Welland Canal

The Niagara Escarpment drops about a hundred metres between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which is what creates the falls and what made the lakes unnavigable to each other. The Welland Canal solves it with eight locks over forty-three kilometres, lifting ships around ninety-nine and a half metres. The present canal is the fourth, opened in 1932. Ships up to about two hundred and twenty-five metres pass through, and at Lock 3 in St. Catharines a raised viewing platform puts spectators level with the deck of a laker as it rises; a screen posts the shipping schedule. Around three thousand vessels transit each year.

What you actually see

• The lift - freighters rising almost a hundred metres over eight locks.
• The Lock 3 platform - a viewing deck level with passing ship decks.
• The shipping schedule - a posted board showing what is coming and when.
• The canal museum - the four canals and their construction history.

When to go

April to December, the navigation season; the canal closes for winter when ice shuts the seaway. Check the ship schedule before going, since gaps of hours between vessels are normal.

Honest expectations

Without checking the schedule you may wait a long time for a ship. A single lock transit takes around forty-five minutes. The canal is closed entirely from about January to March.

Nearby

Niagara-on-the-Lake lies east; Niagara Falls is southeast.