Waterways, locks, and bridges

Waterways

HHNK is responsible for managing approximately 100 km of waterways in North Holland. These are listed in theprovincial water regulations. We ensure sufficient depth and height for navigation and maintain the banks and locks in the waterways.

Sluices and bridges

We are also responsible for operating bridges and locks in both these waterways and other waters. Some bridges and locks are operated year-round, others only during the sailing season, and some locks are self-service.

Sailing season

The boating season starts on April 16 and runs until October 15. For most bridges and locks, opening hours during the boating season are more generous than during the rest of the year. Different opening hours often apply on weekends and public holidays. Sometimes you have to call in advance, and sometimes the bridge or lock will only open when there are enough boats waiting.

All information online and in apps

Anyone planning to go boating can check in advance whether bridges are high enough to pass under, whether a bridge or lock keeper needs to be called, and whether the locks are wide and long enough. All this information can be found at vaarweginformatie.nl from Rijkswaterstaat. It contains just about all the information about Dutch waters that is of interest to recreational boaters. This includes information about most locks and bridges, as well as marinas, mooring places, etc. The Waterkaart live boating app uses data from vaarweginformatie.nl, which is synchronized daily. With this app, it is also possible to plan a boat trip and see in advance which bridges and locks are on the route, including dimensions and opening hours. There are many more boating apps, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data they contain.