Tonawanda Harbor Walking Tour (reservations required)

In honor of the Erie Canal Bicentennial in 2025, join us for a tour of the canal area separating the “Twin Cities” of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda! This tour will explore the canal waterfront area of both cities, highlighting the impact the canal had on this community, eventually giving the “Twin Cities” the title “Lumber Capital of the World” in the late 19th century. The tour will include some historic buildings and review the original route of the canal through the Tonawandas as created in 1825, and how that route was changed in the early 20th century to what it is today. Note that Explore Buffalo’s Tonawander walking tour is a separate tour in the City of Tonawanda that does not include this harbor area.

This tour meets at Gateway Harbor Park in the City of Tonawanda at the corner of Niagara and Main Streets. This tour is approximately ninety minutes in length. There is a public parking lot at Niagara and Main (surrounding an old McDonalds restaurant), and street parking is available along Niagara and Main Streets in downtown Tonawanda.