Mississppi Locks Schedule

Hello-

Is there a link to find what times the locks are running on the Mississppi, specifically for Red Wing? Or are you able to get through as you show up? how much time should I estimate the lock process to take?

Looking at the map it appears that going from Stillwater (St. Croix) to Pepin would be ~50 miles and only go through one lock.

I have never used a lock before.

thanks for any and all help.

First come first serve Dan. No preset schedule.

Locking through right now will take about 15-20 minutes assuming there isn’t any barge traffic. Now the river just opened up (for barge traffic) on the 7th.

Last weekend there were pretty much 2 to 4 waiting to lock through at any given time including all hours of the night.

The good thing is most should all be through by now…the bad thing is they will all be coming back down stream soon.

If your stuck behind one of the larger ones, it’s going to be a 1.5 to 2.5 hour wait.

I’ll post the link to how to lock through in a moment.

When are you going?

I am looking to go this Sunday.

Thank you

Stillwater to the confluence is a fun trip.
Did that one day last summer when it was too darn hot to fish. Down and back.

How long did it take you?

What speed does your boat go?

The no wake zones slow a person down.
Afton
Kinney
Prescot

Using my 90 horse it’s about 2.5 hours from Afton to lock and dam 3. Taking my time as 20 – 25 mph.

1. Approaching a lock either radio to the operator your direction of travel or pull on the cord that’s located in the ladder way on the wall and wait for directions. If the lock is busy or there is a tow coming out, stay out of the way of the exiting traffic.

2. The Red light will be flashing at first. Keep your distance. When it starts flashing yellow, proceed under the no wake rule towards the lock chamber. (The entire lenght of the lock and it’s walls are a no wake zone)

Do not enter the lock on Yellow.

When the light turns to a flashing Green enter the lock chamber.

3. Motor to the exit end of the lock where an operator will hand you two ropes. (or follow the operators directions) These ropes should never be tied to your boat…ever.

Hold on to the rope with your hands to keep your vessel from swinging around.

4. Once completed moving up or down, wait until the horn sounds before releasing these ropes. The lock gates will be wide open and stopped before the horn sounds.

5. After the horn goes off, exit the lock chamber under the no wake rule until you have passed the end of the wall. Keep an eye open for other boats that may want to enter the lock while your exiting. On busy days some people get in a hurry.

I don’t believe I’ve missed anything here, but if I did I’m sure someone will point it out.

Thanks for the detailed reply—My boat can go ~65mph although I don’t expect to be opening it up like that the whole time.

In looking on the Corps website I am not finding a lock schedule for the coming days.
Would it be safe to say that you are able to lock through when/if there is enough boats? Is there any consistency in when the locks are running?

Thanks!

There isn’t a schedule. They lock folks through first come first served. The number of boats does not matter. They have locked kayaks through by themselves.

They are open 24/7 during the shipping season.

That’s great to know–thanks.

As mentioned (and with my very basic questions) do barges run throughout the days even on weekends? (Sundays) or do they tend not too because of the added traffic that is out there?

Thanks again!

dank wrote:

How long did it take you?

Went from stillwater to confluence, listened to a concert for a few minutes at the park, headed all the way back up to the zebra mussel bridge.

I think i started at noon and was back as far north as i could go at sunset.
Caught a flathead that night too.

So, as far as i can recall; it took about a 12 pack.

dank wrote:

That’s great to know–thanks.

As mentioned (and with my very basic questions) do barges run throughout the days even on weekends? (Sundays) or do they tend not too because of the added traffic that is out there?

Thanks again!

The barges come through when ever they like. Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. Day/Night Doesn’t matter.

Thanks for all the help BK.

We planning on trying theocks yesterday but ran into motor problems that we are still working to fix. (We believe it was clogged fuel line)

Needless to say we did not make the trip but hope to in the weeks ahead.

I heard though that a barge got stuck in the sand below the lock and people waited over two hours to get through so….

Thanks again!

No, they weren’t stuck in the sand, they were waiting for other tow’s to lock through.

Lucky you didn’t go. 1.5 hours was normal with a number of 2.5 hour waits.

Once the congestion clears up things will be back to normal. Whatever that is.