Originally completed in l8l9, the Champlain Barge Canal was a source of water transportation in the l800’s. This 60 mile canal system carries vessels on a portion of the Hudson River from Waterford to the base of Lake Champlain and then on to Canada via the Richlieu River to the St. Lawrence River. Vessels pass through a series of locks to elevations as high as l65 feet above sea level, the highest lift in a lock series anywhere in the world. Because this canal system played an important role in the Revolutionary War and Industrial Revolution, it is historically referred to as the “Waters of the Revolution.” Signs punctuate evidence of the revolutions in many towns along the canal.
If you’ve never seen a lock in operation, take Route 4 north from Route 149 in Fort Ann, turn right at Comstock Road and then the first left just before the bridge for Lock 11.
