Corps of Engineers opens Minneapolis locks for navigation season

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is opening its Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 1, both in Minneapolis, to commercial and recreational vessels for the navigation season on Sunday, April 20.

Lower St. Anthony Falls, located at 1875 West River Parkway, hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Lock and Dam 1, 5000 W River Parkway, hours are:

• Saturdays and Sundays and on major holidays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the last lockage at 5:30 p.m.
• Mondays and Fridays from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. with the last lockage at 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesdays - Thursdays 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for commercial traffic by appointment only with 24-hour notice (NO recreation traffic)

The Lock and Dam 1 Visitor Center is free to visit and is a self-guided experience that allows the public to get a hands-on perspective of a working lock and dam as well as amazing views of the Mississippi River. 

Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, also in Minneapolis, is closed to navigation and visitors.

The St. Paul District navigation program provides a safe, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation system on the Upper Mississippi River for the movement of commercial goods and for national security needs. To do this, the district maintains a 9-foot navigation channel and 13 locks and dams from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy.

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