Triangle Loop – Week 14 (The Rideau Canal Part 1)

July 27th to August 2nd, 2025

Day 91 – Sunday, July 27th, 2025 – To: Seeley’s Bay, Ontario, Canada
Seeley’s Bay Marina

Today we started the Rideau Canal. The Rideau connects Kingston, Ontario, at the South End, with Ottawa, the capital of Canada, on the North End. It was built as a military route following the War of 1812 to provide an alternate route if the United States closed the Saint Lawrence River to Canadian traffic.

Today, it is a leisure route connecting the many lakes lined with cottages along the route. With a few exceptions, most of the locks along the Rideau are still operated entirely by hand. Parks Canada, which operates the Rideau, hires college students and one responsible adult to operate the locks over the summer.

We traveled the Rideau Canal on our first Loop trip in 2019, going from North to South. This year, we are traveling from the south end, Kingston, Ontario, to the north end in Ottawa.

There was a lift bridge in Kingston at the entrance to the Rideau River on the causeway that connects South Kingston to North Kingston. It opened to let boats through, including some of the cruise ships that operate on the Great Lakes and the Canadian Canals. In 2021, the bridge fell off its mountings while being serviced and had to be scrapped. The causeway was closed to road traffic for over a year until a temporary bridge could be installed. The bridge is designed to be lifted onto a barge and moved out of the way to let boat traffic through. Until this summer, the bridge was only moved once every two weeks. For the summer of 2025, they will move it once a week on Sunday. There is an alternate bridge for small boats, but your boat must have an air draft of less than 16 feet to pass under. We can get down to 15 feet 5 inches if we lower our mast, antennas, and bimini, and 13 feet if we take down our bimini. We decided to stay in Kingston until Sunday, so that we didn’t have to worry about height. They estimate that they won’t have a permanent replacement lift bridge in place until 2028!

At 8:00, we turned on our marine radio and heard that they were starting to move the bridge. At 8:45, they announced that the bridge was moving, so we cast off and headed toward the causeway. When we arrived, the passage was open, and the bridge on its barge was off to the side. We were first through the opening for the day.

We needed to get fuel and a pump out of our poop tanks, so we pulled into the Kingston Marina, just on the other side of the causeway. We topped off our fuel tanks and emptied our poop. The staff at the marina were happy that we stopped. They are usually quite busy, as they offer cheaper fuel than the city-run marina, but with the bridge closed, their business has been very slow.

Once we were done, we pulled out into the Rideau Canal, and the River Styx (yes, the mythical river that leads to Hades!) and headed north toward our first lock. We will do a total of 45 locks traversing the Rideau. Some of the locks are staircase locks, multiple locks in a row. This makes a total of 24 lock stations. Our first lock, Kingston Mills, was one of these staircase locks. A group of three, then a small basin, with a final fourth lock. When we arrived, there was one boat already waiting, and a boat that we had met on the way pulled in behind us. We had to wait for about 30 minutes for a group of boats to come down the flight. While we were waiting, a fourth boat joined us. All of the boats were in the 40-foot range, so the four of us were about all that would fit into the locks.

While we were waiting, I walked up to the lockmaster’s house and picked up our canal pass. Normally, the canal pass costs around $400 US. This year, due to the bridge issues, the passage is free! You just have to pay for mooring and power if you stay on a wall at the locks.

The first lock is always a little stressful, as you have to figure out how to configure the boat and what the tie-up points are like. On the Erie, it was mostly ropes and occasionally cables or bars to tie off to. On the Rideau, there are cables fixed to the lock walls about every 10 feet. You loop a line around the cables to hold the boat in position. We learned on our last trip that a line in the middle of the boat and a line at the back provide the most stability for us. As they open the sluice gates, tens of thousands of gallons of water come rushing in and can really push the boat around, so it’s important to hold on!

We made it through our first four locks just fine and headed out. The lock keepers arrange the boats based on size and capability. Because we were the largest in our group and the most maneuverable with our twin engines and both bow and stern thrusters, we were first in and first out. Once out of the locks, the speed limit for most of the canal is 10 kilometers per hour, or about 6 mph. Many areas of the canal are only 25 feet wide and very twisty. The depth in some areas is only 5 feet, so you don’t want to go very fast anyway. Also, once you are in a group of boats, the locks expect you to arrive together. If you speed ahead, you’ll end up waiting for the slowest boat to catch up, so you can all lock through together again. We cruised the 9.8 miles to Lower Brewers Lock.

On our 2019 trip, we spent the night below the lock here. Today, we were just passing through. At the top of the lock, there is a swing bridge, so once you are raised, you have to wait for the bridge to swing. Upper Brewers Lock is just 1.7 miles from Lower Brewers. We were first in the lock and took the starboard side again. One of the boats with us had a kayak sticking out about 2 feet on their starboard side, so they preferred to tie up on the port side. As with most locks, there were leaks around the lock doors. This one was quite strong, coming in from the corner of the lock door and giving us a good bow washing! Upper Brewers is a two-lock staircase and would be our last locks of the day.

We had 6 miles to the turnoff to Seeley’s Bay Harbour, where we would spend the night. We got to the turn and went slowly down the bay to the town docks. The bay was covered in green weed. In some places, we had to push through the weeds. Even though our depth finder was saying we had plenty of water, we were cautious, as usually where there are plants, there is shallow water. We tied up to the dock and got settled in. As soon as we stopped moving, the weed moved around the boat. It was another day in the 90s, and our air conditioner relies on drawing water from under the boat to run. There is a strainer that filters out weeds, but it can quickly clog if there is a lot of junk in the water. With the boat securely tied to the dock, I started the engines and put it into gear first, forward, then reverse to push the weed away from the boat, clearing an area around us, at least for a while.

The Town of Seeley’s Bay used to be a steamboat stop in the 1940s. Today, it is just a small town with lots of cottages on the surrounding lakes. The town dock is now primarily used by locals to moor their boats. It does have power, which is why we came here. They promote the dock in the guidebooks. However, getting a reservation was a bit of a process requiring several levels of approval, including from the local fire brigade, and signing a multi-page waiver form. It was worth it in the end, as it turned out to be a very quiet and beautiful spot. There is a person who sits in a small hut (The Harbour Office) and collects fees from the boaters using the boat launch. We checked in with her, a high-school-age kid working there for the summer. We asked about any “amenities” in town. She said that the closest store or restaurant was 5 miles away, but that the local park had an ice-cream stand. We walked to the park, just a quarter mile up the street, and got a docking ice cream!

When we got back to the boat, I took out the drone to take some aerial photos. You can see the number of lakes and rivers that dot the area. We had dinner on the boat and then turned in for a peaceful night.

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Day 92 – Monday, July 28th, 2025 – To: Elgin, ON
Chaffey’s Lock Upper Wall

After a quiet night in Seeley’s Bay, we cleaned out the water strainers for our air conditioning system, generator, and engines. All of them had a good quantity of weeds and grass in them. At 8:30, we headed out toward Jones Falls Locks, another 4-lock flight. Jones Falls was about 4 miles from Seeley’s Bay, and we arrived just after the locks opened for the day at 9:00. There was one boat already waiting in the lock. The boat, My Sweet Summer, was from Grantham, New Hampshire. Not far from where Brenda and I grew up.

The Parks Canada Canal staff closely monitor the boats and their destinations to make sure that traffic flows smoothly. We had told the lock keepers at Upper Brewers Lock yesterday that we were staying in Seeley’s Bay, so they assumed we would be there for the first lockthrough of the day and held the lock a few minutes to see if we would arrive. We cruised right into the lock and started up the first of the three lock flight. Two more locks later, we crossed the small pound before entering the fourth lock at Jones Falls.

Next came Davis Lock, 4.3 miles later. This is just a single lock, and they were open and waiting for us when we arrived. It’s incredible how clear the water is. You can easily see eight feet to the bottom (and the nasty pointy rocks) when in the canal, and the smooth granite floor when in the locks. While rising in Davis Lock, the lock keeper asked us where we were going for the day. We said that we would like to stay at Chaffey’s Lock, the next lock along. At Chaffey’s, there is mooring both above and below the lock. We aimed to stay on the upper side to avoid waiting for the lock in the morning. He called ahead and said that they had room for us. This isn’t a guarantee that someone else won’t take the spots, as it is first-come, first-served, but at least we knew it wasn’t already full!

We went another 2.5 miles to Chaffey’s Lock. We had to wait for some downbound boats before we went up, but that gave us a chance to make sure there was a space for us. After locking up, we said goodbye to My Sweet Summer, who was continuing on, and backed into the last mooring spot with power on the upper dock.

On the locks, walls, and docks, they only provide 30 amp power. Normally, our boat needs two 30-amp connections or one 50-amp connection. There were a number of smaller boats on the docks, each using one 30 amp connection, so there was only one available. That meant that we could either run the Air Conditioner or the house power (TV, fans, microwave, battery charger, water heater). It was another 90° day, so the A/C won out! We have a power inverter with our newly purchased batteries that will run the house items like the TV, fans, and microwave, so we turned that on instead.

Once settled in, we walked over to the Lock House to check in and pay for our dockage and “hydro,” as they refer to power. On our 2019 trip, we stayed here and discovered The Opinicon, an old-style tourist house and restaurant. It was built in 1896 for John Chaffey, who ran the mill at the lock site. It has been a rooming house, a private fishing club, a family resort, and a restaurant and pub. In 2016, it underwent a major renovation and now features guest houses, the pub and restaurant, an ice cream shop, and an outdoor pizzeria. We walked up the hill to the Opinicon’s Ice Cream shop for our docking treat, before returning to our nice, cool boat. We watched the families swimming and lounging in the canal, dodging boats, fish, and water snakes!

We had made 5:30 dinner reservations at the Opinicon and walked back for dinner. We started with Salted Cod Croquettes as an appetizer. We weren’t sure about them, but when in Canada, do as the Canadian’s do! They were delicious, not fishy or salty as we had expected, and they went very well with the provided saffron mayonnaise. For dinner, Brenda had the Chicken Paillard with asparagus and fingerling potatoes, and I had the PEI Mussels in a white wine cream sauce and butter, with some focaccia bread to soak up the juice. Both were excellent!

After dinner, we walked back to the boat, stopping to chat with a local and take a few pictures of the boat and the lock.

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Day 93 – Tuesday, July 29th, 2025 – To: Westport, ON
Westport Harbour

Tuesday was a short day, only 11 miles and 1 lock. We planned a stop at the Newboro lock, to walk up into town and visit Kilborn’s General Store. We had stayed at Newboro Lock on our 2019 Loop and found the store fascinating. It’s been a store and inn since the early 1900s, and has grown and evolved since its current owners opened it in 2014 to serve the cottage community. Kilborn’s store is located in what was once an industrial area powered by the falls.  It is now an old-time department featuring a diverse range of products, including clothing, gourmet food, home decor, kitchenware, and gifts. The store also features a large selection of Canadian-made products. It is divided into distinct sections, each with its own character, creating a treasure hunt atmosphere for shoppers. Next door is the Stage Coach Inn, a restaurant with more shopping also owned by the Hill family, as is the Sterling Lodge, a restaurant, inn, and vacation cottages across the street.

When we pulled up to the lock, one of the Lockies came down and we explained that we wanted to tie up to the wall for an hour or so to go to Kilborn’s, then we would be locking through. They said that was fine. We asked the gaggle of Canadian Geese hanging out next to the boat to keep an eye on it for us, and walked into town.

We walked around the store for about an hour. The only thing we bought was a package of Canadian smoked meat sticks. We then headed back to the lock, walking past the old Block House, which was used to defend the Lock from any potential American invasion after the War of 1812. Perhaps they should consider renovating it!

When we got back to the boat, we checked in with the lock; there were three boats in the lock heading down, and a Le Boat was just coming up to the lock to go up. Once the downbound boats were through, the Lockies had the Le Boat go in first; these are rental boats, and most of the operators are newbies with just a 10-minute training cartoon for experience! They tend to go sideways, so if we are in first, our boat would get hit. They do have rubber bumpers and fenders all around the boat, but you can still see the paint marks from where they have hit other boats all along the hulls. They made it in just fine, and once they were secure, we joined them.

Once we were raised and the doors opened, they had us exit first to lead the way for the Le Boat. The channel after the lock is only about 30 feet wide with rocky shores. As we were exiting the lock, a group of 4 medium-sized cruisers and 3 kayaks came around the corner in the narrow channel. It was a tight fit!

After we made it through the mile-long channel, we entered Upper Rideau Lake, with a 5-mile run to Westport. We’ve been cruising at a slow 5-6 mph for the last few days. We have noticed that our engines are smoking more at idle than they normally do, probably due to buildup in the turbos and exhaust. As soon as we were clear of some vermin paddle boarders and jet skis, I opened up the throttles and ran at max RPM (3200) for the next 4 miles until I had to slow down for the approach to Westport.

Westport is one of the larger towns on the Rideau with many restaurants and shops catering to both the boaters and cottagers that visit the area. We enjoyed our stay on our last visit, and booked in for a two-night stay this time.

We radioed into Westport to let them know we had arrived. Westport Harbor has two entrances, North and South. In the middle is an arch bridge that connects the island where the marina is to the mainland. On our last visit, we were told to come into the North entrance, go under the bridge, turn around, and dock next to the harbour office. The bridge only has about 10 feet of clearance, so that didn’t work, and we were thankful for bow and stern thrusters so that we could spin in the narrow harbor area. This time, we were instructed to enter through the South entrance and dock on the large floating face dock. We expected the North entrance, so we had to change course and go around a shoal to the South entrance channel. We saw the teenage girl dock hands waving at us, and headed for the dock. I spun the boat in a perfect pirouette and was lined up to kiss the dock when one of them came on the radio, “Oh, Sorry Mr. Tom… Like, we want you on the inside of the dock.” This meant aborting a perfect docking maneuver, then backing down a narrow channel with jet skis coming and going and maneuvering around another boat already at the dock. Fine! Thanks for letting me know so late!

In the end, with Brenda’s guidance, we backed the boat into the slip, which made the other boaters nervous due to the tight quarters, but it worked out perfectly, and we got tied off without an issue. We hooked up our power (2 30-amps available so we could run both the A/C’s and House power). Then walked over the arch bridge into town. Our first stop was at the Canada Post Office to get some postcard stamps. Then to the Westport Brewing Company for a Docking Beer! No ice cream this time, although there is a Karwartha Ice Cream shop just across the street. We had some lunch, then took a quick loop around town to check out what had changed since our last visit. The pandemic was tough on many of these small towns, but it was heartening to see that many of the old businesses remained open, alongside a number of new stores and restaurants.

We picked a place for dinner, The Lost Penny Pub, then headed back to the boat to cool down until dinner time. I was tired, so I took a nap for a couple of hours. Even though she claims she was listening to her YouTube videos, I could tell by her hair that Brenda also took a snooze.

At 5:30, we walked back into town for dinner. We were still full from lunch, so Brenda had a salad, and I had some chicken wings. We were looking forward to dessert at the Kawartha Ice Cream shop, but by the time we got there, it was closed. Boo Hoo! So we just went back across the bridge to the marina. We walked the docks to see if we knew anyone and saw a stunning Dutch Barge that had been imported and is based here in Westport. Be sure to check out the picture below!

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Day 94 – Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 – In: Westport, ON

On Wednesday, we spent the day in Westport. The town is a sleepy little village on the west shore of Upper Rideau Lake, which serves as the business center for the local cottagers and boaters. It has the only grocery store and post office in the area. The Town is mainly centered along the lake front, with Main Street, Bedford St, Church St, and Rideau St creating a four-block business district.

The town, like many in the Lake District, is full of flowers. The town and businesses take great pride in their floral displays with flower baskets and boxes along the streets, gardens in front of houses, and planters hanging from the railings of businesses.

We started with a visit to the post office to send a package, then breakfast at the Woodfired Cafe. After breakfast, we walked around town visiting the many clothing and gift shops. There are lots of interesting things, but nothing for the boat. Brenda did pick up a Rideau Canal T-shirt and a “Canada Eh!” night shirt.

We checked out the local grocery store to compare prices. In general, once you adjust for the conversion to US dollars, the prices are pretty much the same before you add the 13% Tax. One of the things we noticed both at the grocery store and the boutiques and gift shops was the prominence of the “Made In Canada” stickers and signs. On our past two trips, we also noticed them, so it’s not anything new, but the number and prominence have increased. There are even Made In Canada labels on products that you would associate with the US, like Fruit Loops, Campbell’s Soup, and candy bars. Because of the bilingual (English and French) labeling requirements in Canada, many companies produce their products in Canada.

After we’d seen all there is to see in town, we went back to the boat. I brushed off the spider webs, blew the dead bugs off the deck, and cleaned the seaweed salad from the water strainers. Then I worked on the blog and Clever Boater articles for the rest of the afternoon.

The temperature was hovering in the upper 80s. Around 3:00, the wind suddenly picked up. It was blowing around 15 mph, with gusts reaching 25 mph. Boaters were scrambling to add extra lines and tie down canvas. We got a short rain shower, and the wind quickly died back down. The temperature had dropped over 10 degrees in just a few minutes, going from 85° to 75°.

At 5:00, we walked up to the Cove Inn for dinner. Brenda had a steak with garlic mashed potatoes, and I had the maple pork chop with mushroom rice. Both were very good.

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Day 95 – Thursday, July 31st, 2025 – To: Smiths Falls, ON
Victoria Park Marina

Thursday’s goal was Smiths Falls, a small city in the middle of the Rideau Canal, and the home of the Rideau Canal Offices. We plan to stay in Smiths Falls for 4 days so that we can attend the Old Home Week, celebrating its 100th year. Events are starting Friday with most of the activity on Saturday and Sunday. They are holding a large parade, concerts, a drone show, dances, ball hockey, a beer garden, and the highlight of the events, a 40-foot-long walk-through Giant Colon (sponsored by the local hospital). We can’t wait!

Smiths Falls has three locks. The “Upper Detached Lock”, the “Combined Lock”, and the “Old Slys” lock. The combined lock used to be a three-lock staircase, but in 1974, they built a single large lock (26-foot lift) next to it to replace the three-lock staircase. Between the Upper Detached Lock and the Combined Lock, there is a half-mile-long basin with several mooring spots. Parks Canada operates a group of moorings adjacent to the Combined Lock. Meanwhile, the town maintains docks and moorings on the south side of the basin, along Victoria Park. This is also the home of the “Le Boat” rental fleet. Because of the large town (the only Walmart along the Rideau!), it is very popular, and with this week being the Quebec Construction Holiday week, we expected it to fill up fast.

When we stopped here in 2019, the basin was full, and boats were rafted next to each other. We ended up staying above the Detached Lock on a wall without power. All of the space on lock walls run by Parks Canada is first-come, first-served and has a maximum stay of 48 hours. This time, we called ahead about a week ago and made a reservation at Victoria Park for our four-night stay. The park lets you reserve for overnight stays. However, if someone wants to use the slip for the day, they can, and you have to wait until 6:00 to get in. Once in, it’s yours for up to 10 days, for $1.25 per foot/day. Very reasonable.

We left Westport at 8:50 for the 5-mile run to our first lock, “The Narrows”. We were hoping to arrive in Smiths Falls around noon, which would give us a better chance of finding an open slip. This section is mostly open lake, and we ran at 20 mph for most of the way to give the engines a workout and arrived just after 9:00 for the first lock-through. When we got to the lock, there was one boat already waiting. There is a wooden swing bridge in front of the lock, and as we were pulling up, they started to crank the bridge open. The Narrows Lock is only a 3-foot change in height, and it connects Upper Rideau Lake with Big Rideau Lake. It also marks the highest point on the Rideau Canal, with a 166.2-foot rise from our start in Kingston. From here on, we will descend to the canals end in Ottawa. Once the bridge was open, we went in and quickly dropped to the level of Big Rideau Lake.

Our next lock was just under 20 miles ahead. The other boat, Gitan V, was running at 8 knots, and there was a Le Boat ahead of us as well. We had hoped to run fast, in Big Rideau Lake as well, but we would just have had to wait at the lock, so we kept pace with Gitan. One of the interesting features of Big Rideau Lake is that, despite being less than a mile wide at its widest point, sections of the lake are over 360 feet deep! As it happened, Guitan V turned off to the Tay Canal, at the end of the lake, so we could speed up a bit to make up time.

At the end of Big Rideau Lake is an area known as Rideau Ferry with a couple of marinas, then you enter a long, narrow, winding channel on the approach to Poonamalie Lock. There is barely enough room for two boats to pass, and of course, we met several boats going the other direction that had just exited the lock. We had been hearing another boat, Mary Frances, calling the lock on the radio (in a heavy French accent). Unfortunately for them, the Locks don’t have marine radios. When you get to a lock, if the doors are closed, you pull up to a dock with a blue line on it, and toot your horn to get their attention. Just as we arrived, the lock staff came out of their Lock House and opened the lock for us to enter. Mary Frances went in first, and we followed behind. We had another easy 7.2-foot descent. Since they were the first to arrive, we let Mary Frances leave first. It turns out they were having trouble with one of their engines, and we had to fend them off and quickly deploy a fender to keep from getting hit. They made it out successfully, and we followed them through another narrow winding channel, the 2.3 miles to Smiths Falls, and the Smiths Falls Detached Lock.

When we arrived, the lock was closed and there were no lock staff to be seen. Mary Frances started calling on the radio again. I replied and told him that they didn’t have radios, and tooted my horn. A few minutes later, the lockkeepers came out and started to prepare the lock. There is a waiting dock, but Mary Frances didn’t tie up and kept moving around in the small basin above the lock. There were three boats moored in the basin, and the wind was up, with a gentle current, so we had to constantly maneuver the 15 minutes it took to fill the lock and open the doors for us. Once in, they told us we had to wait, because there was another boat coming. Ten minutes later, they started to crank the doors closed. It seems no one will be joining us.

While we were in the lock, I phoned the Visitor Center that controls the marina and let them know we would be there in a few minutes. They checked and said that the first dock in the marina was open. Woo Hoo! No waiting.

We dropped 8.5 feet to the level of the Smiths Falls Basin. While we were dropping, I let Mary Frances know that we would exit first, since we were farther forward in the lock and they were having engine trouble. About midway down, the boat we had been waiting for finally showed up. It was a Le Boat. They would have to wait.

Once the doors opened, they swung the road bridge, and we entered the Smiths Falls Basin. The marina was only a couple of hundred yards down the channel, and we had an easy side-to docking. As we were maneuvering into the slip, Mary Frances came out of the channel and headed straight for us. There is a pump-out station on the wall next to our slip, and they were trying to get into that. We quickly finished tying off our boat and ran over to wrangle them into the wall. He asked if we were staying at the dock, and I said yes, we had a reservation. “Oh, so you will not be leaving?” “No, I will not be leaving.” As Bill Engvall says, “Here’s your sign.” I’m pretty sure that they were new boaters, because they didn’t seem to have a clue.

Once we got them tied off, I walked up to the Visitor Center to check in. They were very nice. There are good bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities. They used to have an R/V Park next to the marina, but closed it just after Covid when Parks Canada, which owns the land, didn’t renew the lease. When I returned to the boat, our “friends” on Mary Frances were calling the Visitor Center on the radio to have someone come and pump them out. (No, the visitor center doesn’t have a radio; you have to walk up.) He wanted to fill up with fresh water for drinking, but his hose wasn’t long enough, so he used the pump-out rise hose (that people put into their poo-tanks) to fill his fresh water. Ick!

It took us a few minutes to find two available 30-amp sockets for our power (I’m glad that I installed a 75-foot cable!), and we finished settling in. About half an hour later, we heard Mary Frances start up and went out to help them get off. They were very close to our boat, and I didn’t trust them. It turns out they finally went to the office and got someone to help them pump out, but they docked on the wrong side of their boat and had to spin around, so that the hose would reach, which was another spectacle. The woman on board threw me their stern line and said, “Don’t pull. Just tie it off.” With their boat drifting quickly toward the side of ours, I ignored her and pulled! Between the lady from the Visitor Center, Brenda, and I we got them tied off, and they got their pump-out. Fortunately, they were headed away from our boat, so when they left, we didn’t have to worry (unless he went into reverse instead of forward, I watched them closely).

Once the danger from Mary Frances was over, we walked into town to look around and have a docking beer. As we crossed the bridge, which is right above the lock, we saw Mary Frances going into the lock to head downstream. I hope they keep moving so that we don’t cross paths with them again!

We stopped at The Lockmaster’s Taphouse for a drink and a snack, and had a great view of the Canal Offices, the water tower, and Smiths Falls. We walked up the main street to get the lay of the land. On our previous visit, we were only here overnight, so we didn’t get a chance to check out much of the town. Then, we walked to the train museum to see if it was worth a visit. We arrived at 5:00, just as they were closing, and chatted with one of the volunteers. He told us about the collection, and we decided to return tomorrow.

We returned to downtown and went to Matty O’Shea’s Pub for dinner, then took the long way back to the boat along the north bank of the canal so that we could get a good picture of the Frog. We crossed the bridge to the south bank, where the marina was, and noticed a Dairy Queen, just up the street, so we went for dessert before returning to the boat for the night.

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Day 96 – Friday, August 1st, 2025 – In: Smiths Falls, ON

Friday morning, we woke to a temperature of 52°! It was one of the first mornings on the trip that we had to turn on the heat and wear sweaters! We needed to go to the post office to mail a few letters, so we walked into town, before heading to the Train Museum.

Next to our slip are the Le Boat docks and office. As mentioned, Le Boats are rentals that are accessible to almost anyone. They have a single diesel engine that drives a propeller. The propeller is enclosed in a basket to prevent it from being clogged with weeds and to protect it from damage caused by rocks hitting it. It also has bow and stern thrusters. Some are two bedrooms, and some are three. All feature a head, galley, and salon area. They have large open upper decks and both upper and lower driving positions. They max out at about 7-mph, so are fairly tame. Rentals range between 3 and 7 days. The entire boat is surrounded by two rows of thick, soft rubber bumpers, in addition to the standard fenders. Even with all of the protection, you still see big streaks of boat paint from where they have run into other boats. At our current slip, the service facility where they fuel up and pump out is right next door. Fortunately, the Le Boat staff are the ones pulling in and out, so there is very little risk of getting run into.

We walked over the lock and into town. There were a couple of boats going down. 26 feet may not sound like much, but it’s a big hole and tall doors all around you. We walked up Beckwith Street, the main street in town, past the Canal Offices, which are adjacent to one of the many dams and waterfalls in town. The building started in 1830 as a grist mill and has seen use as a grain mill and woolen mill. It was purchased in 1924 by Parks Canada.

As with many of the towns we’ve visited in Ontario, the residents take great pride in the appearance of the town. The streets are very clean, and most homes are well-kept with lovely gardens. The main streets are lined with hanging flower baskets, flower boxes, and flower beds. We marveled as in most US cities, flowers planted next to sidewalks would be trampled, and ridden over within hours! Also, there are many excellent murals lining the walls of alleys and very little graffiti.

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After we visited the Canada Post office, we walked to the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario. Located in an old train station, they have a nice collection of train artifacts and rolling stock from the major Canadian railroad companies, including Canadian Pacific, Canadian Northern, and Canadian National. Upon entering the museum grounds, you’ll find a preserved Canadian Northern Steam Locomotive. This ten-wheeler (4-6-0) was originally built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1912 as a coal-fired engine; it was then converted to oil in 1950, and retired in 1961. Unfortunately, it is no longer operational.

They also have four cabooses that have been restored. One, the yellow CP Rail is set up just as it would have been when it was taken out of service in 1990. They have drawers full of repair parts, scheduling paperwork, cookware, flashlights, lanterns, and clothing worn by the conductors still hanging in lockers. Also on board was Mike, a conductor who worked for Canadian Pacific and had worked in that caboose before it was retired. He was a wealth of knowledge!

The other three cabooses have been restored to match the era in which they were used, and are now Airbnbs where you can spend the night. During the day, they are open for a walk-through. There is a dining car that has been restored to its golden era splendor. They offer afternoon teas, and it can be rented for special occasions. It still has a fully working kitchen!

The other unique car is the Dental Car. The CNR Dental Car 15095 was built in 1913 for CNR as a heavyweight sleeping car outfitted with mahogany. This mahogany is still intact in the front and rear ends of the car. The car went through several name and number changes, including being called “Camrose”, after the town of Camrose, Alberta. The sleeping car could hold 26 passengers. It traveled more than a million miles over 40 years before it was retired from active passenger service in 1951.

In the 1930s, the Ontario government funded a program to provide dental care to children in remote Northern Ontario communities. Canadian Pacific donated two old passenger cars, and Canadian National donated one. These cars were then converted into mobile dental offices where dentists could live and work. The Dental Car on display features a restored waiting room, nurses’ sleeping quarters, nurses’ office, dark room, treatment room equipped with a full dental chair, the dentist’s bedroom, a bathroom with a tub, a spacious salon for relaxation, and a well-equipped kitchen.

Also on display are a CN Snow Plow, several box and passenger cars, and a collection of rail utility vehicles, including a hand cart (that you can ride), a Green Frog Trackmobile, and the pride of their collection, a 1947 Cadillac Limousine that has been converted to run on rails used by the President of Canadian Pacific Railroad NR “Buck” Crump and was used for transportation and rail inspection tours.

We walked around for about two hours looking at all of the exhibits. Most of the rolling stock is open to walk through. Our friend Captain Chris has a new YouTube channel, “Captain Chris and His Trains“. We have been taking videos of trains and railroad bridges on our trip for him. We put together a 30-minute tour of the museum for him; you can see it below.

After the Railroad Museum, we walked back to the boat, picked up our wagon, and walked to Walmart for a supply run. We were almost out of bottled water and needed a few other items. When we got back from Walmart, we unloaded the bikes and rode to the Lower Reach Park (where many of the Old Home Week activities are scheduled) to the Heritage House Museum. This is in a home built in the early 1861 by Joshua Bates, a businessman who established mills and a railroad in the area. The house was restored in 1977 to its circa 1865-1875 design and furnishings. Many of the artifacts on display are from that period and were donated by local residents.

One of the unique features of the house is that it is a mirror image, front and back, so that visitors had the same experience if they approached from the town side, for casual callers, or from the river and mill side, for business callers. See the photos below!

After the museum, we rode our bikes back into town, stopping to find candy for the Lockkeeper Goodie Bags that Brenda hands out to the staff as we pass through the locks. When we stopped at Walmart in the US, they had lots of choices for “Fun-Sized” individually wrapped candy. Resses, Hershey Bars, Lollipops, Kit-Kats. The two we stopped at in New York in July already had their Halloween Candy on display! In Canada, the selection of candy in stores is relatively small. There are very few smaller candy bars and individually wrapped candies, and no sign of Halloween at all. I’m not sure if it’s a health thing, a cultural thing, or a result of tariffs.

In the evening, we rode the bikes back into town to “The Vault,” a local farm-to-table restaurant. We had another excellent meal. We both opted for daily specials. Brenda had a shrimp and linguini in a Cajun cream sauce. I had the rolled chicken with marinara and provolone, which came with mashed potatoes that had nutmeg and lots of butter, and steamed mixed vegetables. These had cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and something potato-like, but translucent with a reddish tinge. They were delicious, and I guessed that they might be baby turnips or some heritage potato., I kidded with Brenda that they looked like cooked radishes, but they didn’t taste like it. We were sitting at a table right next to the open kitchen, and the chef kept chatting with us, so I asked her. She told us they were radishes! They peel and steam them with the other veggies. Delicious! For dessert, we had a very caramely pecan pie, with a crust like a butter tart.

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Day 97 – Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 – In: Smiths Falls, ON

Saturday was the first day of Old Home Week in Smiths Falls. Old Home Week has been held once every 25 years since 1925, making this its 100th Anniversary. We spent the morning working on our blog and boat-related tasks, while watching the boaters heading home to Quebec vying for space on the docks, walls, and at the pumpout. We hope that most of them have flushed downstream (pun intended) before we leave on Monday.

At 1:30, we walked into town to watch the parade, which was a true celebration of Smiths Falls and the surrounding towns. Everyone got into the act, from the Shriners and local car clubs to a pole dance school, mariachi band, and the local equestrian centers. Young and old, everyone had a great time, and the parade was very well attended.

After the parade, we headed to the Arts and Crafts Fair, one of the Old Home Week events, before returning to the boat to pick up our bikes for a ride to the park, where many activities were taking place. We were looking for the 40-foot giant walkthrough colon, but it won’t be there until tomorrow.

We decided to ride to the Smiths Falls Railroad Yard. It’s quite large and has the local train station, as well as an old railroad turntable. When we arrived, there was one switching locomotive idling in the yard. It kept starting up and stopping. We were expecting it to do some work, but it was just sitting there. We rode through the railroad underpass, a pedestrian walkway under the tracks, to the other side of the yard where the turntable was. It has deteriorated since the Google Maps photo, and is now an empty circular hole with a pond filled with ducks. You can still see the tracks radiating out from the circle through the weeds. It was getting toward dinner time, so we rode back under the tracks and into downtown to The Lockmasters Taphouse for dinner.

One of the landmarks in the park where we are docked is a World War II-era training plane. It’s right behind the boat. I’ve been meaning to take a photo of it, but since we’re always heading somewhere, I’ve missed it. So, on the way back, I stopped and got a picture.

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Recap of the week

We traveled 75 miles this week, bringing our total to 1,793 miles so far. We are taking our time on the Rideau Canal, one of our favorite areas on the Great Loop. We’ve done 17 locks and are about halfway through. We have visited some great small towns and participated in an Old Home Week celebration.

Next week, we will continue along the Rideau toward Ottawa with our plan to spend next weekend in the Ottawa area, before continuing down the Ottawa River to the Saint Lawrence River and Montreal.