Soo Locks

See the “Linchpin of the Great Lakes” in northern Michigan.

Soo Locks are also known as the “Linchpin of the Great Lakes” by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. This is an engineering marvel with its origins dating back to the mid-1800s. It is estimated that 500,000 people visit these iconic locks connecting Lakes Superior and Huron annually. Thanks to the Soo Locks, freighters over 1,000 feet in length can traverse freely along the St. Marys River from Duluth, Minnesota, to the Atlantic Ocean. Roughly 7,000 vessels pass through the Locks on an average year, hauling nearly 86 million tons of cargo. Watch how freighters, barges, tugboats, and other vessels are lifted and lowered between Superior and Huron, two of the Great Lakes.

The Soo Locks are 100% gravity-fed, and the bedrock of the locks is 1,000 feet thick. Most ships utilize the Poe Lock (1,200 feet), where larger and more modern ships often go through. The MacArthur Lock (800 feet), constructed in 1943, is still in operation and is the lock closest to Sault Ste. Marie, where you can stand on the observation deck in the Soo Locks Park. The Davis and Sabin Locks were built in 1914 and 1919, respectively, but Sabin was decommissioned in 2010. If you're driving through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, you won't want to miss out on the Soo Locks.