Discover the Locks
Did you know that Lockport is the only place in the country where you can see 19th Century Erie Canal Locks located alongside modern-day Locks, which are currently part of an actively operating canal system?
The Lockport community, with the support of the New York State Canal Corporation, is pursuing a strategy to rehabilitate Lockport’s famous “Flight of Five” Locks and return them to operating condition. Rehabilitation of Locks 69 & 70 was completed in 2014, and rehabilitation of Lock 68 was completed in 2019. The Flight of Five Locks now feature massive, wooden, manually-operated, gates and balance beams, just like they would have back in the 1800s.
Now is the perfect time to marvel at the before, during, and after stages of bringing this intact set of five circa 1862 locks, back to working order.
The Flight of Five Lock Tender Tour
Join us for our 2024 season!
Featuring a 45-minute narrated walking tour of the Historic Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks. Learn about the Erie Canal and the construction of the Lockport Locks
Hear about the men who labored to lock through over 1,000 boats a year. Marvel at life-size sculptures of our 19th Century Lockport Lock Tenders and visit the Locks District Museum.
Tours depart from the Erie Canal Discovery Center, Monday through Friday at 10 am and 12 noon, and on Saturday and Sunday at 10 am, from June 21 – September 15
Cost: $12 Adults $10 Senior Citizens, Veterans & AAA Members $8 Students between 9 and 21 Years of Age Free for Children 8 Years of Age and Under Accompanied by an AdultReservations may be made online at www.locksdistrict.com and clicking on the ‘Make Your Reservations for the Flight of Five Lock Tender Tour’ or by calling 716-349-7998.
Ask about our private tours for groups of up to 20 people. Reservations for private group tours must be made at least 10 days in advance. Day of the week and time of the private tour are flexible www.locksdistrict.com
Where else can you go in our nation to see re-watered, 19th Century Erie Canal Locks with massive, wooden manually-operated gates and balance beams located alongside a currently operating canal system? Only in Lockport! Now is the perfect time to marvel at the before, during, and after stages of bringing this intact set of five circa 1862 locks, the famed ‘Flight of Five’ Locks, back to working order.
The Lockport community, with the support of the New York State Canal Corporation, is pursuing a strategy to rehabilitate the Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks and return them to operating condition. Rehabilitation of Locks 69 & 70 was completed in 2014, and rehabilitation of Lock 68 was completed in 2019.
Locks 34 & 35
Locks 34 & 35 replaced the original double Flight of Five locks. These two locks together can accommodate two-way traffic at the same time. The upper Lock fills the lower Lock. When the water level is the same across both locks, boats can crisscross. One may think of the Locks as a big teeter-totter. As the upper side goes down, the lower side comes up and vice versa. In the 2021 season alone, there were over 2,000 boats that went through these two locks. Half of these boats were boats with the sole purpose of leisure and the other half were boats used for a tour and/or hire purposes.
Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises
Be elevated to the 49-foot top of the Niagara Escarpment in the only double-set locks on the Erie Canal. Enjoy being “locked through” every day from May to October on one of our many two-hour narrated, handicap-accessible tours.
210 Market Street | 716.433.6155
lockportlocks.com
The Lock Tenders Tribute
Lockport remembers and celebrates those who labored 12 hour days from April through November every year to enable boats to navigate through the Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks and deliver their freight to Buffalo and points west or east to New York City and subsequent final destinations including other continents. An 1897 photo of 12 Lockport Lock Tenders and a little girl has been hailed as a striking depiction, worthy of memorializing as the Lock Tenders Tribute Monument.
Erie Canal Discovery Center
Celebrate the opening of “Clinton’s Ditch” in 1825 with a visit to the Erie Canal Discovery Center. From the moment that you gaze at the 20’ x 13’ “Opening of the Erie Canal” mural by artist Raphael Beck, you know that your visit will provide you with an unparalleled experience of what it was like to be a 19th Century ‘canaller.' View “Gateways East & West,” a 15-minute movie about the building of the canal, the Flight of Five and the Deep Cut– the massive project at Lockport. Part-way through the movie, visitors board a “packet boat” for a simulated night-time ride up through one of the 1820s locks! Interactive displays let visitors try their hand at moving a boat through locks. After learning about the locks and canal, visitors can walk through the Locks District with a better understanding of what they are seeing, and a greater appreciation of the monumental engineering feat that took place in Lockport.
24 Church Street | 716.439.0431
https://niagarahistory.org/ECDC.html
Lockport Cave & Underground Boat Ride
A historic, fun, one-of-a-kind, 70-minute guided tour through America’s industrial past. Experience Erie Canal Locks 34 & 35, the Flight of Five, geologic cave formations, old mill ruins, and a 1,600-foot tunnel from a different perspective. Daily tours.
5 Gooding St. | 716.438.0174
lockportcave.com
Start Your Walking Tour Below!
Locks District Museum
The story told at the Locks District Museum is the use of stone and hand tools in the construction of the Erie Canal, compared to the use of concrete and mechanized equipment in the construction of the Erie Barge Canal.
The Locks District Museum is open seven days a week, from 8 am – 5pm during the canal season. There is no charge for admission.
Riley’s Way Walking Tour
Riley’s Way Walking Tour is a 16-stop self-guided walking tour of the area immediately adjacent to the Lockport Locks in the Locks District. The 16 canal-related signs are located at both street-level and canal-level sites, which offer tremendous views of the Erie Canal and surrounding attractions.