A three-kilometre bridge connects Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Its iconic steel arches are best observed from the canal’s national historic site. Managed by Parks Canada, you can walk around on the three islands, or rent a fat bike for $10 an hour to explore White Fish Island Reserve.
Park office 
Canal 
Boardwalk 
International bridge
The canal was completed in 1895 to finish the final link in the St. Lawrence River’s navigation system that connects the open oceans the the Great Lakes. The system is entirely Canadian with this particular canal being the world’s longest lock at the time it was built. It was also the world’s first canal to use electric power with the electricity being generated on site.
Parkland 
Parkland 
Parkland 
The rapids
It was closed twice due to lock failures, once in 1909 and once in 1987. Since 1998, it’s been retired from commercial use and only been used for recreational voyages.
An emergency swing bridge dam was installed in 1896 by the Dominion Bridge Company of Montreal and modelled after the dam on the American Sault Canal. Made entirely of steel, 23 wickets can be lowered one by one into the canal to slow water flow in case a lock failed. The design was so successful it was used in other canals such as the Panama Canal, but it is the last emergency dam of its type left in the world.
Emergency swing bridge dam 
Emergency swing bridge dam
The lock failure in 1909 was caused by a ship ramming the lower gates tearing out the main gates as well. The ship and another that was already in the lock ripped up the floor of the lock with their anchors. The emergency dam was set in place in just a few hours and the lock was repaired. The canal reopened in just 12 days.
