Kaukauna LOCKS Trail

Watch the locks in action and take a stroll on the NEW Kaukauna Locks Trail. Work is complete and the recreational trail links the five Kaukauna locks with the network of trails in Kaukauna and the Fox Cities. Thanks to a $300,000 grant from the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, the 1.3 mile trail runs adjacent to all five locks and gives pedestrians and cyclists a chance to see the locks in action during the summer months. The trail will be open year-round but will not be maintained in the winter months.

This project provides a living history experience through the locks and opens the story of the lock system for many more residents of Wisconsin.

• The trail will be curated with informational way-finding signage communicating the history and cultural development of the lock system in a park-like environment with benches, lights, and up-close access to the locks.
• Pedestrians have closer access to watch the locks in operation and summer visitors get a chance to chat with lock tenders about their duties and the history of the locks.
• Trails passes one of two swing bridges built in 1901 that is still in use by the railroad today.
• The trail route passes in front of the historic Grignon Mansion allowing visitors and school groups the opportunity to learn more about Wisconsin’s first settlers and how the Fox River opened up the state.

Ample FREE parking is available: along Augustine St., at Kaukauna lock 5, on Canal St., and at the Fox River Navigational System Authority office located at 1008 Augustine St. in Kaukauna.

For an aerial view of the trail, please watch this short video