Day 251 - July 3, 2013: The Richelieu River and the Chambly Canal

We got up early, purchased the Parks Canada seasonal locking pass, and entered the Chambly Canal. This canal parallels the Richelieu River, and its many locks are dropping boats down to the elevation of the St. Lawrence River. Today we passed under 10 bridges, went through 10 locks, and traveled 40 miles before reaching our destination at Saint-Ours, just 11 miles from the St. Lawrence River.

The Chambly Canal in St. Jean

The Chambly Canal next to the Richelieu River

The Chambly has been in use since 1843, and the locks, which are still operated manually, are sprinkled between many swing, slide, and lift bridges. The canal was dug largely by hand and is very narrow, running from as little as 30 feet to 50 feet wide, and it is squeezed between the river and shoreline roads. Passing another boat is a challenge we were glad not to have encountered.

Hand cranking the sluice gates

One of the many interesting bridges

There is a bike path for most of the length of the canal, and we watched many people enjoying the path including runners, bikers, walkers, and women jogging with their baby carriages.

A group of mothers jogging with their baby carriages

About midway in the town of Chambly, there is a set of three-stair locks, which are good examples of 19^th century marine technology. As we locked down, the water was drained from our lock to the lock below, and again to the last lock, avoiding the need to fill each lock before a boat could enter.

Locks 2 and 3 of the three-stair locks

Arriving at Saint-Ours, we locked down and discovered a beautiful island park where we tied off at the lock wall for the night. Between 1929 and 1933 this lock was modernized to bring the dimensions in line with the New York State Canal System, thus allowing 1,500 ton barges and steamships. However, the Chambly Canal was never widened, and thus the Richelieu waterway never attained the scale of the other canals. We toured a small museum located in the original lock master’s home and walked the island. After a hot and long day, we enjoyed sitting up top with a breeze through the shading trees and remarked that this spot was a special one to be remembered.

The park at Saint-Ours lock

Anne enjoying the cool breeze