Houseboat Rentals - couples or family vacations on the Erie Canal

by Mike Beck
(Plain City, OH)

Houseboat rentals are a great way for couples or family vacations, to slowly cruise and enjoy the beauty of Erie Canal.

My wife and I rented a 35ft houseboat from Canal Princess Charters in Tonawanda, NY at the Western end of the canal. They were extremely friendly when I first contacted them and were a delight to work with.

We rented the houseboat for 4 days. When we met with them to pick up the houseboat they made us feel extremely comfortable. They explained to us that there was nothing that we could do to the boat that someone else hadn't already done. They were very thorough covering the things we needed to know and took us out for a check ride including a simulated lock approach and tie up and then turned us lose.

It didn't take long at 5 mph for all of the stress of the previous work week to disappear. The ride to Lockport for our first trip through a lock was about 3 hours and extremely relaxing. The people at the locks were extremely helpful and made the rookie experience seem like we had done this many times before.

From Lockport we traveled to Gasport where we decided to stop to grab a bite to eat. We then traveled another hour to Middleport and decided to spend the night there. The public docking facilities along the way were enjoyable and more than sufficient. All of the places we docked were free but did accept donations which we were more than happy to make.

From Middleport we traveled to Medina and decided to spend the next day and a half there just relaxing. We toured the town and the train museum and relaxed on the boat. We enjoyed meals at the various restaurants.

After relaxing at Medina it was time to head back to Tonawanda to return the boat. We traveled to the East side of the Lockport locks and spent the night there before completing our trip back to Tonawanda.

We both enjoyed the trip immensely. I have shared our experienece with many friends and business acquaintences all of whom were extremely jealous. Many had rented larger houseboats at Cumberland or Dale Hollow and really liked the idea of a smaller houseboat for a couple or small family and the relaxed pace.

I would highly recommend cruising the Erie Canal to anyone. If you haven't done it, you won't regret the experience.

My wife and I are making plans do the trip again later this summer.

We can't wait for the trip, Mike.

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Reply - Answer
Well Mike, welcome to the houseboat forums, and a big thank you for sharing your fabulous houseboat rental holiday experience with us all.

It is true what you say about how the stress and anxiety of city life just disappears and fades away as you cruise the waterways. It's an unexplainable reaction that houseboating has on folks.

I am sure that your story will inspire other folks who have rented a houseboat to share their stories for others to read, and put the memorable smile on their faces.


Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their houseboat rental stories and experiences. Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found near the bottom of this page.


Thanks again for sharing, IAN from all-about-houseboats

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