Cycling along the Canal de Soulanges

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Recently, we visited Quebec for a few days to enjoy some cycling and a bit of je ne sais quoi. We made a stop at Pointe des Cascades on our way to Montreal to cycle a stretch along the Canal de Soulanges. I won’t go into the history of the canal, other than that at some point in time it was part of the system to bypass rapids in the St. Lawrence river.

Looking at Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot across the water

Where is the Canal de Soulanges?

For reference, the canal is about 12 km due south of the Trans Canada Highway where it crosses the Lake of Two Mountains, the road bridge at Vaudreuil that most Ottawans take when we go to Montreal. The Canal de Soulanges replaced in 1899 the original Beauharnois Canal, until the upgraded Beauharnois Canal in turn replaced the Canal de Soulanges again in the early 1930’s. I had never really looked closely into that whole area, but it is quiet beautiful, with islands and waterfront galore. Unfortunately, the several power dams, closed for all traffic, make it hard to do nice cycling loops along the waterfront.

a satellite image of the location of the Canal de Soulanges

Pointe des Cascades

We parked the car (free!) in Pointe des Cascades at a small parking lot for about 75 cars. The lot was nearly full on that Labour Day morning. Given the bike racks on many cars, it appeared many were here for a bike ride too. We explored the nature park at the east end of the canal, enjoyed the vistas and the locks for a bit and were surprised that the locks were in such a terrible state of disrepair. Some locks are simply replaced by concrete walls! It made me realise how fortunate we are with our Rideau Canal in Ottawa, despite the limited and decreasing use by boaters.

a parking lot with cars with bike racks. A woman dressed in casual clothes hold her bike while unloading the car

Canals are an attraction

Back in 2008, I attended the international World Canals Conference on behalf of the Netherlands Embassy in Kingston. We brought in a Dutch speaker to talk about the Dutch canals and people were so excited about the canals that three years later the conference took place in Groningen in the Netherlands.

Coincidentally, the 2025 World Canals Conference takes place in Buffalo, NY on the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal this week. I am really happy that people bother to keep the canal legacy alive, from China to the Netherlands to Canada.

Locks doors in bad shape in Canal de Soulanges. the top has rotten, the metal is rusted — The canal has seen better days

Interpretation panels along the Canal de Soulanges

After exploring the east entrance of the canal, we set out cycling part of the canal trail westbound. At the start we found interesting interpretation panels with historic images and stories, diving deeper into how the canal was built. Along the way you can scan QR codes and listen to stories on your phone, but I didn’t see anybody doing that though.

Interpretation panels along the pathway show the history of the canal

We passed another set of locks which are mostly hidden behind bushes and fences, but there is a well trodden path past the fence, so I walked along the edge of the canal on a wall to see the locks. A bit further west, we had proper access as you can see on the image below.

The pathway itself is in a very good state, with picnic tables and benches in several locations and mostly smooth pavement. We saw many people cycling here, a constant stream of people, from folks on e-bikes to the Lycra clad and parents with kids. There are several gazebos and even toilets.

A gazebo along the Canal de Soulanges — Gazebo and a toilet

Apple Orchard

Just west of the Locks nr 4, we passed a former apple orchard. It appeared not being in use anymore. We noticed hundreds of apples on the ground and the trees were clearly not maintained anymore. I guess it is cheaper to bring them in from Chile and New Zealand.

Les Cèdres

Between the locks and the apple orchard you can see Highway 30 running underneath the canal and a bit further, the toll booths for the highway. From there it’s another 2.6 km to the intersection with Chem. Saint-Féréol, where a sign indicates a crèmerie down the road into Les Cèdres.

Signs pointing to several amenities in a village nearby the Canal de Soulanges

While we didn’t feel like ice cream, we did want to check out the route into the village. It is initially a multi use pathway a few meters away from the road, but then it turns into a bidirectional bike lane, built on a shoulder. It looks like the narrow-ish bridge across the creek (probably more like a culvert) wasn’t an issue. It appears they recently simply pushed the guardrail out a bit by a foot or two to make room for the bike lanes.

Connection with village

A new elementary school was built somewhere in 2024/2025 on the east side of the road, and with that came a short new stretch of multi use Pathway, and a new bike and walk link into the neighbourhood behind the school. This greatly improves accessibility to the school and the pathway along the canal away from the road. The maximum speed on the road next to the bike lane is 50 km per hour.

A new multi use pathway runs along a road, and then veers of into green space away from the road. The pathway shows images painted on the pavement of a bicycle and a pedestrian. — A new school with a new pathway connecting the neighbourhood with the school and a bit further north the canal pathway

Little money, safer link to Canal de Soulanges

I thought it was interesting to see how, with little money, all of a sudden a safer link between the canal, the school and the village was established. Yes, it is only paint and flexiposts a short part of the way but it is also about the thought that is put in and the willingness to put it in. Combined with a slower speed, I think it is a good solution for now.

As we had to move on to Montreal that day, we turned around at Les Cèdres and biked back the same way. Halfway, Karen was asked to take a photo of a young mother and her son at the former apple orchard. They were both on their bikes, and I took the opportunity to take a photo of a loaded apple tree. I think we put around 30 km in.