Soo Locks Boat Tours works with various hotels, motels, and campgrounds in the region. Some hotels offer vacation packages that include overnight accommodations and one of our exciting cruises together at a great price. Marie hotels offering accommodations/cruise packages: Budget Host Crestview Motel. With a stay at Hampton Inn Sault Ste Marie in Sault Ste. Marie, you'll be in the business district, within a 10-minute drive of Kewadin Casino and Lake Superior State University. This hotel is 2 mi (3.3 km) from Soo Theatre and 2.1 mi (3.3 km) from River of History Museum. Welcome to Mid-City Motel, located in Sault Sainte Marie MI this motel features free WiFi access and a free transfer service to Kewadin Casinos which is 7 minutes’ drive away. The Soo Locks can be reached in 5 minutes’ walk. Cable TV is provided in every room at Mid-City Motel.

Soo Locks Visitors Center Update

The Soo Locks Visitors Center and Observation Deck are currently closed to the public due to COVID-19. However, the Soo Locks Park is still open and is a great place to see freighters.

Sault Ste Marie Michigan

A Wonder of Engineering & Human Ingenuity

Soo Locks Website

Affectionately called the “Linchpin of the Great Lakes” by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Soo Locks are an engineering marvel with roots dating back to the mid-1800s. Each year it’s estimated that 500,000 people visit these iconic locks that connect Lakes Superior and Huron.

Thanks to the Soo Locks freighters over 1,000 feet in length can traverse freely along the St. Marys River all the way from Duluth, Minnesota outward into the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. Roughly 7,000 vessels pass through the Locks yearly hauling nearly 86 million tons of cargo. See how freighters, barges, tugboats and more are lifted and lowered the 21-foot difference between Superior and Huron here.

Soo Locks Boat Tours

Most ships utilize the Poe Lock (1,200 feet) which was rebuilt in 1968 to accommodate larger and more modern ships. The MacArthur Lock (800 feet), constructed in 1943, is still in operation as well. It is the lock closest to Sault Ste. Marie, which the observation deck in the Soo Locks Park overlooks, and was named after General Douglas MacArthur. The Davis and Sabin Locks were built in 1914 and 1919 respectively. Currently, only Soo Area Office vessels use the Davis while the Sabin was officially decommissioned in 2010 after being inactive since 1989.

Soo Locks Casino