Erie Canal
Lock 32 Whitewater Course
| Difficulty | II+ |
| Length | 0.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 12, 2018 |
River Description
This short, sweet section of holes, waves, eddylines, and slalom gates is thanks to the tireless volunteers at the Genesee Waterways Center. It's been open since August, 2001.
The course is open daily from the second Thursday in May to the second Thursday in October.
Hours are:
- Monday- Friday: 5-8 pm
- Saturday-Sunday: 3-8 pm
Direction to the WW course:
Here are directions and a road map.
From East, West and South of Rochester:
- Take the NY State Thruway (I-90) to Rochester Exit 46.
- Go North on Route 390.
- Exit and follow Route 590 North to Monroe Ave.
- Turn right on Monroe, then turn right at the first light onto Clover Street (1/2 mile).
- Stay on this road for 1 mile.
- Lock 32 will be on the right; turn right into the second road after the Canal Park Sign. There's a kayak sign out front.
- The parking area is located at the end of this road on the Right. There'll be a trailer in the parking area, where you sign in.
From the North
- Follow Route 590 and get off at the second Monroe Ave exit (going east towards Pittsford).
- Directions from there are the same as above.
Events
Opening Night
Lock 32 opens the first Friday of May, with a big open house. There is no entrance fee for the night and Lock 32's staff is on hand to give you the full tour of the Whitewater Course and the Canal's Lock and explain how the whole system works.
Lockapalooza
Lockapalooza is an informal competition and festival, a celebration of Rochester's whitewater kayaking community. The fifth annual Lockapalooza will be held August 8 and 9, 2009, with a boatercross, slalom race and rodeo, along with representati
...River Features
Take Out
Put In
1st Rapid
This is a set of very crisp squirt lines with a small wave. It's got a very long runout with lots of eddies on either side, so it's very forgiving. It's pretty close to an ideal learning spot for ferries, eddy turns and squirts.
Yeah, we need a better name. Any suggestions?
Cloverleaf
Cloverleaf is a small front-surfing wave. Behind it there's a splat rock and three eddies in the shape of a cloverleaf.
Faceoff
Faceoff is now a super kickin' hole. You can do pretty much everything in it: cartwheel both ways, loop huge (and easily), space godzilla, lunar orbit, phonics monkey. . . It's smiley shaped and a little flushier on both sides so you can spin and set up.
Below is a video from last year's Lockapalooza freestyle competition, which we held at Faceoff.
Shippo
An easy, river-wide front-surfing wave.
Horton's Hole
This is a little bit more user friendly than Faceoff. It'll let you do spins and it's a great place to learn to cartwheel. It's also good at pretty much any level.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportUPDATED INFORMATION:
Visit Lock32.com for the most current hours and water levels.
2018 Hour:
Mon-Fri 5-8pm
Sat-Sun 12-8pm
Thanks,
MGMT
Horton's is looking good for 2018!
Niagara river ice boom release
Faceoff has been consistently good for the past couple years. Really juicy hole that makes for easy ends, loops, etc. When the water is low it's good for mcnasties, lunar orbits, phonics monkeys, etc.
Cloverleaf was so-so at the beginning of the year, but something shifted in early August and it's now a really good spinning hole.
Horton's has been pretty good for the last couple years. It's always been really easy to cartwheel. But in the last month or two it's gotten much better for loops and such.
Andy Cook at the first annual Lockapalooza, an informal competition that will happen every August.
Copyright 2001 by Scott Conley. Photo used by permission.
Paul Twist cartwheeling in the bottom hole. Check out www.prestophotovideo.com for more pics by Norm.
Students in Lock 32's Youth Summer Camp surfing Shippo.
A member of the Lock 32 kids club learns to bow stall.