The Oswego Canal is the 3rd longest canal section in the New York State Canal System. Beginning at Three River Junction the Oswego Canal runs North following the Oswego River to Oswego, NY and finally Lake Ontario.
The navigation season for the Oswego Canal is the same as for the rest of the New York State Canal System: early May through November from 0700 to 2200 daily. However, prior to Memorial Day and after Labor Day these hours are typically restricted to 0700 to 1700 daily.
Canal Passes may be purchased at many locations, but for those in transit, passes are most easily obtained at the first and last locks O-1 and O-8.
You can complete and print or download for future use The NYSCS Recreational Vessel Pass Application here.
23.7 miles from Three River Junction to Lake Ontario
Red markers are kept to port north bound the entire length of the Oswego Canal.
NOAA Chart #14786, provides coverage of the Oswego Canal system.
The Oswego Canal Lock Chamber Waypoint’s in .PDF file format are available for your use. This is a zipped file of 12 KB.
Oswego Canal Waypoint’s - Download
There are 7 locks in the Oswego Canal. All Lock chambers are the same as the rest of the NYSCS; 328 feet long and 45 feet wide.
14 feet in the channel and 13 feet over the lock sills.
Minimum bridge clearance is 21 feet.
All lockmaster's maintain a watch on VHF channel 13.
Lakes-no speed limit, rivers - 45 mph, land cuts / rock cuts - 10mph, or as posted.
As a general guide, Three River Junction to Lake Ontario will require about 6 hours @ 10 knots.
The latest navigational information can be found at Canal System Notice to Mariners. Anyone planning to transit the canal system should check these notices for last minute information on closures and restrictions.
These tables can be downloaded for your personal and private use as a ZIP file. The files contain the schedules in Adobe (.pdf) file format. The Oswego distance tables contain tables both in NM’s and SM’s.
Oswego Canal |
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| * No Lock O-4 on the Oswego Canal / **Transit Time Includes Lockage Time | |||||||
| *Lock # | Elevation | Next Lock | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Lift | Southern End | Northern End | Distance | **Transit Time @ 10 kts | Lockmaster | |
| Erie Canal | Three River Junction | --- | --- | --- | O-1 / 2.29 SM / 2.0 NM | 00:14 | --- |
| O-1 | Phoenix, NY | 10.2’ |
363.0’ | 352.8’ | O-2 / 9.50 SM / 8.3 NM | 01:27 | 315-695-2281 |
| O-2 | Fulton, NY | 17.8’ |
352.8’ | 335.0’ | O-3 / 0.55 SM / 0.5 NM | 00:33 | 315-592-4155 |
| O-3 | Fulton, NY | 27.0’ |
335.0’ | 308.0’ | O-5 / 6.45 SM / 5.6 NM | 01:09 | 315-592-5349 |
| O-5 | Minetto, NY | 18.0’ |
308.0’ | 290.0’ | O-6 / 3.30 SM / 2.9 NM | 00:50 | 315-343-5232 |
| O-6 | Oswego, NY | 20.0’ |
290.0’ | 270.0’ | O-7 / 0.36 SM / 0.3 NM | 00:32 | 315-343-9001 |
| O-7 | Oswego, NY | 14.5’ |
270.0’ | 255.5’ | O-8 / 0.54 SM / 0.5 NM | 00:33 | 315-343-6304 |
| O-8 | Oswego, NY | 11.1’ |
255.5’ | 244.7’ | Lake Ontario / 1.20 SM / 1.0 NM | 00:37 | 315-343-0280 |
Oswego Canal Transit & Lock Schedule - Download
Oswego Canal Distance Table |
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| All Distances in Nautical Miles | |||||||||
| 3 River Jct. | O-1 | O-2 | O-3 | O-5 | O-6 | O-7 | O-8 | Oswego | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 River Jct. | 0.0 | 2.0 | 10.3 | 10.7 | 16.3 | 19.2 | 19.5 | 20.0 | 21.0 |
| O-1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 14.3 | 17.2 | 17.5 | 18.0 | 19.0 |
| O-2 | 10.25 | 8.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 6.1 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 9.7 | 10.8 |
| O-3 | 10.7 | 8.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5.6 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 9.3 | 10.3 |
| O-5 | 16.3 | 14.3 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.7 |
| O-6 | 19.2 | 17.2 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| O-7 | 19.5 | 17.5 | 9.3 | 8.8 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| O-8 | 20.0 | 18.0 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Oswego | 21.0 | 19.0 | 10.8 | 10.3 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 |