<P> The canal began on the west side of the Hudson River at Albany , and ran north to Watervliet , where the Champlain Canal branched off . At Cohoes , it climbed the escarpment on the west side of the Hudson River and then turned west along the south shore of the Mohawk River , crossing to the north side at Crescent and again to the south at Rexford . The canal continued west near the south shore of the Mohawk River all the way to Rome , where the Mohawk turns north . </P>
where does the erie canal meet the hudson river
on the west side of the Hudson River at Albany