Update: All tours for July and August 2024 have reached capacity and are full.
We will update this page with information about additional riverboat tours and programs in the future.
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Discover the stories of the people who made the Merrimack River their home throughout the centuries. Learn more about how the landscape has changed and the impacts people have made on the environment.
These 75-minute tours on the Francis Cabot Lowell Riverboat will be offered on select evenings in July and August at 6 p.m. For an up-to-date lisitng of upcoming dates, check the calendar below. Reservations are required. The boat departs promptly at 6 p.m., visitors should plan to arrive 10 minutes prior to the start of the tour to check in.
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Tours will begin at the UMass Lowell Bellegarde Boathouse located at 500 Pawtucket Blvd, Lowell, MA 01854.
Tours are free, but advanced reservations are required. To make reservations, please call (978) 970-5000.
Please note that tour reservations will be closed at 4:30 p.m. the day of the scheduled tour. Reservations must be made with a reservationist by calling (978) 970-5000. Reservations can be made 7 days a week, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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Parking: Free parking is available in the adjacent parking area for the Vandenberg Esplanade and along the shoulder of Pawtucket Boulevard.
Meet the tour ranger outside of the Bellegarde Boathouse on the left side of the building next to the fence. Visitors should plan to arrive 10 minutes prior to the 6 p.m. tour start time.
The tour may be canceled due to extreme weather, heat, or water levels. Visitors with reservations will be notified via the phone and cancelations will be posted to the Lowell National Historical Park Facebook page.
Public restrooms at the Bellegarde Boathouse will be available until 7 p.m. There are no restroom facilities while on the riverboat or after the boat returns to the dock at the conclusion of the tour. Food is not allowed on the tour boats. Water is encouraged. Please plan accordingly.
