Oswego Canal

New York State Canal System

Locks and Distances

Channel Depths

Clearances

The Oswego Canal is the 3rd longest canal section in the New York State Canal System. Begriming at Three River Junction the Oswego Canal runs North following the Oswego River to Oswego, NY and finally Lake Ontario.

Navigation Season

The navigation season for the Oswego 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

23.7 miles from Three River Junction to Lake Ontario

Aids to Navigation

Red markers are kept to port north bound the entire length of the Oswego Canal.

NOAA Chart #14786, provides coverage of the Oswego Canal system.

Locks

There are 7 locks in the Oswego Canal. All Lock chambers are the same as the rest of the NYSCS; 328 feet long and 45 feet wide.

Channel Depths

14 feet in the channel and 13 feet over the lock sills.

Bridge Clearances

Minimum bridge clearance is 21 feet.

Communications

All lockmaster's maintain a watch on VHF channel 13.

Speed Limits

Lakes-no speed limit, rivers - 45 mph, land cuts / rock cuts - 10mph, or as posted.

Transit Times

As a general guide, Three River Junction to Lake Ontario will require about 6 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 73 Kb.

Oswego Canal Lock & Distance Table - Download


Oswego Canal

* No Lock O-4 on the Oswego Canal / **Transit Time Includes Lockage Time
*Lock #   Elevation Next Lock  
Location Lift Southern End Northern End Distance **Transit Time @ 10 kts Lockmaster
Erie Canal Three River Junction --- --- --- O-1 / 2.29 Miles 00:14 ---
O-1 Phoenix, NY 10.2’Down Arrow 363.0’ 352.8’ O-2 / 9.50 Miles 01:27 315-695-2281
O-2 Fulton, NY 17.8’Down Arrow 352.8’ 335.0’ O-3 / 0.55 Miles 00:33 315-592-4155
O-3 Fulton, NY 27.0’Down Arrow 335.0’ 308.0’ O-5 / 6.45 Miles 01:09 315-592-5349
O-5 Minetto, NY 18.0’Down Arrow 308.0’ 290.0’ O-6 / 3.30 Miles 00:50 315-343-5232
O-6 Oswego, NY 20.0’Down Arrow 290.0’ 270.0’ O-7 / 0.36 Miles 00:32 315-343-9001
O-7 Oswego, NY 14.5’Down Arrow 270.0’ 255.5’ O-8 / 0.54 Miles 00:33 315-343-6304
O-8 Oswego, NY 11.1’Down Arrow 255.5’ 244.7’ Lake Ontario / 1.20 Miles 00:37 315-343-0280