Waterways, locks and bridges

Waterways

HHNK is responsible for the waterway management of some 100 km of waterways in North Holland. Which ones are listed in the provincial water regulation. We ensure sufficient passage depth and height and maintain banks and locks in the waterways.

Locks 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 boating season, and some locks are self-service.

Sailing Season

The boating season begins April 16 and continues through October 15. For most bridges and locks, opening hours during the boating season are longer than during the rest of the year. Different opening hours often apply on weekends and holidays. Sometimes you have to call ahead, sometimes the bridge or lock only opens when there are enough boats in front of it.

All information online and in apps

Anyone making plans to go boating can check in advance whether bridges are high enough to sail under, whether a bridge or lock keeper needs to be called, and whether locks are wide and long enough. All that information can be found on fairwayinformation.nl from Rijkswaterstaat. With just about all the information about Dutch waters that is of interest to water recreationists. So about most locks and bridges, but also about marinas, moorings, etc. The boating app Waterkaart live uses data from vaarweginformatie.nl and that data is synchronized daily. With that app it is also possible to plan a cruise and see in advance which bridges and locks are on the route, including dimensions and opening times. There are many other boating apps but we do not guarantee the accuracy of the data.