Smiths Falls – Heart of the Rideau Canal!

Smiths Falls is the Mid-Way Mark, Between Kingston and Ottawa, On the Rideau Canal –

Smiths Falls is the halfway mark between Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario. This industrial town, otherwise known as the Heart of the Rideau Canal, held interest to both Lisa and me. Up to this point in our Rideau Canal cruise, we have been tied up to lock walls that are more rural in nature, the peace and quiet that afforded us was welcome. However, considering Smiths Falls is the largest community we’ve visited in the Rideau Corridor up to this point, we were eager to get off the boat and do some exploring.

Smiths Falls hosts three lock stations called “Combined Locks.” They make up the biggest single lock lift on the Rideau Canal system – 26 feet. The locks here are automated locks, meaning that instead of park staff manually turning the doors, they only have to push a button to electronically operate the hydraulic valves to open and close the gates and sluices.

There was lots of room for us at the dock wall at Victoria Park, a short distance from the center of town.

Ranger Tugs everywhere! (Above)

Look who we found in front of us on the wall, Dug the Tug, a Ranger Tug R21.

Goulash for dinner tonight.

One thing we learned early on, during our Great Loop travels, was to always take advantage of any small-town factory tours. Having a goal, of something to see, while in an unknown environment can make all the difference in our cruising lifestyle. Sometimes these tours can be hard to find since 9/11 many factories discontinued their tours with fears of terrorist activities. Jim researched the town ahead of time and found a Hershey’s Canada Inc. chocolate factory not too far from the downtown area where we planned to dock. Even more, a reason to get started early. The plan was to only spend one night in Smiths Falls, so we had to get the boat tied up and secure before we set out.

We were in for a surprise!

We took off walking to One Hersey Drive; it was a little longer of a jaunt than we had expected. Upon our arrival, we found out that Hersey’s was no longer manufacturing chocolate at this location. Apparently, Jim had consulted an old guide when he did his research. We approached the building and much to our surprise; we found a new company now headquartered in Smiths Falls, called Tweed.

Tweed is a Canadian Agricultural business that grows and cultivates marijuana for medical and recreational users. Our walking adventure just got a little more interesting. As we entered the lobby, we found the converted factory space to resemble a high-tech Apple Store; we were happy to learn that yes; they gave plant tours.

Although they are still working on the factory building and product environment, the tour began with an educational video of the history and medicinal benefits of the plant. This was followed by a tour of the temperature and light-controlled cultivation rooms from a glass-partitioned second-floor hallway. We could view all the different stages of the plant-growing process. I have to say it was not what we expected when we left the boat, however it was a very pleasant surprise tour of something we had never experienced in our normal everyday life. Not to mention we became a little more educated on the medicinal benefits of marijuana. We left the building thinking lots of changes are coming to Smiths Falls stimulated by the introduction of this single business.

Pretty slick educational tour provided by Tweed.

Smelling station (above). Interesting set-up, but we didn’t quite get the drift of all the aromas.

The next morning all three boats docked on the wall at the park had left to go through the lock.