Current Visitor Center Hours

The Visitor Center is currently closed for the season. It will reopen May 1, 2024.  

The park is currently open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

 

Soo Locks Visitor Center

People have been coming to Sault Sainte Marie since the 1850s to watch boats passing through the locks. By the 1880s a public park ran alongside the canal and lock with strolling paths, a fountain and places to sit and watch the boats passing.

In 1966, as the second Poe Lock neared completion a Visitor Center was constructed in the upper portion of Canal Park to serve visitors coming to watch the construction and the boats passing through. This center expanded in 1995 with the addition of more exhibit space. 

Open from May until the end of October every year, exhibits in the center help visitors learn more about how the locks work, the boats that pass through and the role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Great Lakes. 

Park Rangers post estimated boat schedules in the Visitor Center and maintain a ‘boat schedule hotline’ at 906-202-1333 while the Visitor Center is open.

Although the Visitor Center is open seasonally, the park is open year round at the below times:

Park Schedule Park Hours
June, July and August 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
May, September and October 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
November, December, January, February, March and April 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

 

 

 

Within the park an observation platform stands alongside the MacArthur Lock providing great views of boats in the locks. This platform features glassed in areas to protect visitors from inclement weather and a ramp allows access for wheelchairs and strollers.

Join us on the last Friday in June every year for Engineers Day - the one day each year the public is allowed to visit the lock grounds.

Boat Schedule Hotline

The Hotline is not updated during the winter season.

Park Rangers post estimated boat schedules in the Visitor Center and maintain a ‘boat schedule hotline’ at 906-202-1333 while the Visitor Center is open.

 

The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Visitor Center is currently closed for the season.