The Old Erie Canal State Historic Park is a 36-mile trail following the canal's towpath from DeWitt to Rome through open farmland, dense woods, and old canal communities. This section was originally part of the Enlarged Erie Canal that ran from Albany to Buffalo and now serves as a feeder for the New York State Barge Canal. Workers began construction of the original Erie Canal in 1817 on the flat Oneida Plain between Syracuse and Rome, where this stretch was known as the Long Level and did not require locks. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal was an immediate commercial success, and increasing traffic soon made it necessary to enlarge the canal. Finished in 1862, the Enlarged Erie Canal was deeper, wider, and straighter than the original; in some places it was built directly on top of the original canal, while in others a new course was laid to eliminate unnecessary twists and turns. The New York State Barge Canal opened in 1918, and the Enlarged Erie Canal was abandoned.