Second Welland Canal Locks 4

Locks Four To Thirteen

Located in St.Catharines, Ontario

Now that you have seen the first three locks, its time for a nice walk along the Merrit Trail and take in a long stretch of the Second Welland Canal that still remains intact. Most of the locks are in prestine condition with minimal vandalism. So without anymore delay, here is your tour for Locks 4 - 13

After viewing Lock Three, head back to the car, and turn on Westchester Avenue and when you reach the second set of lights, turn left on to Geneva Street (crossing over the 406). Turn left at the arena (Gale Crescent). At the four way stop, head straight on through. Once you start going around the bend you will see a park on your right hand side, this is where you are going, however you need a place to park. Follow Gale Crescent all the way until you come to a stop sign. This is Oakdale Avenue. Make a right and head down the hill. Near the bottom of the hill you will see a small parking lot on the right. Pull in here and this is the parking lot for Centennial Gardens. This is where our journey begins.

Lock Four -- Centennial Gardens

Head off in the direction that you basically came, as Lock Four lies at the back end of this park. Keep walking along the trail, go through the Totum Pole center piece and then you will notice the trail turns in to a fork. Take the left path down next to the water. As you walk along the path, you will see Lock 6 of the First Welland Canal at your left hand side. Keep walking and just before you come to the sewar gates, look down and you will see a pile of limestone rocks on both sides of the creek. This is where Lock Four was back in its time. Its hard to imagine what it was in its day, but trust me, after comparing with charts and maps, this is where is lies today.

Here are some pictures of Lock Four.

Lock Five -- Centennial Gardens

Now that have seen the ruins of Lock Four, its time to see Lock Five. Head back towards your car at the parking lot. As you come closer to the parking lot, keep following the trail. When you notice the trail head up towards the road, keep going straight, you will notice a dirt path. Keep following it in to the wooded area. You will soon notice the outer walls and a tunnel. Head down closer and you will see the tunnel is in fact Lock Five with the road built over top of it.

Here are some pictures of Lock Five

Lock Six -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

Now its time to cross over Westchester Avenue, if you have children please use the crosswalk at the traffic lights, and head down in to the next section of our tour. Take the path down to the right, marked Meritt Trail as this is the best way to view all the locks in succession without interruption. All the locks in this section are fenced off with a blue fence for your protection. Now I know you are asking how I managed to get so close, well for the interest of the site, sometimes you have to do crazy things to get the best pictures :) The first lock you will come to on this trail is Lock Six.

Here are some pictures of Lock Six

Lock Seven -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

After taking in Lock Six, its time to move on down the trail. Your next lock on the tour is Lock Seven.

Here are some pictures of Lock Seven

Lock Eight -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

Next up is Lock Eight. This is one of quite a few locks where there is a bridge spanning the lock so you can walk out over it and take it all in. The view is historically breathtaking. Try it and you will see.

Here are some pictures of Lock Eight

Lock Nine -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

Lock Nine is not that far away from Eight and once again my friends, there is a bridge to admire the sights from.

Here are some pictures of Lock Nine

Lock Ten -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

Moving right along, without further adieu you will come across Lock Ten, and yes it too has a bridge, however it is the last one on this tour that does.

Here are some pictures of Lock Ten

To give you an idea of the place, I have taken a short movie clip of the lock, click on it and enjoy

Lock Eleven -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

Next up on the tour is Lock Eleven. This one is near a residential neighbourhood so please be respectful of the people that live there.

Here are some pictures of Lock Eleven

This movie clip I took for the site, will show you the massive length of the lock.

Lock Twelve -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

Coming near the end of the hike, almost immediately after Lock Eleven you will come across a set of railway tracks. *Please Be Extra Careful!!!!!! These tracks are very much in use!* If you look down from this bridge you will see the raceway in to Lock Twelve and on the other side of the bridge you will see Lock Twelve itself. Now unfortunately I could not find a way in to this lock, so these are the best I could do!

Here are some pictures of Lock Twelve

Lock Thirteen -- Merrit Trail / Oakdale Avenue

Finally we arrive at the last lock on this section of the tour. This lock as been drastically shortened and turned in to a drain from the water flowing from Mountain Locks Park.

Here are some pictures of Lock Thirteen