Boating Information

The Dismal Swamp Canal is an alternate route along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW), connecting the Chesapeake Bay with the Albemarle Sound. The AIWW provides pleasure boats with a protected inland channel between Norfolk, Virginia, all the way to Miami, Florida. The Canal is on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic Landmark, noted as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and has received the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Designation. The Welcome Center is home to a 150’ face dock that provides a rest stop to nearly 2,000 boaters yearly.

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Deep Creek Bridge Closure/Deviation ~ March 21st to May 5th, 2025

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• Please click the link above to view the temporary Deep Creek Bridge deviation notice, for the continued closure of the canal ~ March 21st, 2025 to May 5th, 2025 to facilitate construction of the new Deep Creek bridge.

• The Deep Creek bridge will remain in the closed to navigation position during this time.

• Lake Drummond and the canal can still be accessed for paddling or boating excursions via the boat ramps along the canal or the South Mills Lock- which will continue to operate on normal schedule. (Dismal Swamp State Park Boat Ramp open & available for paddling)

• Vessels transiting the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway will need to use the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal as an alternate route during this timeframe.