To begin I'm going give some information to help understand the Soo Locks. Located on the northern border of Michigan right along the Canadian border are the Soo Locks, built in 1837. They a set of locks that allow boats to pass from Lake Superior into the other great lakes. Between the two lakes is a 21 foot difference and without the locks there would be a water fall which would not allow boat travel. Each year there are about 10,000 boats that pass through the locks. They are owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering.
Now onto my experience. From Mackinac City it was about an hour drive north, mostly on Interstate 75. Upon arriving we walked into the museum and looked around, that's when they announced that there was a boat coming through one of the locks. We made our way out to the viewing platform to watch. The boat came into the lock and the gate closed behind it, that's when the water began to drain and the boat lowered to the water level of the next lake. The door opened and the boat exited to continue it's journey. Another boat came through to go upstream, so we watched as water was added into the space between the doors to raise the boat to the correct water level. It's a really cool thing to see and understand. We went back to the museum and walked around there for a while and learned about the history of Lake Michigan.
Now onto my experience. From Mackinac City it was about an hour drive north, mostly on Interstate 75. Upon arriving we walked into the museum and looked around, that's when they announced that there was a boat coming through one of the locks. We made our way out to the viewing platform to watch. The boat came into the lock and the gate closed behind it, that's when the water began to drain and the boat lowered to the water level of the next lake. The door opened and the boat exited to continue it's journey. Another boat came through to go upstream, so we watched as water was added into the space between the doors to raise the boat to the correct water level. It's a really cool thing to see and understand. We went back to the museum and walked around there for a while and learned about the history of Lake Michigan.