together to highlight the various canal tour cruises available, and in celebratory conjunction with the Erie’s 200 th Bicentennial, was to
invite folks to take a ride on each of the participating boats – then it worked very effectively on me. And when they added the challenge aspect to it (ride all six – win a prize), I could not resist undertaking the
challenge. It was almost the perfect melding of interests, learning, fun and recreation for me.

In taking these 6 boat cruises – and in gathering both the experiences from each individual cruise along with the aggregate experience from all of them – I really learned a lot. I now have many more
perspectives to add to my canal hobby memories rolodex. These memories include locking through one of the large
locks, hearing the captain announce “low bridge-everybody down” and actually mean it, seeing the myriad of other pleasure boats out traveling along the canal, viewing historic canal structures from up
close and from the view of being on the ‘water’ side of them, passing by the large canal guard gate structures, cruising through the junction of the Barge Canal and the Genesee River, seeing the people
out alongside the canal enjoying the activities and recreational opportunities in the various villages we pass, taking part in a celebratory challenge related to the canal bicentennial – these are all what I gained from an enjoyable and rewarding five days in upstate central New York riding these canal tour boats.”

We believe Ted is the first person to have received the commemorative patch. Who’s next? Of course, the real prize might the experience, the people, the narrations, the sights, and of course the photos you’ll treasure.