Rates and booking
Rates read 21 Oct 2026BookingUp to 180 days ahead and no later than 3 days ahead, by telephone on 1-877-444-6777 or through Recreation.gov.
Operator's rate pageOverview
Ortona Lock sits at Mile 93.5 on the Caloosahatchee Canal, 15.5 miles west of the Julian Keen lock and 27.9 miles east of W.P. Franklin. The chamber is 250 by 50 feet and the lift is normally 7.5 to 8.5 feet, the second largest step on the waterway after St. Lucie. The approach channel is 90 feet wide and 8 feet deep.
About 9,500 vessels lock through in a year, roughly 96 percent of them recreational. The lock and dam were built in 1937 for navigation, and the discharge capacity is 8,660 cubic feet per second. Coast Pilot 4 puts the western tidal limit here: at low-water stage, tidal influence is perceptible up to this lock.
Locking through
USACE gives 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days a year, with the last lockage beginning at 4:30 p.m.; Coast Pilot 4 says the five locks run from 0600 to 2130 daily. Both are primary and both stand, and the page shows the USACE hours because the Jacksonville District operates the lock. It answers on 863-675-0616. USACE publishes channel 13 for the locks and 9 for the bridges.
Coast Pilot 4 has a specific warning for this lock: during periods of heavy discharge through the spillway with the lock gates closed, the currents sweep toward the spillway, and mariners approaching should exercise extreme caution and maintain maximum possible control at all times.
The two depth figures
USACE publishes "50 feet wide x 250 feet long x 12 feet deep" and labels it the lock chamber. Coast Pilot 4 gives "a depth of 11 feet over the sills". The Coast Pilot also disagrees with itself here: one paragraph groups three of the five locks at 10 feet over the sill, and by the chapter's own measurements this lock is one of the three – yet its own paragraph says 11 feet. We print all of it and decide none of it. Depths change; the gauge at the lock shows the day's figure, and the lock answers on 863-675-0616.
Tying up and staying
Coast Pilot 4 reports a ramp and a 180-foot wharf about 500 yards west of the lock on the north bank, a Government yacht basin below the lock with facilities like those at the Julian Keen lock, and government-owned tie-up dolphins immediately above and below the lock.
Ortona South, the Corps campground on the south bank, has 51 sites with electric and water hookups at $30 a day, with fishing piers, a dump station, showers and restrooms – but no boat slips. The Ortona North ramp is free to launch. The campground is open year round and its entrance gate is open 7 a.m. to sunset. Booking runs through Recreation.gov or 1-877-444-6777, up to 180 days ahead and no later than 3 days ahead.
Facilities
- Wharf west of the lock180 ft, with a ramp, about 500 yards west of the lock on the north bank
- Government yacht basinbelow the lock, with facilities like those at the Julian Keen lock
- Tie-up dolphinsgovernment-owned, immediately above and below the lock
- Boat rampOrtona North, no fee to launch
- Boat slips at the campgroundnone; the campground lists fishing piers, RV sites, a dump station, showers and restrooms
- Openyear round; the entrance gate is open 7 a.m. to sunset
- Showers and restroomsyes
Good to know
- The stay limit is shared. Fourteen days within a 30 day period counts across Ortona South and St. Lucie South together, not separately at each.
- No slips at the campground. The campground lists fishing piers, RV sites, a dump station, showers and restrooms. For a berth, the wharf and the Government yacht basin are at the lock itself.
- Chart datum changes here. East of this lock, Coast Pilot 4 refers charted depths to a low water elevation above mean sea level; west of it, to the Caloosahatchee River datum of mean lower low water.
Rules that apply here
- Approach only on instruction. Public address systems are installed at all the locks; craft approach for passage only on instruction from the lock tender, by loudspeaker or by standard light signal.
- Life jackets on, engines off. The lock operator requires every person aboard to wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket and engines to be turned off.
Questions
How big is the lift at Ortona Lock?
Normally 7.5 to 8.5 feet, in a chamber 250 by 50 feet. That is the second largest lift on the Okeechobee Waterway; the largest is St. Lucie, which steps from sea level up to the St. Lucie Canal.
How deep is Ortona Lock?
USACE publishes 12 feet and labels it the lock chamber; Coast Pilot 4 gives 11 feet over the sills, and in another paragraph groups this lock among three at 10 feet over the sill. Three figures, two primary sources, one of them contradicting itself. Depths change – the gauge at the lock shows the day's figure, and the lock answers on 863-675-0616.
Can I tie up at Ortona Lock?
Coast Pilot 4 reports a 180-foot wharf with a ramp about 500 yards west of the lock on the north bank, a Government yacht basin below the lock, and government-owned tie-up dolphins immediately above and below it. The campground on the south bank has 51 sites with hookups at $30 a day but no boat slips.
What are the hours at Ortona Lock?
USACE gives 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days a year, with the last lockage beginning at 4:30 p.m. Coast Pilot 4 says the five locks are operated from 0600 to 2130 daily. We show the USACE hours; the lock answers on 863-675-0616.
Sources & checks
- NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 12 (2026) · 18 Oct 2026
- USACE – Ortona Lock and Dam · 21 Oct 2026
- USACE – Ortona South campground · 21 Oct 2026