Canada
Paddling, Cruising and Hiking the Historic Trent-Severn Waterway
by Cherie DeLory
I awoke to the rising sun glittering across the Otonabee River into my suite, at the Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront. Once out on the waterfront trail, I wasn’t sure if I should follow my nose and the smell of freshly baked oatmeal cookies, to what I’m told is the town’s Quaker Oats facility, or stop into the Silver Bean Café’s waterfront location in Millennium Park for more butter tarts and brownies.
After 20 years on the waterfront, its second location is 5 minutes away in The Canadian Canoe Museum’s new building and waterfront location on the shores of Little Lake. The relocation grand opening was on May 13 and it houses the world’s largest collection of canoes and kayaks, and now offers canoe and kayak rentals.
The first canoe I noticed when I walked into the Exhibition Hall was one with a vintage gramophone sitting in the middle. It belonged to Toronto canoe builder, Octavius L Hicks and was donated to the museum in 2017. This type of canoe circa late 19th and early 20th century was affectionately termed “courting canoe”. It made me think of a story my aunt told me about my grandfather who had taken his soon-to-be wife on a canoe day-trip to the Toronto Islands for a picnic lunch. Of the more than 600 canoes and kayaks on display, one will speak to you as well.
The much romanticized canoe was first built by the Indigenous peoples of Canada out of lightweight and durable birchbark that floated along the original roadways — the waterways, canals, lakes and rivers.
The Trent-Severn Waterway, circa 1833, is a national historic site. The group of lakes that connect Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay spans 386 km from Trenton, Ontario to Port Severn. A main attraction for boaters and sightseers are the historic lift locks and locks that allow boats to move along the canal at varying elevations. The Peterborough Lift Lock (Lock 21) is the highest in the world, raising boats 65 feet using hydraulic power. I had the thrill of experiencing this in a kayak and I recommend you try it at this summer’s Lock & Paddle event on Saturday, July 20th.
The Peterborough Lift Lock is an engineering marvel, built in 1896. I recall as a young girl my family taking a day-trip to see Lock 21 and a few others along the TSW. The grandeur of the structures and the excitement of watching the boats pass through the locks remains a happy childhood memory.
There’s more exiting adventure for canoeists with the official Canadian Canoe Route, a mapped 7-day suggested itinerary that takes you on the open road and waterways from Toronto to Ottawa. If you’d rather steer your boat than paddle it, make your way to Del Mastro Horseshoe Bay Resort Marina and captain your own 40-foot luxury houseboat, no boating licence or experience required. The marina in Peterborough is the second home base in Canada for Le Boat, following its launch on Ottawa’s Rideau Canal a fews ago. Anchors aweigh!
