The Stecknitz Canal consisted of an artificial waterway (the "Delvenaugraben") linking two minor rivers, the north-flowing Stecknitz and south-flowing Delvenau. The man-made trench itself was about deep and wide, though it was enlarged between 1821 and 1823 to a depth of and a width of . Outside the artificial segment the canal followed the tortuous natural watercourses of the two rivers; as a result, the full journey from Lauenburg to Lübeck stretched to a distance of , even though the straight-line separation between the two cities is only . The journey along the canal often lasted two weeks or longer due to the number and primitive design of the locks and the difficulty of towing.