2006 Ottawa Magical Mystery Tour

Sweeney House      At The Campground      Ferries Home

The Jones Falls Locks are a scenic high point on the Rideau Canal, a waterway that stretches from the St Lawrence seaway to the Ottawa River. The canal was originally built as vital national defense infrastructure in the early nineteenth century. It is now a retreat for pleasure boaters who can spend several days traversing its entire length. At nearly 60' elevation change, the four locks at Jones Falls are the tallest on the canal and take an hour to traverse between Whitefish Lake and Sand Lake. The gates are still all operated manually.

It was only after my visit that I discovered I missed (as many people do, according to one web site) the dam that was constructed across the natural egress of Sand Lake to facilitate the rerouting of the flow through a gully where the locks were built.

The final couple of pictures are from a "swing bridge" crossing of the Rideau a few minutes after leaving Jones Falls.