Lachine Canal

The Lachine Canal runs through the west side of Montreal, and has locks where they raise and lower the water level. It runs out into the Lac Saint-Louis. In the past, the guy at the bike shop told us, this was the busiest industrial area in Canada. Today, however, many of the old industrial buildings have been converted to apartments, and the canal area has been converted to parkland with bike paths. There were many geocaches along the route, so we decided to spend a day riding out along the canal.

Most of the canal looks more or less like this.


There were a number of powerboats, but also quite a few paddlers like this one.


We got caught in a thunderstorm and hid out under this bridge with quite a number of other cyclists.


While sitting under the bridge waiting for the rain to stop, I felt something hit me on the back of the neck. I reached up, pulled it off, and tossed it on the ground. It turned out to be this odd creature.


There was a geocache under this cute little caboose, but we couldn't find it.


At the end of the canal was a lovely park called Parc Rene-Levesque. There were sculptures in the park.


We rode all the way out to the end and watched the sun setting over the lake.



We also saw this cute little woodpecker pecking a tree.


We took the long way back, along the river. We got a chance to see the Parc des Rapides, a spot on the river where the current is strong enough to make waves. People surf and play in boats there.


All in all, 20 miles and nine geocaches. A very nice way to tour the city!

Last updated: 08/12/2009 by Eric and Beth Zuckerman