Dalsland Canal, Canal system in Dalsland, Sweden

The Dalsland Canal is a waterway stretching through the Swedish landscape, connecting different municipalities and linking various lakes and rivers into one continuous route. The system has 31 locks to help boats navigate elevation changes, with only a small portion being artificially dug while most of the route uses existing water bodies.

The Riksdag approved the canal in 1863, and Dalslands Kanal AB was founded in 1864; Nils Ericson planned the work, supervised on site by his son Werner Ericson. King Karl XV inaugurated the finished canal in September 1868, at a total cost of 1.365 million SEK. Built for the ironworks and paper mills around Upperudsälven, it lost through freight to the Mellerud–Kornsjö railway from 1879; the last regular freight boat left in 1965.

The canal is nicknamed Dalslands blå band, the blue ribbon of Dalsland. In Håverud the former ironworks and paper mill buildings now house shops, restaurants and exhibition halls. The Dalsland kanotmaraton partly runs through lakes of the canal system.

The canal is open for boating primarily from June to September and is easily accessible for visitors exploring the route. The locks do require some waiting time, but they also offer visitors a close look at how elevation changes work and allow them to observe the system in action.

The Håverud aqueduct, 33.5 m long, was built in Stockholm by Bergsunds Mekaniska Verkstad in 1868 and joined on land with 33,000 rivets before being lifted into place. It is Sweden's only aqueduct of riveted sheet metal, resting on two masonry supports above the rapids.