We are about a week away from returning for another summer of cruising the rivers and canals of France. We have gotten pretty good about preparing for our departure but we always seem forget something.
Status of the Network
We had big plans last year for a loop through Strasbourg, Nancy, Toul, Paris and Dijon. Unfortunately several canals were closed due to low water and we were unable to proceed and had to retreat back up the Rhine.
This year France received a lot of rain in January and February. In fact the Seine and our river (the Saone) flooded in a few spots.
While not good for everyone this was good news for the reservoirs that supply water for the canal system.
Unfortunately other issues could present problems this year. The picture below shows the current closures that might affect us. The good news is the Canal du Centre, which was closed almost all last summer, is open again. The Canal du Loing, Canal du Nivernais and Canal du Rhone au Rhine are all currently impassable. And the Canal de Burgogne has restrictions and plans to close early in September.
2026 Plan (Tentative)
We want to start by going north to Nancy via the Canal des Vosges which we attempted in 2024 and were stopped by low water. After returning from Nancy we head to Alaska for Roberta’s 50th high school reunion.
After returning for France, we want to go west via the Canal du Centre. It’s been a couple years since we visited the Loire valley and thought it would be nice to return.
| Dates | Destination | Comment |
| May 18 – May 24 | St Jean de Losne | Provisioning/Checkout |
| May 25 – May 31 | Corre | North on Saone to C. des Vosges |
| Jun 1 – Jun 15 | Nancy | North on Canal des Vosges |
| Jun 18 – Jun 26 | Port-sur-Saone | Back south to the Haute Saone |
| Jun 30 – Jul 4 | Paris | By train to visit Francis/Emilie |
| Jul 4 – Jul 10 | St-Jean-de-Losne | Back to our home port |
| Jul 11 – Jul 30 | Alaska! | To Alaska – Roberta’s 50th HS |
| Aug 1 – Sep 25 | Cruising west? | To Decize/Briare? |
| Sep 26 – Oct 7 | Bucharest | Traveling through eastern europe |
| Oct 7 – Oct 17 | Hiking | Vampire hiking in the Carpathians |
Our Adventures 