Adventures (and Misadventures) of Elliott and Mary

Issue 35 - Summer 2009:  The Rideau Canal

The 'Lower' Rideau Canal

The red squares on the charts are locks, sometimes more than one assembled into 'flights'. The back door of one is the front door of the next one (usually).         Since we went from South (Kingston) to North (toward Ottawa) our pictures are primarily organized that way. What that means is that as you go DOWN the page you are moving UP the map (North). But this is nothing new for Canada. Ogininally there was Lower Canada and Upper Canada. The directions were with respect to the flow of the St Lawrence River, thus, Quebec which is north of Ontario was  'Lower' Canada and Ontario,  'Upper' Canada.. I could say I have it backwards for this 'Lower' portion because the current is flowing toward Kingston, but thinking about Upper being below Lower hurts my head.

Click on the thumbnails for pictures

 

Kingston Mills
We (unknown to us) hit the lock at Kingston Miles just right. It is a flight of 4 locks and apparently because of that, one of the 'choke points' on the waterway. Since you can't have boats going up and down at the same time, the entire flight is dedicated to one direction or another. Consider, nominal transit time for one chamber is 1/2 hour. This puts transit time for the 4 lock flight at about 2 hours up and slightly less coming down.(Emptying the lock goes faster because the locktenders can allow the chamber to empty at a higher rate than they like to fill an occupied one).

The Brewers
We passed by Lower Brewers (LB) on the way up but stopped on the way back. There is power below the lock at LB and above at Upper Brewers (as the names suggest). Just up the hill at LB is a good sized outlet store for the local apple orchard. You can order fresh apple pie for tomorrow (they may even have some left today).
 
 
 

Jones Falls
The flight at Jones Falls has 3 lock chambers and then a turning basin and then the fourth lock. I asked about overnighting in the basin and the lock tender said "Oh, no.... If a lock gate leaked too much or a log got caught or vandals opened a gate you would be sitting on the bottom come morning." I didn't pursue that idea ant more.
 
 
 
 
 

The Middle In spite of appearances, water doesn't always flow down the maps. Newboro Lock is at the high point of the system. You go upstream from Kingston to Newboro and then start down toward Ottawa.  Davis Coming up we spent out first Rideau night at Davis lock. It was a good introduction. We stopped again on the way back down stream. One of its draws is a 300' long potable water hose. Said to be the best drinking water on the waterway.

Newboro
Again, I had 30 amp power and could connect to a good wifi signal. The little town is cool and they have a great ice-cream store :-).
 
 
 
 
 

(For us) The Upper Portion We had originally planned to go al the way up to Ottawa and back on Letitia. After listening to several local boaters we decided to only take her as far as Merrickville and do our Ottawa sightseeing by car. We were pleased with that decision. Smiths Falls is about halfway between Kingston and Ottawa - about 60 miles. give is another 15 to Merrickville and our total miles traveled are about 150 miles. We only took 33 days to do then!!  Next time we won't travel as fast..

Poonamalie
There are power outlets above the lock. While it is only 2 miles by water and 3 by car from Smiths Falls, it seems like a different world. We spent altogether 4 nights here and might have spent more if they had let us. The Canal rules say 2 nights but many locktenders take a look at the traffic and relax the rule somewhat. It is real close to our favorite spot.
 
 
 

Smiths Falls
Boats can dock at both the Canal lock walls (no power) and at the Victoria Park Campground (run by the Chamber of Commerce). The campground is half price if you have a Canal docking pass and they have power for $5 per night. Wifi is available for free (the park was having challenges but ...). Smiths Falls is a good sized town and the Beer Store, LCBO, and grocery stores are all within four blocks of the waterway.
 
 
 

Merrickville
We didn't go through the locks (4 steps) but rather tied up to a free dock in 'The Pool', the impoundment above the dam. Wifi was available at the Library and a few other places in town. Town was fun and people watching was ample.
 
 
 

I have included some links that you might find interesting about the Canal.
Google 'Rideau Canal' for more

Pat's Rideau Waterway Cruising Guide
and
The Rideau Canal Welcome Page
 
 
 

Till Later!!
 
 

The Captain and Mary