Canoe launch. Parking for 25+. Restrooms (flush and porta-potty). Drinking water. Picnicking. Lock 60 & Oakes Reach Canal. Schuylkill River Trail.

To complete the portage around Black Rock Dam, re-enter the river here (see “◊◊ Black Rock Dam”  for portage path and additional hazard guidance).

From the park entrance on Bridge Street (PA-29) in Mont Clare, turn onto Towpath Rd and follow for 0.7 mile to gravel parking lot and launch on left. See map above and GPS coordinates below:
Street Access: 40.135810,-75.507655
River Access: 40.144801,-75.509052

Schuylkill Canal Park and Lock 60
The focus of this park is, of course, its Schuylkill Navigation canal history: the immaculately-preserved 1820s-vintage Lock 60 (the only working canal lock still on the Schuylkill), the 2.5-mile, watered stretch of the Oakes Reach canal; and the beautifully-restored Locktender’s House (filled with canal memorabilia). But there’s more: kayaking the canal (see below), fishing, hiking, biking, birdwatching, or just plain relaxing. Special programs and events (including “locking through”) are held throughout the year.

Paddle the Canal … or the “Lock 60 Loop”
Kayak on the 2.5-mile Oakes Reach Canal (There are docks at both ends and a canoe/kayak rental in the middle). Or you may want to try the popular 4-mile, beginner-level “Lock 60 Loop.” This loop combines an easy, scenic downriver run on the Schuylkill and a peaceful return on the canal. Launch into the river from the gravel parking lot near Lock 60, paddle 2.1 miles downriver, then take out at the Longford Park access on RL (Overhead wires and a large “portage trail” sign mark the take-out spot). Carry, drag, or wheel your boat on the grassy 0.1-mile portage trail to the canal put-in, then turn left to paddle back to the Lock 60 dock … to complete the loop! Travel time: 1.5 to 2 hours. (See Longford Park access for information about the other end of “The Loop.”)
Download a PDF map of “The Lock 60 Loop.”

Owner: Montgomery County

Services: Groceries, restaurants, and more are available just outside the park in Mont Clare and across the river in Phoenixville (0.8+ miles south)