Wabash and Erie Canal Park – Delphi, IN

From the heat and pounding of iron in the blacksmith’s shop, to the unique handmade baskets in the basket shop, Canal Park in Delphi, IN ended up being so much more than an RV park and bike trail.RV parks with adjacent bike trails are few and far between. So when we locate one, our route takes us there. Some trails are paved, our preference, others are hard packed dirt and others gravel or limestone. Wabash and Erie Canal Park offered us a full hook-up site with adjacent bike trails, we booked a site for a week. In addition, there is an interpretive center and buildings with educational programs.

Canal Park

The Wabash and Erie Canal was a 460 mile shipping canal made up of four canals which linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River. This gave access from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, at least for a short time. The canal was in operation from 1843 to 1874, with the last canal boat docking in Huntington, IN. It was the longest canal built in the U.S. yet the cost of upkeep was its demise. The main reason was the structures in Indiana were wooden along with eroding banks and tunnel digging muskrats.

Interestingly, the only intact wooden timber lock was uncovered during construction of I-469 at New Haven, IN. It is now on display at the Indiana State Museum. Delphi, IN chose to showcase the canal in a different venue. Canal Park was developed to offer a hands on experience with the Wabash and Erie Canal.

An interpretive center was built along with rewatering a two and a half mile section of the original canal. The Delphi, a replica canal boat offers seasonal rides on the canal. The boat is motorized and not muled pulled and is smaller than a true canal boat. The park has a large playground canal boat, the size of an original boat. Along with the boats there are buildings and cabins with interpretive exhibits including a blacksmith shop, mule barn, schoolhouse, residence, basket weaving and paper making.

We were luckily to be at the park the last weekend of the season and enjoyed the exhibits. It was interesting talking with the various docents, especially one gentlemen who knew history upon history of the canal area.

We went to Delphi for bicycling and enjoyed different types of trails. Yet we also found a city steeped in history for us to explore.

Happy travels and many adventures along your journey.