The Five Hardest Miles of Engineering and Construction On The Genesee Valley Canal

To experience the five hardest miles of engineering and construction on the Genesee Valley Canal, one only needs to travel I-390 south from Rochester, NY, take the exit for Mt Morris, drive into the village and take NYS Route 408 south to Nunda, take a right on NYS Route 436 in Nunda and take a right onto Oakland Road where there's a small parking lot on the west side of the road. 

This is the south end of a walkable five mile section of the Genesee Valley Greenway that includes remnants of the Genesee Valley Canal. This short five mile reach includes several unique canal features in order from north to south:

Seven locks (No. 54 through 60) each with 12 foot lift for a total lift of 84 feet. On average there are about 5.3 locks per mile in this reach of the canal. In the Oakland area there are off channel pools for water storage for lockages.

Locks 53 to 58 and Canal Pounds Between Locks near Messangers Hollow (now Oakland)

The 3000 foot long Deep Cut, that's 73 foot deep, has a 283 foot top width canal prism that was hand excavated through a lateral moraine. This work took 4 years and 5 months to construct and removed 0.6 million cubic yards (MCY) of glacial material but avoided the even less favorable options of constructing even more locks to ascend the moraine then descend to the rim level of the Genesee River gorge or attempting a tunnelling through earth, which was not well perfected at the time.

Locks 58 to 60 and Canal Pounds Between Locks West of Messangers Hollow and  Start of Deep Cut

South End of Genesee Valley Deep Cut 

Photo of Deep Cut Looking South From Short Tract Road - October 9, 2026

From this point, the canal route heads towards the east rim of the Genesee River gorge in Letchworth State Park. At this point canal engineers attempted to construct a 1000 foot long tunnel through bedrock and completed 75% of the excavation before the Stop Law of 1842 ceased construction of the canal due to the State's financial hardship. When the construction was resumed 5 years later, a portion of the tunnel had collapsed and the cost to build a masonry arch to hold up the bedrock roof was found to be cost prohibitive.  You can see the tunnel entrance which is now a bat hibernaculum and is covered by a special sized steel grate. There's a sign nearby that explains both the canal construction and the hibernaculum.

Canal near Middle Falls Showing Centerline of Abandoned Tunnel and Waste Weir

Entrance of Abandoned Tunnel Now a Bat Hibernaculum

At about this location, the canal prism is still visible as well as a waste weir that directed excess canal water to the rim of the gorge.

Photo of Waste Weir Draining to the Genesee River Gorge - October 9, 2026

Further south, you come to a point where the Genesee Valley Greenway is blocked off due to slides which have obliterated the canal prism and subsequent Pennsylvania Railroad.

Photo at End of Genesee Valley Greenway Trail at Slide Area - October 9, 2026

The Greenway picks up on the south side of the Norfolk Southern RR bridge above the Upper Falls, following the rim of the gorge before crossing over the Genesee River about 50 feet above the bedrock the river runs on in an eight span aqueduct.

Genesee Valley Canal Aqueduct Over the Genesee River

During my visit on October 9, 2026 I drove to the Oakland parking area off Oakland Road to observe the locks, and drove to the location where Short Track Road crosses the deep cut. I also parked at the Parade Grounds in Letchworth State Park and hiked the level towpath between the point where the Genesee Valley Greenway is blocked, to River Road. With help from the former State Historian, I was able to obtain the maps of this area and a field trip study guide.

References:

1. Locking the Heights: The Rise and Demise of the Genesee Valley Canal, David L. Kipp, 1999.
2. The Genesee Valley Canal, Mildred L. H. Anderson, 2nd Edition, 1978.
3. The Genesee Valley Canal: Over the Top-Summit Level and Environs Field Trip Guide, October 23-25, 2015, Canal Society of New York State.