Champlain Canal & Lake Champlain... Waterford is where we split from the rest of the pack. The many boats lined up there all but 4 were going the Erie Canal either to Oswego or Buffalo depending on their height. The other 4 which included us were going the Champlain route. Champlain is named for Samuel de Champlain who was a French explorer who founded Quebec in 1608 and sections of New York, Ottawa, and portions of the Great Lakes. The Champlain Canal connects Lake Champlain to the Hudson River. The canal is 60.72 miles from the junction with the Erie Canal in Waterford to Lock 12 in Whitehall, NY and consists of 11 locks(Lock 10 is no longer present). The lock from north to south will take you from 96 feet above sea level up to 144 ft and back down to 1 foot above sea level. Going north we would start with Lock 1. Both the Erie and Champlain Canals were completed in 1823. Both allowed commerce to come from the outer western and northern areas of the United States