The Champlain Canal is the 2nd longest canal section in the New York State Canal System. Beginning at Schaghticoke, NY, the Champlain Canal runs generally north following the Hudson River to Fort Edward, NY then manmade land cuts to Whitehall, NY where it enters the southern most portion of Lake Champlain.
Navigation Season
The navigation season for the Champlain Canal is the same as for the rest of the New York State Canal System: early May through November from 0700 to 2200 daily. However, early and late in the season these hours may be restricted to 0700 to 1700 daily.
Length
60 miles from Schaghticoke, NY, to Lake Champlain.
Locks
There are 11 locks on the Champlain Canal. All Lock chambers are the same as the rest of the NYSCS; 328 feet long and 45 feet wide.
Channel Depths
From Waterford, NY to Whitehall, NY channel depths are 13 feet with 13 feet over the lock sills.
Bridge Clearances
Minimum bridge clearances are 17 feet.
Communications
All lockmaster's maintain a watch on VHF channel 13.
Speed Limits
Where NYS navigation law dictates it is 5 mph. Lakes-no speed limit. Rivers- 45 mph. Landcut/rockcut-10mph.
Transit Times
As a general guide, Albany to Whitehall, NY will require about 12 hours @ 10 knots.
Notice to Mariners
The latest navigational information can be found at Canal System Notice to Mariners. Anyone planning to transit the canal system should check these notices for last minute information on closures and restrictions.
This lock and distance table can be downloaded for your personal use as a ZIP file. The file contains the schedule in Adobe (.pdf) file format.
Please note: This is a Zipped file of 80 Kb.
Champlain Canal Lock & Distance Table - Download
