29 Apr 2022

Soo Locks Visitor Center opens for 2022 season

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is opening the Soo Locks Visitor Center in Canal Park at 10 a.m. May 8. Visitor Center hours for the month of May are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Visitor Center hours and days for June will be re-evaluated and announced prior to Memorial Day. “We are excited to open the Visitor Center after a long winter,” Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs said. “This year, in addition to updated exhibits, we have a new water safety program with goody bags we hope all will enjoy.”

28 Mar 2022

Engineers Day 2022 will allow visitors across locks

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are planning the 2022 Soo Locks Engineers Day with visitors allowed across the locks, the first since before the COVID-19 Pandemic. Visitors are welcome into the Soo Locks facility and across the locks 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, June 24. “Visitors are welcome to cross the gates, but the buildings will remain closed,” Area Engineer Kevin Sprague said. Since 1975, the Soo Locks have been hosting Engineers Day, traditionally held the last Friday in June to honor the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ June 16, 1775 birthday.

6 Oct 2021

Detroit District invites all to Virtual Visitor Center series

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District Park Rangers are continuing their popular Virtual Visitor Center series with monthly programs planned through April 2022. “We created the Virtual Visitor Center in May 2020 when our facilities closed due to COVID-19 so we could continue our mission to inform, educate and hopefully entertain the public,” said Chief Park Ranger at the Soo Locks, Michelle Briggs. “These programs helped us reach people who may not be able to visit our sites in person and proved so popular that we have continued offering them.”

6 Oct 2021

Detroit District invites all to Virtual Visitor Center series

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District Park Rangers are continuing their popular Virtual Visitor Center series with monthly programs planned through April 2022. “We created the Virtual Visitor Center in May 2020 when our facilities closed due to COVID-19 so we could continue our mission to inform, educate and hopefully entertain the public,” said Chief Park Ranger at the Soo Locks, Michelle Briggs. “These programs helped us reach people who may not be able to visit our sites in person and proved so popular that we have continued offering them.”

30 Sep 2021

Soo Locks Visitor Center temporarily closing

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is temporarily closing the Soo Locks Visitor Center from Oct. 4, 2021 to Oct. 8, 2021. The Visitor Center will temporarily close to protect the safety of visitors and contractors while repairs are made to the roof and ceiling of the facility.

13 Aug 2021

Soo Locks Visitor Center now requires masks

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is requiring masks to enter the Soo Locks Visitor Center effective Aug. 13, 2021. Per Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Department of Defense (DoD) requirements the Visitor Center requires masks covering the nose and mouth for all visitors. Corps of Engineers officials also ask guests to help maintain a safe environment by practicing social distancing with those outside their group and not to enter the building if they are feeling ill.

8 May 2021

Soo Locks Visitor Center reopens

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The Detroit District’s Soo Area Office is reopening the Soo Locks Visitor Center in Canal Park 9:00 a.m. May 9. The Detroit District is working diligently to safely open the Visitor Center while following federal and state COVID-19 guidelines. Exhibits are spaced to help visitors observe social distancing while learning more about the Soo Locks and hand sanitizer is available near popular hands-on exhibits. Building occupancy is currently limited to 90 people at a time and masks are required to enter. “We are glad to be able to open the Visitor Center again. Over the past year, we added some exciting new exhibits for visitors to enjoy,” Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs said. New exhibits include a Soo Locks virtual tour and a simulator allowing visitors to take the controls of a reproduction 1943 panel of the MacArthur Lock and complete a lockage.

19 Jan 2021

Soo Locks upgrading park’s lock model displays

DETROIT- Soo Locks visitors will see more than $100,000 in improved lock model displays in the coming years thanks to local partner support and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Handshake Partnership Program. Currently, the park features two original 3-D models dating back to 1893 and 1912, showing locks built on the facility over 100 years ago. The models sit in concrete and glass cases with cracked panes and openings in the bases allowing air, moisture and insects to get inside. The oldest model was built to test the original Poe Lock plans in 1893 as evidenced by a photo discovered by Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs while working with historic photos. “I was doing some research when I found a photo dated March 1893 of the workmen posed with the model of the original Poe Lock, which I recognized from the park,” Briggs said. “I am sure this model was finished shortly after the picture was taken since one of the workmen is still holding a paint brush.”