The Rideau Canal
Discover how the Rideau Canal has been connecting communities along the Rideau Heritage Route for almost two centuries. Today, running over 202km (126mi), the canal is considered an engineering masterpiece. The chain of lakes and rivers is joined by manmade canals and locks and winds its way through diverse Canadian terrain including the solid rock of the Canadian Shield, marshland, and pastoral landscapes. It did become an important trade route with communities along its shore thriving due to its existence. In the 1850s, the advent of the railway reduced the amount of commerce on the canal, but steamboats and pleasure craft began to discover its beauty.
