The Leeds-Liverpool Canal runs through the centre of Skipton, passing below the castle on its way westward through the Pennines. The towpath through town is pleasant walking, with narrowboats moored along the wharf and the High Corn Mill — a working flour mill — at the western end. Boat trips run from the town wharf in season, offering a slow tour of the canal and the surrounding countryside.
The Springs Branch, a short arm of the main canal, leads up toward the castle and was originally built to carry limestone from the quarries above town to the canal. It is now used by leisure boats and makes for a short but scenic walk from the town centre. The whole canal corridor through Skipton is a conservation area, and the combination of stone-built warehouses, lock cottages, and moored narrowboats is one of the best-preserved examples of the industrial canal landscape in the north of England.