The Great Lakes Seaway Trail, formerly named and commonly known as the Seaway Trail, is a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

in the northeastern United States, mostly contained in New York but with a small segment in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The trail consists of a series of designated roads and highways that travel along the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...

—specifically,

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

, the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York in the United States (on the east). There are diffe ...

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

, and the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. It begins at the

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

state line in rural

Erie County, Pennsylvania Erie County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the northernmost county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,876. Its county seat is Erie. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1803. ...

, and travels through several cities and villages (including the cities of Buffalo,

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

, Rochester, Oswego, and Ogdensburg) before ending at the Seaway International Bridge northeast of the village of Massena in St. Lawrence County, New York. It is maintained by the non-profit Seaway Trail, Inc. The Seaway Trail was first designated in 1978 as an byway leading from the Seaway International Bridge to the Thousand Islands Bridge. It was extended southwestward across the state of New York in the mid-1980s and into Pennsylvania in 1996. The byway is recognized as a state scenic byway by both New York and Pennsylvania (the latter designation coming in 2003) and was named a National Scenic Byway in two stages. In New York, the Seaway Trail became one of the first byways in the nation to be declared a National Scenic Byway when it received the distinction in 1996. The Pennsylvania portion of the byway was added in 2005. The Seaway Trail was officially renamed the Great Lakes Seaway Trail in 2010.

Route description

The interstate Seaway Trail extends for in Pennsylvania and in New York for a total of . It traverses a total of 11 counties as it crosses the two states; however, all but one—

—is located in New York. There, the Seaway Trail traverses the counties of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne,

Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada * Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinoi ...

, Oswego, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence.

Pennsylvania

The Seaway Trail begins, at its southwestern end, on U.S. Route 20 (US 20) at the

–Pennsylvania border, but stays on that route for only , when it switches to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5). Aside from some complicated routing in and around the city of Erie, the trail remains on Route 5 the rest of the way to the New York border. Attractions along this segment of the Seaway Trail include the city of Erie itself, Presque Isle State Park, Erie Bluffs State Park, Waldameer Park and Water World, the

Erie Maritime Museum Erie Maritime Museum is a maritime museum located on Presque Isle Bay which rests on the waterfront in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. It is managed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission ( PHMC). When it opened its doors on May 21, 1 ...

, and the

North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

winery region. BuffaloSkyway

New York

Chautauqua and Erie Counties

At the New York border, PA 5 becomes

New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syrac ...

(NY 5), and the Seaway Trail continues along it to the Erie County border. Route 5 and the Seaway Trail cross Cattaraugus Creek together at the county line, but the trail quickly turns off to the west and then back north again along Old Lake Shore Road, to more closely follow the shore of Lake Erie. The Seaway Trail rejoins Route 5 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, and they continue north into the city of Buffalo, the largest city on the Seaway Trail. In Buffalo, the Seaway Trail leaves Route 5 for good as it heads north through downtown. It soon picks up NY 266 and follows it to the tip of Lake Erie. Now paralleling the

, going north, the trail follows Route 266 through the town of Tonawanda and into the city of Tonawanda, a Buffalo suburb. Just before crossing Tonawanda Creek, which forms the county line, Route 266 ends and the Seaway Trail picks up NY 265 to cross the creek and the border. Points of interest along the Chautauqua County piece of the trail include the Barcelona Lighthouse in Westfield, Lake Erie State Park, and the city of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

. Nearby is the Chautauqua Institution, the

Midway Park Midway State Park, located in Maple Springs, New York, was established in 1898 by the Jamestown & Lake Erie Railway as a picnic ground. Today, it is recognized as the fifteenth-oldest continually operating amusement park in the United States, an ...

amusement park, and the city of Jamestown. In Erie County, aside from the many attractions in the city of Buffalo, nearby destinations include Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park and a series of three museums in

East Aurora East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metr ...

. Hamburg features a visitors center and overlook, th
Lake Erie Seaway Trail Center
on the Lake Erie shoreline. The

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...

starts at Tonawanda Creek just east of the Route 265 crossing.

Niagara County

Robert Moses Pkwy north in Niagara Falls NY

Crossing Tonawanda Creek into

North Tonawanda North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south bo ...

, the Seaway Trail continues along Route 265, which soon overlaps with NY 384. Both routes run along River Road very close to the eastern fork of the Niagara River (around Grand Island). The road curves to the west toward

. River Road becomes Buffalo Avenue when it enters the city of

, and soon Route 265 splits off to the north. Route 384 continues westward, where the Seaway Trail picks up the Robert Moses State Parkway at its eastern terminus at the northern Grand Island bridge, which carries Interstate 190 (I-190). The Robert Moses Parkway follows extremely close to the river to Quay Street; continuing west would take drivers directly into Niagara Falls State Park, but the Seaway Trail instead uses Quay Street to access Rainbow Boulevard, which was once part of NY 384. Rainbow Boulevard turns north and ends at

NY 104 New York State Route 104 (NY 104) is a east–west state highway in Upstate New York in the United States. It spans six counties and enters the vicinity of four cities—Niagara Falls, Lockport, Rochester, and Oswego—as it follow ...

(Main Street) just east of the Rainbow Bridge to

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census. It is part of the List of census ...

, Canada. The Seaway Trail continues north on Route 104 to NY 18F in the village of Lewiston. Route 18F jogs west and north through Lewiston and then north to Youngstown. North of Youngstown, Route 18F comes very close to the mouth of the Niagara River and swings eastward, now following the Lake Ontario shoreline. Route 18F ends a short distance east of the river's mouth at NY 18. Route 18 hosts the Seaway Trail for the rest of its length in Niagara County, which is almost . Aside from the Falls themselves, and the twin cities of Niagara Falls on either side of the border, nearby attractions include Artpark in Lewiston, the Erie Canal Junction at Tonawanda Creek, the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum in North Tonawanda, Fort Niagara in Youngstown, and

Golden Hill State Park Golden Hill State Park is a state park located in Niagara County, New York, United States. The park is on the south shore of Lake Ontario in the northeast corner of the Town of Somerset, north of Lower Lake Road. Thirty Mile Point Light is inc ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

. There are also several historic lighthouses along the route. Not far away, Erie Canal tours are offered out of the city of Lockport.

Orleans County

The Seaway Trail follows Route 18 eastward about halfway through Orleans County, where it switches onto the Lake Ontario State Parkway at its western terminus. The Parkway continues east, coming very close to the Lake Ontario shore at times, until crossing the border into Monroe County. Orleans County is largely rural; attractions include the Cobblestone Society Museum complex in Childs, the Historic Courthouse Square in the county seat of

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

, Point Breeze, and two state parks: Lakeside Beach State Park and the Oak Orchard State Marine Park. Some distance to the south, straddling the Genesee County border, is the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

Monroe County

The Seaway Trail continues along the Lake Ontario State Parkway to its eastern terminus just inside the city of Rochester. The trail crosses Lake Avenue and onto the Colonel Patrick O'Rorke Bridge over the Genesee River. Now on Pattonwood Drive, the trail almost immediately exits this narrow strip of the city and enters the town of

Irondequoit Irondequoit is a town (and census-designated place) in Monroe County, New York, United States. As of 2019, the coterminous town-CDP had a total population of 50,055. Irondequoit is a suburb of the city of Rochester, lying just north and east ...

. The Seaway Trail meanders along Lake Shore Road through northern Irondequoit and the city-owned Durand–Eastman Park and Sweet Fern Drive to Culver Road. The trail takes Culver Road south, away from Lake Ontario, in order to go around Irondequoit Bay. At Empire Boulevard, the trail starts eastward again. NY 404 begins a short distance along Empire Boulevard, and the trail follows them east and north-northeast along the shore of the bay. The trail next follows Bay Road, staying close to the bay shore, north-northwest to its terminus at Lake Road, just a tenth of a mile (.15 km) from Lake Ontario. Culver Rd near NY 104

Alternately, during the winter months, Seaway Trail travelers can take Culver Road approximately north to ward the lake shore, cross the seasonal Irondequoit Bay Outlet Bridge to Lake Road and rejoin the normal Seaway Trail in approximately at the intersection of Bay Road. The route avoids the longer trip () around the bay to the south and takes in additional scenic landmarks such as

Seabreeze Amusement Park Seabreeze Amusement Park (Seabreeze) is a historic family amusement park located in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of Rochester, where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario. According to the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPH ...

and the jetties at the outlet. In either case, Lake Road carries the Seaway Trail eastward along the northern edge of the town of Webster to the county line. The Seaway Trail travels through only a small sliver of the city of Rochester, but the bulk of the city is not far to the south and contains numerous attractions. Aside from those, attractions near the trail route include Hamlin Beach State Park, more lighthouses, and

. Not far away, south of Rochester, are the Genesee Country Village and Museum, the New York Museum of Transportation, and Mendon Ponds Park.

Wayne, Cayuga and Oswego Counties

From County Line Road, Seaway Trail continues along Lake Road passing the

Ginna Nuclear Generating Station The Robert Emmett Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, commonly known as Ginna ( ), is a nuclear power plant located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, in the town of Ontario, Wayne County, New York, United States, approximately east of Rochester, ...

(3.4 miles) and on to Sodus Point, on the shores of Sodus Bay. There, the trail takes NY 14 south to Ridge Road. "The Ridge" heads east through the village of Wolcott to its eastern terminus at NY 370. Route 370 takes the trail north less than one mile (1.6 km) to its northern terminus at

. NY 104A begins here and picks up the Seaway Trail designation. Route 104A takes the trail north toward the lake shore, through the village of Red Creek, but turns northeast and hits the county line still some distance from the lake. The Seaway Trail enters Cayuga County heading northeast along Route 104A and soon enters the village of Fair Haven, on the southern shore of Little Sodus Bay. Route 104A turns east toward the hamlet of Sterling, then north again before again moving northeast, paralleling the Lake Ontario shore at a distance of about two miles (3.5 km). Just a mile later, Route 104A hits the county line. Continuing northeast, Route 104A terminates at its parent route, NY 104, which previously carried the Seaway Trail in Niagara Falls and here does so again. Route 104 continues Route 104A's northeastern path, gradually getting closer to the lake shore, until it enters the city of Oswego. Crossing the Oswego River, Route 104 continues eastward. NY 3 north near Pulaski

Just before the hamlet of

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, the Seaway Trail veers northeast onto NY 104B at its western terminus. Route 104B approaches the lake shore again as it heads toward the hamlet of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The route ends at NY 3 east of Texas. The Seaway Trail follows Route 3 northeast, then north, crossing the Salmon River at Port Ontario. Route 3 continues north across the county line. Wayne County is largely rural. Attractions here include the Sodus Point lighthouse, boating on Sodus Bay, and Chimney Bluffs State Park. A bit farther south is the town of Palmyra, where the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

(

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects o ...

) began in 1830. To the direct east, Cayuga County is relatively thin near Lake Ontario, so the Seaway Trail doesn't take long to pass through it. Fair Haven Beach State Park is nearby, and in July and August, travelers can visit the Sterling Renaissance Festival. The city of Oswego in Oswego County contains several attractions, including Fort Ontario. There is a lighthouse at Port Ontario, and the village of Pulaski is nearby.

Jefferson County

Route 3 continues to carry the Seaway Trail north along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. East of Sackets Harbor, Route 3 turns east toward the city of Watertown. The Seaway Trail instead turns north again along NY 180. Just north of the village of

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

, the trail turns northwest along NY 12E. Route 12E passes through the village of

Chaumont Chaumont can refer to: Places Belgium * Chaumont-Gistoux, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant France * Chaumont-Porcien, in the Ardennes ''département'' * Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher ''département'' * Chaumont-le-Bois, in the C ...

and turns west around Chaumont Bay, then turns northwest again to Cape Vincent. Here, Route 12E turns sharply to the northeast, just an eighth of a mile (200 m) from the shore at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River. Canada, specifically Wolfe Island, is just across a narrow channel. Route 12E continues northeast along the river. Route 12E ends at its parent route,

NY 12 New York State Route 12 (NY 12) is a state highway extending for through central and northern New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 11 (US 11) in the town of Chenango (just nor ...

, in the village of Clayton. Route 12 continues to carry the Seaway Trail northeast to the county line, passing through

Alexandria Bay Alexandria Bay is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, within the town of Alexandria. It is located in the Thousand Islands region of northern New York. The population of the village was 1,078 at the 2010 United States Census. I ...

Seaway Trail, Inc., is headquartered in Sackets Harbor, and the Seaway Trail Discovery Center is located there. There are several lighthouses along this section of the trail, and the Thousand Islands resort region begins here. The city of Watertown, not far from the trail, has several attractions as well. Nearby state parks include Southwick Beach State Park, Westcott Beach State Park, Long Point State Park, Burnham Point State Park, Cedar Point State Park, Grass Point State Park,

Wellesley Island State Park Wellesley Island State Park is a state park located on Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River in the Town of Orleans in Jefferson County, New York. The park is divided into sections that are on different parts of the island. It has the large ...

, Keewaydin State Park, and Kring Point State Park.

St. Lawrence County

The Seaway Trail enters the state's largest county along Route 12, heading northeast. It passes through Chippewa Bay and Oak Point before reaching NY 37, Route 12's northern terminus. The trail continues northeast along Route 37 to just outside the city of Ogdensburg. There, it follows NY 68, the Downtown Arterial Highway, which runs closer to the St. Lawrence River than Route 37. After crossing the Oswegatchie River mouth, the trail leaves Route 68 and winds its way through the western half of the city, eventually reaching NY 812, which it traverses for a fifth of a mile (300 m) to get back to Route 37. NY 37 at NY 131

Route 37 continues northeast and starts to turn slightly eastward as it approaches the top of New York State, passing through the village of Waddington. At NY 131's western terminus, the trail switches to Route 131, which runs north of the village of Massena rather than through it. Past the city, Route 131 turns south toward its eastern terminus at Route 37. Route 37 then carries the trail to the hamlet of Rooseveltown in the town of Massena, where the Seaway Trail ends just shy of the Franklin County line. Travelers finding themselves at the end of the trail can cross the border into Canada on the Seaway International Bridge, traversing a thin wedge of Quebec before ending up in

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and is Ontario's easternmost city ...

. This is the point at which New York's northern border straightens out and proceeds due east (along the

45th parallel north The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the ...

) rather than following the St. Lawrence River, which cuts through Quebec. Attractions along this northeasternmost segment of the Seaway Trail include

Singer Castle Dark Island, a prominent feature of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, is located in the lower (eastern) Thousand Islands region, near Chippewa Bay. It is a part of the Town of Hammond, in St. Lawrence County, New York. A historic landmark on the is ...

, the

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...

Art Museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily co ...

in Ogdensburg, the Eisenhower Locks on the river near Massena, and a few more historic lighthouses. State parks in this area include Jacques Cartier State Park, Eel Weir State Park,

Coles Creek State Park Coles Creek State Park is a state park located on the Saint Lawrence River on the west bank of Coles Creek. The park is in the Town of Waddington in St. Lawrence County, New York. Park description Coles Creek State Park offers a beach, picnic ...

, St. Lawrence State Park, and

Robert Moses State Park Robert Moses State Park - Long Island is a state park in southern Suffolk County, New York. The park lies on the western end of Fire Island, one of the central barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island, and is known for its stretch ...

. The Thousand Islands resort area also continues through this region.

History

The Seaway Trail was conceived in 1978 by William E. Tyson, executive director of the St. Lawrence-Eastern Ontario Commission, whose initial work led to the New York State Legislature designating the trail in 1980. It was originally an byway extending from the Thousand Islands Bridge to the Seaway International Bridge by way of a series of highways paralleling the

. Signage for the trail was erected shortly afterward by the New York State Department of Transportation. It received its first designation in 1983 when it was recognized as a

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

. The trail was extended southwestward around the edge of

in 1984 and along the shores of the

and

to the Pennsylvania state line in 1986, completing the byway's modern alignment within New York. It was later designated as a New York State Scenic Byway. On September 19, 1996, the Seaway Trail was one of the first 20 byways nationwide to be named a

by the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

. That same year, Seaway Trail, Inc., the non-profit organization maintaining the byway, reached an agreement with the state of Pennsylvania that extended the byway another southwestward to the

state line, bringing the route's total length to . This extension of the Seaway Trail became a Pennsylvania Scenic Byway on August 8, 2003, and a National Scenic Byway on September 22, 2005, making the Seaway Trail the first and, thus far, only interstate byway in the region. The route was recognized as one of the "Top 50 Most Comfortable Touring Drives" in the nation by the

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, ...

in October 2010. Since its inception in 1978, the trailblazers along the byway had been white-on-green signs with a pair of footprints adjacent to the words "Seaway Trail". On June 22, 2010, the Seaway Trail unveiled a new marker design as part of a larger rebranding of the byway itself, which was renamed the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. According to Seaway Trail, Inc. president Teresa Mitchell, research revealed that the Seaway Trail name was publicly associated more with the Saint Lawrence Seaway than the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region, prompting the change. An extension of the Seaway Trail further westward into the Great Lakes—specifically Ohio—was considered in December 2000; however, that state established the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail instead. The area along the Seaway Trail was a major front in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. At the time, Canada was still a British territory, and the waters dividing the United States and Canada often saw battle. Throughout the Seaway Trail, travelers can find 42 special brown-and-white "War of 1812" markers, designating sites significant to the war.

Major intersections

The Seaway Trail connects to these highways of regional importance: * I-79 in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

* NY 394 near Westfield, New York *

New York State Thruway , direction_a = South , terminus_a = {{Jct, state=NY, I, 95 at the The Bronx, Bronx–Yonkers, New York City line , junction = {{plainlist, * {{jct, state=NY, I, 287, Parkway, Saw Mill, NY, 119 in Elmsford, New York, Elmsford * {{jct, state=NY, ...

(

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

) near Silver Creek, New York * US 62 via NY 75 near Hamburg, New York *

I-190 Interstate 190 may refer to the following Interstate Highways in the United States related to Interstate 90: * Interstate 190 (Illinois), a spur into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport *Interstate 190 (Massachusetts), a spur from Worcester to Le ...

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and named after the fame ...

NY 98 New York State Route 98 (NY 98) is a state highway in the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in the town of Great Valley in C ...

in Carlton, New York * NY 390 in Greece, New York * NY 590 in Irondequoit, New York (near Rochester) * NY 14 in

Alton, New York Alton is a hamlet within the Town of Sodus, Wayne County, New York, United States. It is located six miles (10 km) southeast of the Village of Sodus and five miles (8 km) south of the Village of Sodus Point, at an elevation of 377 fe ...

NY 481 New York State Route 481 (NY 481) is a state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with Interstate 81 (I-81) in North Syracuse, where the highway continues southe ...

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port ...

* NY 13 near

Pulaski, New York Pulaski () is a village in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census. The Village of Pulaski is within the Town of Richland, and lies between the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and the Tug Hill region. ...

* NY 3 near

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by th ...

* I-81 at the Thousand Islands *

NY 26 New York State Route 26 (NY 26) is a north–south state highway that runs for through Central New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is located at the Pennsylvania state line south of the town of Vestal in Broom ...

in Alexandria Bay, New York * NY 812 in

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and d ...

* NY 56 in

Massena, New York Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12 ...

References

External links