Fodor's Expert Review Gowanus Canal

Once a bustling commercial waterway serving the neighborhoods of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, and Park Slope, the nearly 2-mile Gowanus Canal is now one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States and is designated an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site. Seven bridges cross the 100-foot-wide canal, which may sometimes smell, but is still photogenic. Juxtapositions of nature and industry—and a wealth of sunlight—make the waterway an urban charmer. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy organization is a nonprofit dedicated to making the canal and its shores a healthy part of the community.