Overnight mooring

Spend the night on Canada’s historic canals! 

Have a unique nautical experience for at an affordable price: overnight mooring in Parks Canada’s historic canals. Relax, enjoy activities nearby and be the first one to lock through in the morning.

To avoid wait lines this summer, experience the historic canals during quieter periods; that is, at the beginning of the season before June 24 and later, after September 4.

And to save time, moor your boat overnight for a low fee at the historic canals of Canada in order to be among the first to transit the locks. Some docks offer services such as electrical hook-ups and bathrooms, in addition to giving you access to a wide variety of restaurants and activities.

Moor for the night in an urban environment, and got a preferential access to a wide selection of restaurants, services, cultural programming and major events in several big cities like Montréal and Ottawa.

Other wharves are installed in natural and peaceful surroundings where it is possible to enjoy the great outdoors and escape to breathtaking landscapes.

Advantages of Overnight Mooring

• Save time by being the first ones to lock through
• Enjoy a unique low-cost experience
• Access to bathrooms (Check with the lock operators)
• Captivating stop in your journey
• Unlimited access to surrounding attractions and services

Mooring is offered on a first-come, first-served basis

Mooring docks cannot be reserved. Contact lock operators for availability.
*On Quebec canals, contact the lock operators through VHF-canal 68 during operating hours.

Parks Canada’s waterways in Quebec

• Lachine Canal National Historic Site

  Lachine Canal National Historic Site

  

  Discover the 14 km of the waterway that lead you to the heart of Montreal’s major attractions and that open up on secluded vistas. While navigating the five locks of the canal, wharves are available for day and night mooring and for you to experience an unforgettable stay.

  Old Montreal area

  While the surrounding marinas are fully booked, moor for the night at the Lock No. 1 wharves, a few steps away from the Old Port and from the charms of Old Montreal.

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  Nearby: Fireworks, restaurants and boutiques, programming of the Old Port of Montreal, easy and fast access to downtown and much more!

  Atwater Market Wharves

  Moor for the night to enjoy the one thousand and one pleasures of the Atwater market wharves!

  Nearby: market, groceries, trendy restaurants and bistros, access to the metro line and other services nearby make it an inescapable stop. Take the opportunity to stretch your legs on foot or on by bike along the canal’s path.

  Old Lachine Area

  Lock No. 5 wharves are installed in a beautiful natural setting a few steps away from Old Lachine.

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  Nearby: Restaurants, a bike path, the René-Lévesque park, the Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site, the Lachine Museum, the shows of L’Entrepôt and much more!

  Visit the Lachine Canal website and consult the map of the canal’s path for all the details.

• Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal National Historic Site

  Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal National Historic Site

  

  At the western end of the Island of Montreal, the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal connects the Saint-Louis Lake to the Deux-Montagnes Lake and offers a warm atmosphere with its great wooden boardwalk known for its good restaurants.This canal mooring services downstream and upstream from its lock.

  Service: Access to toilets (access code required; consult the lock operators) 

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  Nearby: Restaurants, bars, groceries, Sainte-Anne Market, programming of events on Sainte-Anne Street, waterfront circuit, nautical activities, Morgan Arboretum, Zoo Ecomuseum, Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre and more.
  
  

  Visit the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal website for more information.

• Chambly Canal National Historic Site

  Chambly Canal National Historic Site

  

  Since you need more than a day to enjoy all that the Richelieu Valley has to offer, take advantage of the overnight mooring service offered at several locations along the Chambly Canal. During your navigation into the heart of the region, the lock operators welcome you to make your experience memorable and safe.

  Chambly Area

  Day and night, moor at Locks Nos. 1-2-3 wharves to enjoy the attractions of Old Chambly with the Bourgogne Avenue.

  New Service: Place des barges wharves offer five electric power hookups (30 amp). The use of these electric power hookups works on a first-come, first-served basis. Don’t forget to bring your cables for the power hookup! 

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  Nearby: Lots of restaurants and bistros, grocery stores, boutiques and other services.

  Old Saint-Jean Area

  At the southern tip of the Chambly Canal, moor overnight at Lock No. 9 wharves, to discover Old Saint-Jean.

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  Nearby: Restaurants, bistros, bars, boutiques, cultural events and more.

  For more information, visit the Chambly Canal website and consult the map of the Chambly Canal path.

• Saint-Ours Canal National Historic Site

  Saint-Ours Canal National Historic Site

  

  During your journey on the Richelieu River, treat yourself to a stop by mooring overnight at the wharves available upstream and downstream from the Saint-Ours Canal lock, some twenty kilometres south of Sorel. Among other things, you will be able to take advantage of the grassy beauty of Darvard Island to stroll around and enjoy nature.

  Services:

  oTENTik accommodations and programming of the Friends of the Saint-Ours Canal.

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  Nearby: Vianney-Legendre Fishway, Golf Les Patriotes, The Jardin des curiosités, grocery stores, camping sites, restaurants, Maison de la culture de Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu and others.

  Visit the Saint-Ours Canal website for more information.

• Carillon Canal National Historic Site

  Carillon Canal National Historic Site

  

  Sitting on the Ottawa River in a magnificent natural setting, the Carillon Canal is a colossal work that is worth seeing! To enjoy the many attractions located nearby, overnight mooring is offered on the concrete and wooden wharves installed downstream, on the north and south sides, as well as upstream from the lock.

  Nearby: Carillon Park, restaurants, Hydro-Quebec Carillon generating station, Voyageur Provincial Park of Ontario, Argenteuil Regional Museum and Carillon Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

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  Visit the Carillon Canal website for more information.

Parks Canada’s Waterways in Ontario

• Rideau Canal National Historic Site

  Rideau Canal National Historic Site

  

  This canal, registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is 202 km long. Boaters are experiencing the beautiful lakes, rivers and canals between Kingston, Canada’s first capital, and Ottawa, Canada’s capital since 1857.

  The Rideau Canal is North America’s best-preserved “slackwater” canal and the only canal from the great 19th-century canal-building era that still operates along its original route and with most of its original structures intact. This engineering marvel and the fortification built at Kingston to protect it were constructed at a time when Great Britain and the United States vied for control on the North American continent. 

  Services: Lockstations provide washrooms, parking, first aid, picnicking and overnight mooring. Several lockstations also offer charcoal BBQs, ice, firewood, navigation charts, shore power, souvenirs and Parks Canada merchandise.

  If you visit the canal by boat or bicycle, you may camp overnight at all or near all of the canal’s lockstations, except for the Ottawa Locks. oTENTik overnight accommodations are also offered at select lockstations and available to all visitors.

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  Nearby: Many lockstations are located next to or just a short distance away from major eastern Ontario routes, and two hours or less from Ottawa, the Nation’s Capital. Travel is easy to plan as amenities such as grocery stores within walking distance, gas facilities, and docking are abundant.

  Visit the Rideau Canal website for more information and a full listing of services by area.

• Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site

  Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site

  

  The Trent-Severn Waterway bisects Ontario, running 386 kilometres and connecting two of Canada’s Great Lakes: Lake Ontario at the Bay of Quinte, and Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.

  It takes just over a week to travel the length of this national historic site by boat, passing through 36 conventional locks, two sets of flight locks, two of the world’s highest hydraulic lift locks and a marine railway. Boaters are free to embark from any point along the route, taking a leisurely trip or a short visit on what National Geographic called “one of the finest interconnected systems of navigation in the world”.

  Services: All locks stations and many swing bridge stations offer mooring and boater camping, drinking water and washroom facilities, first aid, picnic areas and abundant parkland.

  Select lockstations offer oTENTik overnight accommodations, shore power and water hook-up for vessels, showers, fire pits, visitor centres, canoe docks for low entry, and the following items for purchase: firewood, ice, nautical charts, souvenirs and Parks Canada merchandise.

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  Nearby: Many lockstations are located next to or just a short distance away from major central Ontario routes, and two hours or less from Toronto. Travel is easy to plan as amenities such as grocery stores within walking distance, gas facilities, and docking are abundant. The Trent-Severn Waterway stretches through rolling farmland, large and small lakes, charming villages and the bustle of larger cities, to classic Canadian Shield scenery. With so much distance to cover, boaters can choose from quiet and serene travel, to anything from fairs and musical events, golf and water sports – all of central Ontario is only as far as the bow of your boat.

  Visit the Trent-Severn Waterway website for more information and a full listing of services by area.