Very cool area run by the army corp of engineers- they offer free entry and you can watch ships go through the locks. There is a phone number on their website that you can call periodically to see if they have any scheduled ships coming through. The visitor center looks to have a scavenger hunt of type for the kids, so make sure to pick that up. There are some fun exhibits in here, some hands-on type activities. Also make sure to check out the small museum in the out building, it's not large, but there were some interesting pieces in there from a variety of ships and a gift shop read more

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Will check your bags for weapons or anything potentially bad. One large boat from Montreal Canada slowly made its way through. The other boys on the other side moved much slower. One out and another two Soo Lock tour boats headed out the other end. Cool to watch the lock gates open and close and watch the water line rise against the concrete wall. read more

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Great viewing deck that's sheltered from the elements. There are two levels to watch, which gave enough space so there wasn't crowding. There is a schedule in the visitors center that shows what came through, as well as what's coming up...ex: ship____at 2pm. It's definitely worth a stop and look. read more

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We love the locks. It's such a fascinating place and to watch all these huge ships come in is just quite amazing. This is definitely a thing to do when in this area. You just walk through the gates, they do have a bag check there, and go up to the observation deck. The welcome center has the arrival times of the boats for your convenience. They also have shopping across the street while you wait for the boats to arrive. We will keep coming to this place again and again. read more

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The canal is just fascinating. To think about the issues involved in making commerce happening from Lake Superior to Lake Erie is amazing. The technology isn't complicated here but it still is interesting. It's fun waiting on the ships to come and go. The facility does a nice job and presenting information and the ships schedules. The overlook is nice even in the wind and rain. Bring the family! read more

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This attraction is adjacent to a huge park, which shares its name. It also has a pretty cool Museum. In the museum you can see historic photos, check what time vessels are arriving at the Locks, learn how the locks work, and see interactive movies. All of this is free. There is plenty of metered street parking in the are and you have to go through a light security checkpoint before you can enter the park and go see the Locks. The park is very tranquil and calm. The Locks have a two level viewing stand that gives you an almost perfect view of vessels going through the Locks. Expect to be there a while though. It takes a bit of time for the vessels to go through the Locks. My vessel was scheduled to come through at 815 and I ended up leaving before it was completely through at 930. The engineering of the Locks is a marvel. It is amazing how they work. Watching vessels go through the Locks is something you should see at least once, but is not very breathtaking. read more

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This review is a bit unfair since a lot of the main items (museum, another building, and the observation building) were closed due to covid. We walked around a nice park and checked out the locks. There are some anchors and propellers on display and you can see the locks fill and discharge if you get there at the right time and stand at the bottom. If I return, I will try the boat tours that take you through the locks because the view from just walking around is limited. Parking is metered, but inexpensive. When you are done, get some food and souvenirs across the street. read more

The Soo Locks and Canal - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

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FREE ADMISSION! Not just a historical site, but an active, working facility that you can actually watch from a two-story observation deck. There's significant construction in progress to replace Locks 3 and 4 with a super-lock around 2027. Highly recommend a boat tour that takes you through the locks. See my review of Original Soo Locks Boat Tours. read more

We drove all the way up north to Sault Ste. Marie to check out Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks) which are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. They bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls 21 feet. We got lucky since when we were there, two tour boats came by so we were able to witness how the locks worked. After that we stopped by the visitor center where there was a ton of information and interesting facts about the history of Soo Locks. I would recommend visiting this place if you happen to be in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. read more

The Soo Locks and Canal - Soo Locks Visitor Center. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

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We were doing a lake Michigan circle tour drive and just on a dime decided to go up north to the border and I learned about the Soo locks, very interesting history and cute little town! The COVIDness of the time shut down the viewing area and there were not any ships going through the time we were there, but we got the idea about how things worked from reading the educational signs and walking around the area. Nice little park to sit and have lunch as well. Definitely worth a diversion up north if you are in the area. read more

Very interesting. The day we went we seen two of the largest ships come into the locks. read more

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Cool area if you can catch a boat going through the locks! Make sure you don't have a pocket knife on you they will make you take it Bach to your car. read more

Pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the process of one end of the canal water going down while the other end of the canal water going up. It doesn't seem at first glance that it would be interesting, but I found it FASCINATING how quickly the whole process was completed. I had taken pictures of the process, but a video would have been more effective. LOL. If you are here and want to make a pit stop to watch or go into the visitor center, it's well worth it. The only con is I'm a short person and getting a spot in the front in the ultimate viewing area is VERY difficult. If you can get that, it's worth the time. Then you can walk to many choices for coffee, fudge, restaurants, breweries, and winery. This is a VERY walkable area. read more

The Soo Locks and Canal - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Very cool and informative. You can watch the large ships be lifted in the water "elevator" as they pass through the locks. Learning about this necessary but often overlooked task brought a lot into perspective. read more

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Very cool. Plenty of metered parking around the park. However I showed up after six so parking was free. Entrance to the park and viewing platform is free. When I got there they had just lowered a large freighter and was able to see as it exited the lock from West to east. To the east there was another freighter waiting. The second freighter entered the lock (things don't happen very fast) and we saw it being raised. The whole thing took a little over an hour. read more

The Soo Locks and Canal - American Spirit entering the lock - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

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Our family loves the Soo Locks!! It's such a beautiful park, very well-kept. I appreciate how there are always improvements from year to year, as we visit every year! The museum is one we always go to and the volunteers are so knowledgeable and have a passion for history. The visitors center is very informational and they do a great job at updating the schedule hotline for freighters. Do yourself a favor and take the Soo Locks Boat Tour! You get to experience the locks first hand and it's so fun!!!! read more

The Soo Locks are easy to see and you are right up close. They have a great multi-level platform for viewing a visitor center and it's fairly easy to get in and out through security. One of the largest boats was going through when we were there. Amazing how much commerce goes through the Locks in a year. There is a tour if you want to whole shebang. Downtown area in Sault Ste Marie is nice for walking and small shops. read more

The first time I saw the Soo Locks I was probably in elementary school and we came up here on a trip with my parents, probably about the time the Mackinac Bridge was built. It was a memorable vacation. I left for college in California in 1966 and in 1969 I came back with my Los Angeles area roommate and we drove up here so I could show her how beautiful Michigan is. We went all the way up to Canada so I saw the Soo Locks again that trip. I didn't see them again until 2007 when I came back for a high school reunion in Livonia and took a trip around Michigan in a rental car which took me all the way up to Canada again. I enjoyed the trip so much that when I came back in 2011 and 2016 I have made similar trips taking different routes but always stopping by the Locks. The last couple of trips have been in October when it's been quite chilly and rainy but the Locks are fascinating to watch any time of the year. I highly recommend including them in any trip you make to Michigan. Even if you only intended to go as far as the Mackinac Bridge it's only a couple more hours to come up to the locks. If you have time to take an alternate route instead of the freeway some of the roads surrounding the area are beautiful as well. I always make sure I stop by Tahquamenon Falls on the way back also. read more

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Short sweet and to the point awesome trip very good crew on board that gave us a ton of great info and the trip was everything we could want but 1 thing. They don't take credit card so we had a couple small purchases on the boat would have spent more but couldn't cause of this. Even though the bummer of credit cards not being able to be used on the boat still some decent deals in both gift shops. I got a coat and my wife and daughter got hoodies good thing the stores took credit card. read more