Docks & Boat Lifts on the Rideau River
From Smiths Falls to Manotick, your dock sits beside a working canal.
Living on the Rideau River means sharing your waterfront with a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From Smiths Falls through Merrickville, Kemptville and Manotick toward Ottawa, the river is the Rideau Canal's navigation channel, and it carries boat traffic all summer.
That brings two things to plan around: passing wakes, and water levels that Parks Canada manages differently on each stretch of the river.
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River Communities We Serve
- Smiths Falls and Merrickville
- Burritts Rapids and Kemptville
- Manotick and North Gower
- Riverside properties along the Rideau toward Ottawa
Living Beside a Navigation Channel
On a busy summer weekend, boats pass your dock all day, and their wakes keep coming after they are out of sight. Two things help most.
Lift the boat. A FLOE vertical lift keeps the hull out of the chop. Its design adjusts with a drill, so it is easy to re-level when the water drops in fall.
Choose a dock that moves with the river. A floating dock rides the wakes and the seasonal changes rather than taking them broadside.
The Fall Drawdown, Section by Section
Parks Canada lowers water levels in stages rather than all at once. Based on its 2024 Rideau Canal schedule:
- Kilmarnock to Merrickville: about 20 cm
- Merrickville to Burritts Rapids: about 60 cm
- Long Reach (Burritts Rapids to Black Rapids): about 25 cm
- Black Rapids to Hogs Back: about 120 cm
- Hogs Back to Hartwells: about 70 cm
Schedules can change from year to year, so check the current Parks Canada notice for your section before you plan.
Permits on the Canal
Because the river is part of the Rideau Canal, a dock in the water needs a Parks Canada in-water and shoreline works permit, including replacements.
What Our Customers Say
"If you are looking for a dock, look no further!"
Rick
Rideau River Question
Will a floating dock drift in the current?
Not when it is anchored for your site. We plan the anchoring around the current and the depth along your shoreline.
Also Worth a Look
- Rideau Lakes Drawdown: What Fall Water Levels Mean for Your Dock and Boat Lift
- On the lakes upstream? See our Rideau Lakes page.
Plan a Dock for the River
Tell us where you are on the Rideau and how you use your waterfront. We will help you plan for the traffic, the drawdown and the permit.
