The Great Loop – America’s Waterways

A 10,000-kilometre voyage around eastern North America reveals a side of the United States and Canada few travellers ever see.

The Great Loop is one of North America's last great adventures: a waterway linking the Atlantic Coast, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Travelling by boat through rivers, canals, lakes and coastal passages, this series reveals a world that, far from the congested motorways, truly fulfils the grand promise of the ‘Great American Road Trip’. Many local residents along the way live from and with the water, be it oyster harvesters on the Chesapeake Bay, the seafarers on a ferry on Lake Huron, or the lock keepers on the Erie Canal. Set against spectacular landscapes and rich wildlife, the journey also explores the many cultures that helped shape North America, from immigrant traditions to the legacies of slavery, revealing a vibrant and diverse continent beyond the highways.