Trent-Severn Waterway

The Trent-Severn runs three hundred and eighty-six kilometres from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay through rivers, lakes and cuts, with forty-four locks, climbing to 256 metres above sea level at Balsam Lake, the highest point a boat can reach from sea level in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin. It took eighty-seven years to complete, from a first lock in 1833 to the last link in 1920, by which time railways had made its commercial purpose obsolete, so it has been a recreational route almost from the start. Its engineering is unusual: two hydraulic lift locks at Peterborough and Kirkfield, a marine railway at Big Chute that carries boats overland on rails, and long stretches of natural lake. The lock stations are Parks Canada sites with grounds open to walkers.

History

Samuel de Champlain travelled this chain of inland waters from Georgian Bay to the Bay of Quinte with the Hurons in 1615. A route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron was discussed from 1785, surveys followed between 1815 and 1827, and the first lock was built in 1833 as a commercial venture, opening the lakes at the centre of the route to steamships; today the waterway runs 386 kilometres with 44 locks, among them the hydraulic lift locks at Peterborough and Kirkfield and the marine railway at Big Chute (Wikipedia, Trent-Severn Waterway).

What's there

• The forty-four locks - a full crossing of southern Ontario by water.
• The two lift locks - hydraulic lifts at Peterborough and Kirkfield.
• The Big Chute railway - boats carried over a ridge on rails.
• The lock station grounds - Parks Canada sites open to non-boaters.

When to go

May to October is the navigation season and lock hours vary within it, shortening at each end. Peak boat traffic is July and August. The towpaths and lock grounds are walkable year-round.

Practical notes

The waterway is closed to navigation outside the season, roughly late October to May. Full transit takes about five to seven days by boat. Lock hours reduce in shoulder months.

Nearby

Peterborough Lift Lock is on the route; Big Chute is at the western end.

Key facts