The unique island-dotted expanses of Upper Lough Erne are offset by the mountain fringed waters of Lower Lough Erne. The River Erne becomes navigable as it flows through Belturbet northward over a distance of 84 km. Just north of Belturbet a channel links the Erne System with the Shannon-Erne Waterway. At this point the river joins the Upper Lough. The county town of Enniskillen is located on an island in the channel which connects the two great lakes. The Lower Lough then flows westward and becomes a river just sough of the village of Belleek, where the navigation ends just a short distance from the sea.
Having been a trade route for the Vikings, the Erne System has never been a modern commercial navigation. It is a truly rural, unspoilt and tranquil leisure orientated expanse for boating enthusiasts, game and coarse anglers with areas offering a variety of watersports. With many of its moorings on islands dotting the waterway, true isolation is possible on the Erne System.