Great question! When they originally were building those locks (1831), they decided to extend the walls of Lock 1 higher to be the same level as Lock 2, to help protect the locks from getting damaged if there were extremely high water levels in the Ottawa River below. So does that mean that Lock 2 has been completely useless from the start? I believe the answer is no. Even though it had higher walls, I don't think Lock 1 was designed to handle double the lift of all the other locks in that flight. Originally boats would have been lifted down to the bottom of Lock 2 before entering Lock 1. But why are they able to bypass Lock 2 today? For one thing, the water level in the Ottawa River is higher there today than it was in 1831 because of a Dam that was placed downstream. I also believe it's likely that upgrades have been made to this lock over the last 190 years which make that possible. Having 1 less lock certainly saves time.
Your video series on the waterway has been excellent. Most of us, before attempting such a trip do our research and planning. Anyone coming across these videos will find an excellent source of information whereby they can familiarise themselves with what to expect, how to prepare, and so on. If they do nothing other than follow your lead, and stop where you stopped, they will be in for a wonderful experience. You've done your fellow canoeists a great service. By way of information I might add that for those of us that are old school, a complete set of nautical charts is available online through Parks Canada. Charts can also often be obtained at each lock station. Once again, well done!
Thanks! Another fantastic resource is the Watson's Paddling Guide to the Rideau Canal. It's extremely detailed and while I personally didn't use it to plan my trip, I'm sure it has helped many people navigate this route.
Couldn't agree more Chris! A great service indeed. Well done CJ. I plan on using your Grand River trip as the template for my own trip down the Grand later this month. Nicely done and a hearty thank you.
What an amazing adventure and set of videos. Every week I looked forward to the release of the next one. This from an Ottawa guy who, thanks to you, now has this route definitely in sight for next summer. You hit a lot of places I recently paddled to and also really enjoyed: Perth, Kemptville Creek, Rideau Provincial Park, Manotick, Hogs Back, the downtown canal, Dow's Lake, Patterson Creek (squeezed through the narrows :-), all the way to the Rockcliffe Marina on the Ottawa River. I enjoyed your tours of the towns, the history, the wildlife, all those points of interest, the detours, the stops for eats, and of course the overnight oats recipe. The format of your narrated videos makes your viewers feel like you've taken them along on the trip. Thanks!
I’ve really enjoyed this series of videos. Having done a few 1, 2, and 3-day trips on the Rideau, it’s been helpful to see the mechanics of a longer voyage. Thanks, congratulations, and looking forward to your “behind the scenes” video!
My wife and I are going to do a Canal canoe trip for her 50th birthday. Thanks for all the tips. This year for my 50th we are hiking the Rideau trail from Kingston to Ottawa, 327kms. Can't wait!!
Would you consider bringing a folding bike on a trip like this, for touring around the towns? Or would that be too much extra hassle for what it's worth?
This was an epic trip CJ I loved every day of it Canada sure is beautiful I subscribed to your channel after you did the collab with Johnny on the Toronto islands so thank you for showing me some of Canada I hadn't seen yet much appreciation from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺🇨🇦
Thanks Ken! I had actually been considering doing some cycling in Ottawa on the 2nd last day of my trip. Unfortunately Ottawa no longer has a bike share, which makes renting a bike far more of a bother than was worth it. I'll be back another time to bike that trail!
Sure, I'll watch one episode I thought ... Now here I am having watched all of them and waiting impatiently for each new one to go up on UA-cam! Looking forward to the behind the scenes episode. Great job on a long trip! I've paddled shorter trips on the Rideau and it really is a fun mix of nature and small towns.
I bet the Jeopardy contestants would've wanted to see your video prior to being unable to answer the Ottawa clue on the show! The beginning of this day was so peaceful, with the beautiful reflections on the water. I enjoyed seeing the video work of your camera crew/support team. You're very lucky that they're able to support you on your adventures.
Man. You started basically exactly where I grew up. Friends of mine once showed up to my highschool (Lisgar, which you would have passed on your left near the locks downtown) having paddled to school. They locked their canoe to the bike racks. Thanks for the vid.
@@cjhoyle I think some people did! But what I remember most vividly was the time my entire grade 9 gym class was told to go out and skate on the canal when it was closed 'cause of a January thaw -- the ice was buckling under our skates!
absolutely fantastic video..!! big thank you. this is the video i needed to see to give me all the info i needed...:) i'm planning my first kayak trip from ottawa locks to hartwells locks (and camp there) with my old town sportsman 106 mk. i don't adventure out, too much, so this will be a big step for me. take care and be safe on the water, to all....lol ps...i already bought my 2023 season locks pass..:)
Just watched all your rideau trip! Hope I can do the full tour in 2022. At the beginning of September 2020, I tried doing it half, from Perth to Ottawa. But having bad weather, including one night close to freezing, I gave up after a long day trying to do the long reach in a single day.
Hey CJ great adventure that you took us on. I know that you have a tradition that you usually take a swim on your biking vacations... you spent all your time over the water was there any shoreline with swimming areas that you passed. Thanks
Thanks! The only swim that I took on this trip was from the dock of Colonel By Island on Day 3. Typically the areas close to the lockstations weren't very appealing for swimming, though I probably could have found some better spots if I was willing to paddle a bit. Canoeing is a very different type of workout from biking and by the end of most days I wasn't itching for a swim the way that I do on my bike on a hot day.
What a great trip Christopher! I really enjoyed your video series about it! I think that would be fun to try a canoe trip along a canal sometime in the future! Any ideas on where your next canoe trip might be?
Great trip CJ, so why were the last two steps of the lock flight at the same level?
Great question! When they originally were building those locks (1831), they decided to extend the walls of Lock 1 higher to be the same level as Lock 2, to help protect the locks from getting damaged if there were extremely high water levels in the Ottawa River below. So does that mean that Lock 2 has been completely useless from the start? I believe the answer is no. Even though it had higher walls, I don't think Lock 1 was designed to handle double the lift of all the other locks in that flight. Originally boats would have been lifted down to the bottom of Lock 2 before entering Lock 1. But why are they able to bypass Lock 2 today? For one thing, the water level in the Ottawa River is higher there today than it was in 1831 because of a Dam that was placed downstream. I also believe it's likely that upgrades have been made to this lock over the last 190 years which make that possible. Having 1 less lock certainly saves time.
Excellent series! It was a lot of fun to see Eastern Ontario from this perspective!
Thank you! It's definitely a unique way to travel from town to town.
Your video series on the waterway has been excellent. Most of us, before attempting such a trip do our research and planning. Anyone coming across these videos will find an excellent source of information whereby they can familiarise themselves with what to expect, how to prepare, and so on. If they do nothing other than follow your lead, and stop where you stopped, they will be in for a wonderful experience. You've done your fellow canoeists a great service. By way of information I might add that for those of us that are old school, a complete set of nautical charts is available online through Parks Canada. Charts can also often be obtained at each lock station. Once again, well done!
Thanks! Another fantastic resource is the Watson's Paddling Guide to the Rideau Canal. It's extremely detailed and while I personally didn't use it to plan my trip, I'm sure it has helped many people navigate this route.
Couldn't agree more Chris! A great service indeed. Well done CJ. I plan on using your Grand River trip as the template for my own trip down the Grand later this month. Nicely done and a hearty thank you.
Great series of videos CJ. I watched from start to finish and loved it all. Thank you!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed coming along for the whole adventure!
What an amazing adventure and set of videos. Every week I looked forward to the release of the next one. This from an Ottawa guy who, thanks to you, now has this route definitely in sight for next summer. You hit a lot of places I recently paddled to and also really enjoyed: Perth, Kemptville Creek, Rideau Provincial Park, Manotick, Hogs Back, the downtown canal, Dow's Lake, Patterson Creek (squeezed through the narrows :-), all the way to the Rockcliffe Marina on the Ottawa River.
I enjoyed your tours of the towns, the history, the wildlife, all those points of interest, the detours, the stops for eats, and of course the overnight oats recipe. The format of your narrated videos makes your viewers feel like you've taken them along on the trip. Thanks!
Thank you, I really appreciate the kind words! I'm glad you enjoying coming along for the adventure.
Well done, what a great trip.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Great series. I really enjoyed it. Sad to see it end.
Thanks. The end of a trip is always a bit sad, but it motivates me to go on other interesting adventures in the future!
great series Chris, fun to watch, very inspiring, thanks for posting
I’ve really enjoyed this series of videos. Having done a few 1, 2, and 3-day trips on the Rideau, it’s been helpful to see the mechanics of a longer voyage. Thanks, congratulations, and looking forward to your “behind the scenes” video!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
My wife and I are going to do a Canal canoe trip for her 50th birthday. Thanks for all the tips. This year for my 50th we are hiking the Rideau trail from Kingston to Ottawa, 327kms. Can't wait!!
Awesome, sounds like a fun trip!
Awesome trip! I never would have thought of doing this, but now it's definitely on the to-do list. Thanks for the documentary!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it. I definitely recommend this trip.
Would you consider bringing a folding bike on a trip like this, for touring around the towns? Or would that be too much extra hassle for what it's worth?
Loved the whole series! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks, I appreciate it! The whole series wouldn't have been possible without my support team.
This was an epic trip CJ I loved every day of it Canada sure is beautiful I subscribed to your channel after you did the collab with Johnny on the Toronto islands so thank you for showing me some of Canada I hadn't seen yet much appreciation from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺🇨🇦
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed coming along for this adventure! I visited Melbourne back in 2007.
Another great adventure that I enjoyed following the whole way. Look forward to the next one!
Thanks for coming along on the adventure!
Congratulations on completing your adventure and thanks for bringing us along for the ride!
No problem, thanks for coming!
Another great series, thanks.
Thanks Tom, glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic trip. Informative and fun to watch
Thanks for coming along for the journey!
I've cycled that section many times. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Ken! I had actually been considering doing some cycling in Ottawa on the 2nd last day of my trip. Unfortunately Ottawa no longer has a bike share, which makes renting a bike far more of a bother than was worth it. I'll be back another time to bike that trail!
Great trip report CJ. The video in the area that becomes ice skating rink is so much quieter when shot from your canoe. Really enjoyable.
Thanks! haha yes it is indeed. The loud sound from that ice cart I built was it's main flaw.
Sure, I'll watch one episode I thought ... Now here I am having watched all of them and waiting impatiently for each new one to go up on UA-cam! Looking forward to the behind the scenes episode.
Great job on a long trip! I've paddled shorter trips on the Rideau and it really is a fun mix of nature and small towns.
hahaha I'm glad that only 1 episode wasn't enough. Thanks! The Rideau has a really nice mix of a lot of things I like.
Really enjoyed this series of videos!!
Thanks, I'm glad it was enjoyable!
I bet the Jeopardy contestants would've wanted to see your video prior to being unable to answer the Ottawa clue on the show! The beginning of this day was so peaceful, with the beautiful reflections on the water. I enjoyed seeing the video work of your camera crew/support team. You're very lucky that they're able to support you on your adventures.
hahaha that was pretty embarrassing. You're absolutely right, I'm extremely lucky!
Man. You started basically exactly where I grew up. Friends of mine once showed up to my highschool (Lisgar, which you would have passed on your left near the locks downtown) having paddled to school. They locked their canoe to the bike racks.
Thanks for the vid.
Wow, that's a really neat way to travel to school! Did people at your high school skate to school in the winter?
@@cjhoyle I think some people did! But what I remember most vividly was the time my entire grade 9 gym class was told to go out and skate on the canal when it was closed 'cause of a January thaw -- the ice was buckling under our skates!
Fantastic trip CJ!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
absolutely fantastic video..!! big thank you. this is the video i needed to see to give me all the info i needed...:) i'm planning my first kayak trip from ottawa locks to hartwells locks (and camp there) with my old town sportsman 106 mk. i don't adventure out, too much, so this will be a big step for me. take care and be safe on the water, to all....lol ps...i already bought my 2023 season locks pass..:)
Awesome, I'm glad the video was helpful. Hope you enjoy your trip!
You seem to have had a great trip. I watched your skating videos in Ottawa.
Thanks! It was a very enjoyable trip. I got really lucky with the weather too.
Just watched all your rideau trip! Hope I can do the full tour in 2022. At the beginning of September 2020, I tried doing it half, from Perth to Ottawa. But having bad weather, including one night close to freezing, I gave up after a long day trying to do the long reach in a single day.
Awesome! For a trip like that, weather plays a pretty big role (especially the wind). Best of luck in completing the journey in 2022!
Better footage of the Rideau River and Canal than TVO's, "Tripping the Rideau"
Hey CJ great adventure that you took us on. I know that you have a tradition that you usually take a swim on your biking vacations... you spent all your time over the water was there any shoreline with swimming areas that you passed. Thanks
Thanks! The only swim that I took on this trip was from the dock of Colonel By Island on Day 3. Typically the areas close to the lockstations weren't very appealing for swimming, though I probably could have found some better spots if I was willing to paddle a bit. Canoeing is a very different type of workout from biking and by the end of most days I wasn't itching for a swim the way that I do on my bike on a hot day.
What a great trip Christopher! I really enjoyed your video series about it! I think that would be fun to try a canoe trip along a canal sometime in the future! Any ideas on where your next canoe trip might be?
Thanks Josie, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I have a few ideas, but I really haven't decided yet.
@@cjhoyle Well I'm looking forward to your future canoe trip videos, where ever you go!
Wow Cool, just finished the videos you should do I journey to Montreal.
Ottawa to Montreal on the Ottawa River? Maybe one day.