April 24, 2021

Despite the many difficult changes from the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing didn’t change— the Erie Canalway Trail continued to be a lifeline for many people across the state. A huge thank you is in order to all who came out on Earth Day weekend, April 23-25 to celebrate the 16th annual Canal Clean Sweep and prepare the Erie Canalway Trail for the summer season.

From BSA packs and Girl Scout troops to Rotary Clubs and Friends groups, all the volunteers took the changes to this year’s event in stride, cleaning up huge swaths of the trail while staying socially distant.

And as always, volunteers rocked their Clean Sweep t-shirts out on the trail, still managing to look good while doing good.

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Highlights from Canal Clean Sweep 2021

Best Clean Sweep Spirit: Shue group, Fulton

This award goes out to the Shue group in Fulton, NY. We loved seeing the whole crew rocking this year’s Canal Clean Sweep t-shirts. Looking good Shues!

Strangest Trash Find: Glenn Gordon, Amherst

The much anticipated strangest trash treasure award goes to Glenn Gordon in Amherst, NY for finding this barnacle bike. So cool to see nature reclaiming this piece of trash. Definitely adds character to your ride!

Biggest Trash "Collection": Albany Chapter: Adirondack Mountain Club

This group is small but mighty! They collected all sorts of litter; everything from non-returnable cans and bottles to foam bait boxes to fast food cups. Nice work!

Adopt-a-Trail

Another way to show your appreciaton for the Canalway Trail is by adopting a trail section through the Adopt-a-Trail program. Contact PTNY at canaltrail@ptny.org or 518-434-1583 for more information.