canal fulton canalway center

The Canalway Center is the first stop for someone who wants to ride the St. Helena Canal boat. You purchase the tickets for the ride at the counter and then can watch a short video regarding the history of the Canal. There are lots of brochures about different activities in the area so if you're visiting be sure to check them out. There is plenty of free parking in the lot behind the center and many people park and ride their bikes on the towpath trail. The center is air conditioned and they offer clean restrooms so it's nice to have someplace to wait before boarding the boat. While they don't sell food, there is a soda vending machine right out front as well as benches in case you prefer waiting for the boat outside. Across the street is an ice cream stand (which has really good milkshakes) and there are some food options right in the center of town.

The Canalway Center offers a great little one-hour canal boat tour packed with Ohio history, charm and music. The kids on our tour were engrossed by the horses, our guide's incredible gift for story-telling and the charm of the ride. Those who don't want to take the boat ride can walk or bike ride on the canal trail as well.When visiting, leave enough time to explore historic, downtown Canal Fulton.

Our Ohio canal boat adventure happened on a somewhat drizzly Saturday in July and this may have accounted for the low number of passengers. We found the Canalway Center, as described by others, to be clean with helpful staff. We didn't have time to see the DVD in full, but what we did see was interesting. (Our ride began at 2:30 p.m.; we had been alerted to show up 30 minutes early to view the DVD.)The 50? minute ride was relaxing although the swarms of mosquitoes were VERY bothersome. I'd recommend a can of Off or other type of repellant. The guide was informative and talkative...perhaps a bit too talkative. The boat had somewhat uncomfortable benches for seating, but they served the purpose. Horses pulled the boat at about 4 mph, so it made for a relaxing experience.It didn't seem as if tipping the guide was a custom; we didn't see anyone tipping, but we didn't ask. Sneakers recommended.We recommend for anyone interested in waterways/engineering or early 19th century Ohio history. But bring some mosquito repellant!

Great place to gather up information about area attractions. AC inside- there was a movie too, but we did not see it. The bathrooms are very clean.

If you want to hike or bike the Towpath, you want to stop at this center and check it out. It isn't anything fancy but it has nice rest rooms, plenty of brochures of things to consider visiting in this region, and you can get details for the canal boat ride. The staff is helpful. There is plenty of parking. It is located on the Ohio and Erie Towpath trail. During the spring the parking lot can be flooded so if there has been a lot of rain, check ahead to see if you can access this site.

We regularly hike the towpath trail. This is the only access area nearby that has a center where you can ask a person any questions you might have, in person. You can purchase tickets to ride the horse drawn canal boat called St. Helena III in season. Only open on weekends this time of year.

Canal Fulton is a great place to spend the day and don't forget to visit the Canal Fulton Canalway Center. This is a chunk of Ohio's history and a great place to learn about the Ohio canals.

The visitor center was very nice (& cool on a hot day) with spacious, clean toilet facilities. The structure is impressive with it's large pole supports. The hostess was very friendly & gracious & very helpful answering questions. She even re-showed the film to our group of six as we didn't have time to view it before our canal excursion as we got lost trying to find the departure site. There are vending machines if a visitor needs a beverage or a snack. The boat tickets are fun as the part the visitor retains is a postcard with a historic photo of the original St Helena boat from the late 1800s. The city & heritage society are partnering to do a wonderful job of offering a bit of history to the canal visitors. Your whole family would learn & enjoy the experience!

There are interesting things to see in the "office". Then the boat is fun to explore. The trails are wonderful for hiking and biking.