Richelieu Valley

Linking the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain, the Richelieu River lies at the heart of one of the most strategic river networks in North America. A crucial waterway running between Montreal and New York, the Richelieu was central to the colony’s economic development and, until the advent of the railway, the route by which riches from the heart of the continent were conveyed to the Atlantic coast.

The Richelieu River not only opened up new land for settlement under the French colonial administration, it also became a main path of invasion by the British, who then converted it into a trade corridor. The river subsequently played a pivotal role in the industrialization of Canada.

Birchbark canoes, warships and commercial steamboats have now given way to pleasure boaters and other water enthusiasts. Today’s voyageurs have a unique opportunity to travel down a magnificent far-flung waterway, a veritable heritage corridor running from Sorel to New York.