Attractions on the Rideau Canal

Category: Arts and Heritage Types: Attractions, Historic Sites Region: Eastern Ontario Address: Kingston to Smiths Falls to Merrickville to Ottawa Phone: (613) 283-5170

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For an increasing number of people, the Rideau Canal has become an exciting historic waterway, carrying them through 202 km (126 miles) of mostly pastoral beauty. But a scenic waterway was far from the minds of the men who built it more than 165 years ago. The defence of British North America was the driving force that took them from what is today Canada's capital, Ottawa, through the wilderness to Lake Ontario. The canal was built between 1826 and 1832 by the British under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers. Today the 202 km canal is considered an engineering masterpiece. The chain of lakes and rivers, joined by manmade canals and locks, winds its way through diverse Canadian terrain including the solid rock of the Canadian Shield, marshland, and pastoral landscapes.

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