Canada 150th Anniversary Offers Free Lockage

Accounts of trips taken in Boston Whaler boats; organization of rendezvous for Boston Whaler boats
jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Canada 150th Anniversary Offers Free Lockage

Postby jimh » Thu Mar 09, 2017 9:01 am

As part of the celebration of Canada's 150th Anniversary, the Government of Canada announced free admission in 2017 for all visitors to national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas operated by Parks Canada. In addition, Parks Canada have announced that lockage will also be free for boaters in 2017. The Parks Canada historic canals include:

--Rideau Canal Kingston to Ottawa
--Trent-Severn Waterway Trent to Georgian Bay
--Carillon Canal (Ottawa River)
--Chambly Canal (Southeast of Montreal)
--Lachine Canal (Montreal)
--Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal (Montreal)
--Saint-Ours Canal (Richeleau River)

We have transited the Rideau Canal twice, embarking at Kingston and travelling to Ottawa, and thoroughly enjoyed the passage. Our 2007 trip is described in a Sail-Log narrative. We repeated that trip in 2013 and had another great week of boating. Lockage fees are in proportion to boat length, so for a typical 24-footer they would be about $125 for the the Rideau Canal. While locking may be free, mooring charges (for overnight mooring along the canal, usually at locks) will still be charged. Also, this policy applies only to parks managed by Parks Canada, and provincial and municipal parks are not included in the offer. For more details, see

Your Free Pass to Discovery
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/voyage-travel/admission.aspx

You have to obtain a pass from Parks Canada. They have an on-line site for application: http://www.parksorders.ca/

[And, yes, the free pass application website is currently not working.]

saumon
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2017 9:00 pm

Re: Canada 150th Anniversary Offers Free Lockage

Postby saumon » Sun Mar 12, 2017 9:02 pm

From that page (http://www.commandesparcs-parksorders.c ... reId=22953), it also seems that they offer a fixed-rate seasonal overnight mooring permit for the following places (at 9.80/ft for the entire seson, which is a bargain):

In Quebec:
--Carillon Canal National Historic Site
--Chambly Canal National Historic Site
--Lachine Canal National Historic Site
--Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal National Historic Site
--Saint-Ours Canal National Historic Site
In Ontario:
--Rideau Canal National Historic Site
--Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site
--Georgian Bay Islands National Park*
--Thousand Islands National Park*
--Fathom Five National Marine Park (Flowerpot Island)*

jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Canada 150th Anniversary Offers Free Lockage

Postby jimh » Sat Aug 05, 2017 11:06 am

I just received a cruise report from Don Jahncke (who is the home stretch of his Great Loop cruise) that informs that the ERIE CANAL is also celebrating a special anniversary this year, and similarly providing free passage through their canal system. This is confirmed at the canal's website:

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the start of the construction of the Erie Canal in Rome in central New York. Work began on the 363-mile long waterway on July 4, 1817. The canal was officially opened in Buffalo on Oct. 26, 1825 by Gov. DeWitt Clinton.

State officials say to commemorate the bicentennial there will be no tolls or fees for recreational use of the canal system this year.


Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states ... or-boaters