The Dismal Swamp Canal, opened in 1805, connects the Pasquotank River in North Carolina and the Elizabeth River in Virginia and is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the US. The canal is host to nearly 2,000 pleasure boats every year and has provided transportation between NC and VA for over 200 years.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program and the NC and Virginia Civil War Trails.

Though once a vital commercial link from North Carolina to Virginia, the canal is quieter now and plays host to pleasure boaters on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Canal depths allow access for boats with a six foot draft or less. There are two locks on the Dismal Swamp Canal. One is located in South Mills, NC and the other in Deep Creek, VA.

Boaters are invited to stop in the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center to sign the special Boater’s Log and pick up other boating information. Boaters are more than welcome to spend a night at our 150-foot face dock. No electricity hook-ups are available but clean restrooms are open 24 hours a day. To access the lock schedule and Army Corps of Engineers map, either click on that brochure at the top of this page or go to following link: http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/pao/brochure.pdf

If you’re interested in boating into the Swamp, dinghies/canoes/kayaks can launch by the Dismal Swamp State Park Bridge. For other boats, there is a boat ramp on US Hwy. 17 in VA, 4miles north of the NC/VA border.

Visit the Dismal Swamp State Park for more information and exhibits about our history.