Living along the canal in Rochester area (Buffalo, Greece: houses, neighborhood)
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You have to keep your backyard pretty during all the outdoorsy months. The elevation is decent and you get to say you live on the canal. I think Webster is better for waterfront living though.
The area towns known most for "canal living" are all three of the "-ports" (Brockport, Spencerport, Fairport) as well as Pittsford. I've never actually known anybody that lived directly on the canal but you can see some of the houses on it if you take a boat tour and the homes are usually beautiful and well kept and you often see people outside enjoying their yards a lot if they live on the canal. I'd imagine you could run into some foundation/basement issues if the house was really close to the water, but if its backed up far enough onto the lot to give a really big back yard and enough space between the house and the water I don't think it would be a problem. Just keep an eye on small children and pets!
My father in law lives on the canal. The house is high enough up that they do not have a problem with flooding. In the winter, they close the locks and the canal drains. I believe they are in Macedon. Its perfect for him, they have their own dock with a boat, we bring the dogs over to go swimming. Great asset to the community.
I lived in Tonawanda when I was a kid, it is where the canal starts off of the Niagara river. There are no locks in that area. I remember a couple of times where the water rose high enough to submerge the docks, but it never caused any flooding problems.
I had friends in Fairport growing up who lived along the canal... it was great... bon fires along the water at night... water access for a boat/canoe.... your own dock... the sound of the water... I grew up a neighborhood away from the canal path entrance and loved to do my bike riding on there... what I would give to live along the canal! You do want to make sure you have enough of a yard though.... I'minformed is right... you could have basement issues... but for half the year the canal is so low it would not cause a problem when it is drained.... I would highly rec. Fairport or Pittsford!
Does anybody know what it is like to have a house along the canal? Is it a problem or an asset.
Love living by the water. I live on Lake Ontario myself. I would live on the canal otherwise. One possible problem could be that there are trails along the canal, so you may find strangers in your back yard.
I owned a house on the canal in Fairport, couple blocks up from the bridge on 250. If you can handle the CSX rail noise, and some noise from the two busy saloons in the village, you could get a place right downtown, there. Or, go a little further down, where it's nice and quiet. The trains blow their horns at crossings in Macedon and E. Rochester, and, yes, you can hear 'em coming. 250 is a busy road, and the trains make sure they announce themselves well before that crossing. Kinda adds to the character of the village.
Lemme tell ya, if you like the oudoors, running, walking, bicycling, etc., the canal path is perfect for it. I had a dock, too, and a roommate got me into sculling (a form of rowing). I do miss those days, and have fond memories of bonfires in the yard, cooking out for friends, watching the boats go by, etc. I'd run the path 3 times a week (village all the way to Marsh Rd. past 490), and sculled frequently down to Macedon and back. The path turns into fine crushed gravel once you get out a ways, which is perfect for us folks whose joints hurt sometimes. If you can rise above some of the nonsense in Fairport, it's a nice town. Idyllic, even, like a Norman Rockwell painting.
Out in Greece and Gates, the canal is kinda hidden. The state owns some of the land, plus there's the cut for the old canal that ran through downtown, out there, and an old lock and tie in with the new canal where there's a boat turn-around. Lots of backyards back up to the new canal and the old one, there, but they're set back from the canal a bit, which I'd kinda like, too. Very quiet area. Further west, the land on Gates-Greece T-L rd. side is still owned by Kodak and abutting a couple of small farms, but it's vacant (I've horsed around out there with friends, before). Further west, even, there's some really nice housing on the north side of the canal, with boat tie ups, some parks mixed in there, docks, etc. Spencerport is nice and quiet, and there are lots of houses along the canal, there, and west towards Brockport. I miss driving my classic car back from cruise night in Brockport along the road that parallels the canal, on its north side. Lots of houses along there.
A couple we know live out in Clarkson (Brockport), and they frequently walk from their house to the canal. They're not ON the canal, but close enough to walk to it and enjoy it (walking, bike riding, fishing, etc.).
The canal path runs from Buffalo, along the Niagara river and then follows the path along the canal past Rochester into Fairport (please verify that town). With some sections you will have open path for miles, some paved, some not. In other sections like that in front of the Niagara river, the path widens and you have hundreds of people at a time in sections. I remember roller blading as a kid there and having to give right of way to bikes. It is very busy in the summer. Along with boat access, the canal is probably one of the best recreational amenities the state has provided us. For those who use it.
The canal path runs from Buffalo, along the Niagara river and then follows the path along the canal past Rochester into Fairport (please verify that town). With some sections you will have open path for miles, some paved, some not. In other sections like that in front of the Niagara river, the path widens and you have hundreds of people at a time in sections. I remember roller blading as a kid there and having to give right of way to bikes. It is very busy in the summer. Along with boat access, the canal is probably one of the best recreational amenities the state has provided us. For those who use it.
In Rochester, where the canal intersects with the Genessee River, there are bridges to cross all four legs. From there you can take the path right into downtown Rochester. Very cool. Not sure if it's finished yet, but it will go right to the lake. The northern section along the river is very nice
Our backyard is about 5 yards from the canal in the Strong neighborhood. We have a screen of natural brush and trees between our yard and the canal path. I, for one, love it. It's easy to go for walks and peaceful to see boats go by every once in a while. The natural screen keeps out folks who might otherwise venture off the path up to our house and we have chosen not to beat a path through the woods from our back fence, but instead walk up the block to the official place to enter the path and take a walk.
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). Further west, even, there's some really nice housing on the north side of the canal, with boat tie ups, some parks mixed in there, docks, etc. Spencerport is nice and quiet, and there are lots of houses along the canal, there, and west towards Brockport. I miss driving my classic car back from cruise night in Brockport along the road that parallels the canal, on its north side. Lots of houses along there. 
