Road Trip Ottawa to Kingston – Rideau Canal
Ottawa
Kingston
190
km
2h
drive
All seasons
season
The Itinerary
The Rideau Canal connects Ottawa to Kingston across 202 km of river, lake and cut channel, descending and climbing through 47 locks. It was built by the Royal Engineers under Colonel John By between 1826 and 1832 as a military supply route that would bypass the St. Lawrence, which ran along the American border and would have been indefensible in another war. The invasion never came, the canal became commercial, and it is now the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2007.
Highway 15 and then Highway 32 shadow the waterway for most of the route, about 190 km of driving. Merrickville, roughly halfway, is the highlight: a village built around a set of locks and a blockhouse, with a main street of stone buildings now occupied by craftspeople, and it is commonly described as one of the prettiest villages in Ontario. Smiths Falls holds the Rideau Canal Museum and a working combined lock. Westport sits below the Foley Mountain escarpment at the head of the Upper Rideau. Jones Falls has the most impressive engineering on the system, a flight of four locks beside a stone-arch dam that was among the largest in North America when built.
The locks operate from May to October and are hand-cranked to this day. In winter the Ottawa end freezes into the Rideau Canal Skateway. The canal reaches Lake Ontario through the flight of locks at Kingston.
Highway 15 and then Highway 32 shadow the waterway for most of the route, about 190 km of driving. Merrickville, roughly halfway, is the highlight: a village built around a set of locks and a blockhouse, with a main street of stone buildings now occupied by craftspeople, and it is commonly described as one of the prettiest villages in Ontario. Smiths Falls holds the Rideau Canal Museum and a working combined lock. Westport sits below the Foley Mountain escarpment at the head of the Upper Rideau. Jones Falls has the most impressive engineering on the system, a flight of four locks beside a stone-arch dam that was among the largest in North America when built.
The locks operate from May to October and are hand-cranked to this day. In winter the Ottawa end freezes into the Rideau Canal Skateway. The canal reaches Lake Ontario through the flight of locks at Kingston.
Points of Interest
-
✦
Rideau Canal (UNESCO)202 km and 47 locks, the oldest continuously operated canal in North America.
-
✦
MerrickvilleHeritage village built around the locks, with shops and breweries.
-
✦
Rideau Canal MuseumIn Smiths Falls: canal history and scale models.
-
✦
Jones FallsThe canal's tallest flight of locks, four in a row.
Fishing Spots Along the Route
Protected areas along the route
🌿
Kemptville District Crown Lands
General Use Area
🌿
Big Sandy Bay Management Area
General Use Area
🌿
Area C
General Use Area
🌿
RIDEAU RIVER PROVINCIAL PARK (RECREATIONAL CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
MURPHYS POINT PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
BROCKVILLE LONG SWAMP FEN PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Gananoque
Provincial Wildlife Area
🌿
Mountain
Provincial Wildlife Area
🌿
FRONTENAC PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Camden Lake
Provincial Wildlife Area
🌿
BURNT LANDS PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
CHARLESTON LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
Take this route offline
Cell coverage thins out fast once you leave Ottawa. Export the map as a geo-referenced PDF before you go and open it in BorealMaps — your GPS position shows on the map with no signal at all.
Try PDF Export How geo-referenced PDF maps workPractical info
- Departure Ottawa
- Destination Kingston
- Distance 190 km
- Duration 2h
- Category Medium (100–250 km)
- Best season All seasons
Plan your adventure with our interactive map
Open the map