Start your boat tour at the Visitor Center where you purchase very reasonably priced tickets. Walk across the canal bridge and down some steps to the boat. You can also drive to the parking lot. First is short, entertaining and informative talk about mules and those who pull the canal boat. On board the boat, the narrator provides a history of the Illinois and Michigan Canal as you slowly glide a short distance on a restored section of the canal. The mule actually pulls the boat at maybe 2 miles/hour. The whole tour takes a bit over an hour. The canal was a very important link for transportation of goods between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River from about 1850 to 1930. The whole tour is fun and informative. See more..
