Explore the old Erie and Champlain canals. Get a duck's-eye view of wildlife refuges and nature preserves. Cruise past historic lighthouses, abandoned 19th-century industries, early Indian sites and colonial homesteads. An amazing variety of sights and sounds awaitsfrom the skyline of Albany and the country's busiest inland seaport to peaceful tidal wetlands where bald eagles nest. From the newest riverside park to the oldest house in the Mohawk Valley. Visit the many uninhabited islands or explore the ruins of icehouses that once lined the Hudson's shores. Share the waters with supertankers and kingfishers. Float past aqueduct ruins, mansions of colonial land barons, the site of a climactic 1600s Indian battle, or to views of thunderous Cohoes Falls, once as famous as Niagara. Includes more than 60 maps and 50 photographs, detailed directions, historical essays, safety and comfort information, an essay on Hudson River tides, and a guide to local outfitters and paddling organizations.