Ottawa, Ontario to Montebello, Quebec

Back in 2019, we were incredibly lucky that the lock Master needed a boat under 28 ft to fit the space he had. This time we were even more incredibly lucky that we were the only boat on the blue line ready to lock down in contrast to previous weeks where boats were always waiting on the lower Blue Line wishing to lock up. With only us in tne lock it went very quickly since there was no waiting for other boats to get secured before entering the next chamber. That put us in the Ottawa river, which only runs a half mile North past the flight of 8 locks. Then it's about a hundred miles east to Montreal and the St Lawrence seaway . Previously we stayed at the luxurious Montebello Chateau marina, but now pricing has gone up to $7.50 per foot with a 30-foot minimum, so instead we stayed at the brand new docks at Montebello city marina for half the price. This is scenic vacation area and there are now low hills on each side of the Ottawa river. We walked village until Eileen found an ice cream shop that had soft serve ice cream. We’ll have two nights here before moving on. There are some nice walking trails in thick forests on the large Chateau property.

The last lock at Ottawa was Number 281 for us! We're getting better at it. Even on a small boat, Ear-Tec Ultimate headsets help with my bad hearing, and I don't want to wear $7,000 hearing aids over the water.Read more