Murray Canal

The canal shortens the trip for boats wishing to access Lake Ontario from the central and western Bay of Quinte by avoiding having to go around the whole peninsula of Prince Edward County.

The canal was proposed as early as 1796 and land was set aside by the government of Upper Canada.

An unused railway bridge is kept permanently open but the former CN Rail tracks have since been removed with the creation of the Millennium Trail.

The canal saw many years of use with coal and other commercial boats, but after the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, the traffic declined.

Since then there has been a steady rise in recreational use and today the Murray Canal is used by boaters who visit the Trent–Severn Waterway.

In 1868 three routes were under consideration.
The Varuna transits the Canal, in 1910.