Navigation
Two lock chambers, two scales
The small lock is 30 × 150 ft and handles much of the smaller traffic. The large lock is 80 × 825 ft and can accommodate much larger vessels and tow configurations.
Start with the map, not a numbered list. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks are a working navigation system, salmon passage, water-control project, historic landscape and neighborhood destination at the same time. The map below keeps those layers together, while still preserving the eight hidden-tour stops highlighted by BallardLocks.org.
The route lines are an orientation aid, not turn-by-turn navigation. Gates, maintenance work and operational needs can change pedestrian access on the working site.
Interactive grounds map
Choose how much time you have
The short route focuses on how the locks work and the fish ladder. The full route adds the gardens, historic house, herons and railroad bridge. The extended route adds two worthwhile Ballard stops outside the federal grounds.
Interactive map unavailable.
The stop list remains available. Reload the page to try the map again.
LocksNatureHistory & art
Map base: OpenFreeMap / OpenStreetMap. Route lines are simplified orientation paths. Use posted signs and staff directions on site; the Locks remain an active federal navigation facility.
Understand the place
The Locks make more sense when you see the system
USACE describes three core jobs here: move vessels between different water levels, hold Lake Washington and Lake Union near their operating elevation, and limit saltwater intrusion into the freshwater system.
Water control
Freshwater held above the Sound
The ship canal system is managed around 20–22 ft above sea level. The spillway helps control that elevation while the locks repeatedly exchange water during vessel passages.
Fish passage
21 steps around a human barrier
The fish ladder has 21 weirs that let migrating fish gain elevation gradually. The viewing room makes that migration visible when salmon are moving through the system.
All mapped places
What to look for at each stop
These combine the original illustrated self-guided-tour stops with the core infrastructure a first-time visitor needs to understand the site.
Access and practical visit notes
GroundsUSACE publishes daily grounds hours of 7 AM–9 PM.
Fish ladder viewingUSACE publishes fish-ladder viewing hours of 7 AM–8:45 PM.
Wheelchair accessThe Visitor Center and Fish Ladder Viewing Room are accessible, and many garden paths and lock-wall walkways are paved or navigable by wheelchair. Conditions can vary.
The federal grounds are free to enter. The 75-minute route leaves the Locks grounds for A Salish Welcome and the National Nordic Museum/Frankie Feetsplinters; museum admission and hours are separate.
Research basis: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Seattle Parks, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, OpenStreetMap-derived place geometry and the BallardLocks.org self-guided-tour stop list. Live values come from the same Ballard Locks API used by Ballard Locks Live.