The American Lakes to Locks Passage and the corresponding Canadian is a scenic byway in northeastern New York in the United States and in southern

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in Canada. The byway unifies the interconnected

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

of the upper

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, Champlain Canal, Lake George, and

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; french: Lac Champlain) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the US states of New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The New York portion of t ...

; this waterway is the core of North America's first "super-highway" between

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

and the Canadian province of Quebec. The initiatives of the Lakes to Locks Passage aim to unify the byway corridor as a single destination. The US portion of the passage is a New York State Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway, and an

All-American Road A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by C ...

. The Canadian portion is a tourist route by the Quebec Ministry of Tourism.

Route description

The byway extends from just north of Albany to the vicinity of the Canada–US border at Rouses Point as a highway and as a waterway. The waterway route continues north into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to connect with the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. The distinctive influence of French, English and Dutch settlers is still evident today in the communities along the rivers, waterfalls and lakeshore harbors. A series of 32 Waypoint Communities have been designated to "meet and greet" the Lakes to Locks Passage visitor. Community museums and attractions serve as Lakes to Locks Passage Heritage Centers. Nearly every community has a driving, biking or walking tour.

Highway

Lakes to Locks Passage northern terminus US11 north terminus US2 west terminus

The Lakes to Locks Passage route extends from the junction of U.S. Route 4 (US 4) and

New York State Route 32 New York State Route 32 (NY 32) is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with f ...

(NY 32) in Waterford, located north of Albany, to the intersection of US 11 and NY 9B in Rouses Point, a village adjacent to the Canada–US border. * US 4 from Waterford (mi. 14.33) to

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

(mi. 73.19) *

NY 22 New York State Route 22 (NY 22) is a north–south state highway that parallels the eastern border of the U.S. state of New York, from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers (CDP), New York, Mooers in Clinton County, ...

from Whitehall (mi. 218.2) to Keeseville (mi. 298.82) * US 9 from Keeseville (mi. 288.79) to Chazy (mi. 320.08) * NY 9B from Chazy (mi. 0.0) to Rouses Point (mi. 5.7) The route also contains lakeside roads both on Point Au Roche and

Cumberland Head Cumberland Head is a census-designated place and region of the town of Plattsburgh in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 1,627 at the 2010 census. Cumberland Head is a peninsula projecting into Lake Champlain, and includ ...

, featured as "Scenic Byways." A border crossing between Rouses Point, New York, and Lacolle, Quebec, is operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Canada Border Services Agency respectively, allowing traffic to continue between the Lakes to Locks Passage and the . From Lacolle the continues north to the village of Lacolle, then turns east along Route 202. It then branches along both banks of the Richelieu river until reaching its mouth in Sorel-Tracy. Rond-point devant la Mairie de Chambly (Québec), Canada

Rond-point devant la Mairie de Chambly (Québec), Canada

* The western branch follows the west bank of the Richelieu north through Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

, Chambly,

Saint-Basile-le-Grand Saint-Basile-le-Grand is a city located in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The population as of the 2011 Canadian Census was 16,736. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted ...

, McMasterville, Beloeil,

Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain ...

, Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu and the Tracy part of Sorel-Tracy. This branch mostly follows Route 223, with deviations through the historical centres of Vieux-Saint-Jean and Chambly. * The eastern branch crosses the Jean-Jacques-Bertrand Bridge then follows Routes 225 and 133 through Henryville, Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, the town of Richelieu, Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, Otterburn Park,

Mont-Saint-Hilaire Mont-Saint-Hilaire () is an off-island suburb of Montreal in southeastern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 18,200. The cit ...

Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champla ...

Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in the southwestern part of Quebec, Canada on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 2,285. History In 1694, ...

, Saint-Ours and Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel. Most of the eastern branch coincides with the , named for the Richelieu valley's role during the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...

of 1837–38. Bridges crossing the Richelieu in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, between Chambly and Richelieu, and between Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire, allow tourists to drive between branches. Both branches meet again at the northern terminus, at the Sorel‑Tracy Heritage Interpretation Centre on the bank of the Saint Lawrence River.

Waterway

The waterway route extends from the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

(

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk f ...

) at Cohoes, north of Albany and southwest of Waterford, to the

Sorel-Tracy, Quebec Sorel-Tracy (; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, downstr ...

, northeast of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec. This waterway was North America's first inter-connected waterway that shaped the nation-building activities of the United States and Canada. It provides access to over of diverse historic, natural, cultural and recreational sites along the Champlain Canal, upper

, Lake George, and

in New York, and the

Chambly Canal The Chambly Canal is a National Historic Site of Canada in the Province of Quebec, running along the Richelieu River past Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Carignan, and Chambly. Building commenced in 1831 and the canal opened in 1843. It served as a maj ...

and

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kn ...

in Quebec. * Champlain Canal from Cohoes to Whitehall. The canal has 11

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, numbered 1 to 12 (there is no lock 10). * Lake Champlain and Richelieu River from Whitehall, New York, to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec * Chambly Canal, bypassing rapids on the Richelieu River from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to Chambly, with 9 locks * Richelieu River from Chambly to Sorel-Tracy

Notable attractions

Quebec along

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortificat ...

, Chambly *

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Liberal ...

museum, Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois *

Fort Lennox Fort Lennox is a National Historic Sites of Canada occupying most of Île aux Noix, an island in the middle of the Richelieu River in the parish of Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, Quebec, near the Canada-U.S. border. The fort features restored ...

, Saint-Paul-de-l'île-aux-noix *

between Chambly and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu * Maison des Gouverneurs, Sorel-Tracy * Gault Nature Reserve, on

Mont Saint-Hilaire Mont Saint-Hilaire (English: Mount Saint-Hilaire; abe, Wigwômadenizibo; see for other names) is an isolated hill, high, in the Montérégie region of southern Quebec. It is about thirty kilometres east of Montreal, and immediately east of the ...

New York State along Lakes to Locks Passage

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

* North Star Underground Railroad Museum *

Ausable Chasm Ausable Chasm is a sandstone gorge and tourist attraction located near the hamlet of Keeseville, New York, United States. It is directly due west of Port Kent. The Ausable River runs through it and then empties into Lake Champlain. The gorge ...

History

In 1992 the State of New York designated the Champlain Trail as a New York State Scenic Byway, recognizing the roadway's access to the scenic, historic, cultural, natural and recreational qualities of Lake Champlain and the communities that line its shores. In January 2000, the New York communities in Clinton,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

counties that surround Lake Champlain completed a Corridor Management Plan (CMP) for the Champlain Trail as part of a plan for Lake Champlain Byways, a partnership with communities in the State of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. Also in early 2000, communities along the Champlain Canal in New York completed a CMP for the Champlain Canal Byway. In May 2000, the New York State Scenic Byways Advisory Board (NYSSBAB) recognized the strong grass-roots planning process and adopted the two plans. In that the NYSSBAB provides statewide coordination of the NYS Byway program, they passed a resolution to recommend the merger of the Champlain Canal Byway and the Champlain Trail to form one management organization for a single Byway. The Lakes to Locks Passage was recognized as an

by the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States a ...

in 2002 for the byway's historic and recreational assets. As an All-American Road, Lakes to Locks Passage is one of a select group of roadways in the country that the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

promotes as a "premier destination" in their marketing efforts for national and international tourism. The byway is managed by Lakes to Locks Passage, Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to building the appreciation, recognition, stewardship and revitalization of the natural, cultural, recreational and historic assets of the communities along the interconnected waterway of the upper Hudson River, Champlain Canal, Lake George, and Lake Champlain. At the 2005 Quebec-New York Economic Summit, Lakes to Locks Passage Inc. and the Regional Conference of Elected Officers (CRÉ) of the Montérégie-Est region sign a memorandum of understanding to "jointly promote the region and to develop suggested routes for travelers to follow in the Quebec-New York Corridor region." On the Quebec side, a project for a tourist route along the Richelieu had been discussed since the mid-1990s. The was announced by the CRÉ in March 2010, after getting approval from the Quebec Ministry of Tourism for the touristic route in 2009. The CRE and Tourisme Montérégie officially inaugurated the route in July 2012.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Lakes to Locks U.S.-Canadian official website

La Route du Richelieu official website
All-American Roads Canals in New York (state) U.S. Route 4 Canals in Quebec U.S. Route 9 Roads in Montérégie