The Trent Severn Waterway is the biggest inland waterway on this planet. Most individuals who navigate it both personal their very own boats or have outrageously priced cottages on the water. However, there’s a enjoyable and reasonably priced approach to pattern a style of the Trent Severn. Le Boat gives self-drive, luxurious houseboats to lease for a few days to a few weeks, permitting you to discover the Trent wherever you need.
About the Trent Severn Waterway
The Trent-Severn Waterway is a National Historic Site that stretches 386 kilometers from Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte in Trenton to Georgian Bay in Port Severn. Completed in 1920, the waterway options 44 locks, together with the world’s highest hydraulic raise lock in Peterborough, which raises boats 19.8 meters in buckets. When driving a Le Boat via the Trent Severn waterway, you get to move via this unbelievable lock.
Le Boat’s Horizon 2+ Boat
This was our fifth Le Boat journey so we felt very snug within the captain’s chair of our Horizon 2+ luxurious houseboat. My brother and sister-in-regulation Jim and Janice joined us for this journey, and the boat comfortably sleeps 4 individuals. There are two bedrooms and two bogs, a full kitchen with a full-dimension fridge, oven, range, and barbecue on the highest deck. Dishes and cookware are equipped alongside with washcloths and a brush and mop.
While the boat sleeps 4 individuals, you possibly can simply drive this boat with two individuals, however it’s definitely much more enjoyable to have additional assist with ropes when going via locks and mooring for the evening.
Watch our video to be taught what to pack, how simple it’s to drive the boat, and what to count on when renting a Le Boat Houseboat on the Trent.
Trent Severn Waterway With Le Boat
We took a seven-day cruise from the Le Boat marina simply south of Peterborough to Bobcaygeon. During our journey, we went via 13 locks and had an unbelievable journey on one of many world’s most lovely waterways.
The boats are very effectively outfitted with sheets, duvets, and pillows. Bath and Hand Towels are equipped, as are all cooking utensils. There is a big water tank on board, and now we have not often wanted to refill our tank throughout a Le Boat journey. However, you possibly can fill it on the marinas. When taking showers, preserve it brief and candy so that you received’t have to preserve refilling the tank.
We counsel bringing seashore towels, additional dish towels, and cleansing towels for a seven-day journey. We additionally packed shampoo, cleaning soap, and additional rest room paper. However, you need to use the bogs on the locks every evening, and they’re very clear. We advocate utilizing the general public bogs as a lot as attainable, that approach you received’t have to fear about emptying your tanks or filling up water throughout your seven day journey. If you do want a pump out, there’s an additional payment, however they’re provided at marinas alongside the waterway.
One factor we extremely advocate packing is a few additional hangers on your garments. It is way simpler to arrange within the closet with extra hangers.
Day 1-Arrival
We requested an early verify-in for 1 pm and spent an hour loading our boat with all our provides. We packed two coolers filled with meals for the week and garments for each scorching and dry climate and funky and moist climate. Canadian summers see all of it.
Le Boat Marina at Horseshoe Bay
After organizing our boat, we met the employees who walked us via every little thing we wanted to know concerning the boat after which took us on the water for a lesson on hour to drive and steer the boat, how to use the thrusters, navigate via locks and the way to park a ship. By 3pm we have been on the water cruising to our first location.
Peterborough
Locks are open till 6 pm (or 6:30, relying on the time of 12 months), and we had three hours to get to our first vacation spot. This first day is a brief day, so we advise reserving your first evening on the Peterborough Marina. The mooring charges right here should not included in your Le Boat rental, however staying on the marina permits you to get pleasure from time in Peterborough and to eat at our favorite restaurant The Lightouse Bar And Grill.
Canadian Canoe Museum
Located at Lock 20, the Canadian Canoe Museum is the most recent attraction on the Trent Severn Waterway. This fascinating museum homes the world’s largest assortment of canoes, kayaks, and watercraft. We spent about an hour having fun with its reveals that showcase the Indigenous origins of the canoe, the position of the fur commerce in these waters, and the evolution of leisure paddling. There are interactive shows and arms-on actions making it enjoyable for all ages.
The Canadian Canoe Museum is open each day from 10 am to 5pm. We counsel spending the evening within the Peterborough marina after which making your approach again to the lock station within the morning to benefit from the museum earlier than heading up the Trent Severn Waterway.
If you don’t need to pay for an evening on the Peterborough Marina, all Le Boats embody free docking at any of the locks on the Trent Waterway. You can keep at Lock 20 without spending a dime and stroll the 5 minutes to the Canadian Canoe Museum within the morning, or it’s also possible to drive instantly to the Peterborough raise lock and keep there. It is a simple taxi or Uber journey into city, or you possibly can merely keep on the boat and benefit from the views.
Day 2 – Peterborough to Young’s Point
Peterborough Lift Lock
Day two is a good day to spend 4 or 5 hours on the waterway. There is so much to see on at the present time, starting with your journey via the world’s highest raise lock. The Peterborough Lift Lock is a lot enjoyable to undergo. Boats drive into an enormous bucket, and as an alternative of ready for the lock to refill with water to take you to the following stage, boats are lifted by a pully system in an enormous swimming pool-like bucket, taking boats up 150 ft in a mere 58 seconds.
After getting to the highest it’s a lovely day alongside the canal going via farmland, forests, golf programs, and beautiful cottage nation.
Stopping at Youngs Point for the evening makes for a lovely night. Here, there’s a restaurant, store, and ice cream parlor. It is a scenic spot with waterfalls, chicken life, and beautiful sundown views. We selected to eat on the boat utilizing the barbecue and benefit from the high deck to chill out with cocktails.
Day 3 – Young’s Point to Buckhorn
Today is a protracted, scenic day driving via spectacular lakes and the Canadian Shield. The islands of Stony Lake are lovely, with multimillion-greenback cottages spanning its shores.
You can cease for lunch on Love Sick Island, a novel lock situated on an island in the course of the lake. It is a historic vacation spot with mountain climbing trails (they’re very rugged, although), picnic tables, and fireplace pits. Some individuals select to keep in a single day on this island for a quieter night.
Once you attain Buckhorn, it’s a big dock with a number of parking spots on the lock. You can buy energy for round $10 in order for you to use the air con, kitchen, or another electronics. There is a liquor retailer, waterfront restaurant, and native retailer to buy any provides, ice, and water. This is a very sensible choice to spend the evening.
Day 4 – Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon
Today, you need to get going as early as attainable as a result of parking is restricted in Bobcaygeon. However, you don’t need to miss spending the evening on this well-known Canadian city. The Tragically Hip wrote about Bobcaygeon, they usually took benefit of their fame by promoting T-shirts with the lyrics on them. Yes, we purchased the T-shirt.
This is the place to buy groceries with a number of shops promoting clothes, footwear, and souvenirs. There are loads of eating places to select from and there are bars, patios and microbreweries.
We ate at Gaz, which had a improbable environment and scrumptious meals. It was only a brief stroll from the dock overlooking the canal.
Day 5 – Bobcaygeon to Burleigh Falls
If you’ve longer, you possibly can go to Fenlan Falls, however with solely two days left in our itinerary, we started the journey again. After having breakfast and ice cream in Bobcaygeon, we made our approach slowly south to Burleigh Falls. Burleigh Falls is a lovely waterfall the place locals swim within the waves of the speeding water.
This is extra of a wild tenting night with not plenty of facilities, however that’s the smartest thing about taking a Le Boat trip. The boat is totally stocked with every little thing you want. Tonight is an effective evening to have a barbecue on deck, play some playing cards or sit across the picnic desk. If you need to stroll to the Burleigh Inn, you possibly can go there for dinner. It is only a 5 minute stroll and there’s a nation retailer close to there as effectively.
Day 6 – Burleigh Falls to Lakefield
The rivers run on this course, so the journey house was a lot quicker. With solely two stops on the best way again, we made a good time from Bobcaygeon to Lakefield close to Burleigh Falls.
This is a captivating city to spend the evening in, with a beautiful downtown filled with eating places, pubs, and retailers. Make positive to cease within the Chocolate Rabbit to choose up artisanal candies. If you’ve bicycles or paddle boards (two items of drugs which you can lease from Le Boat), it is a good place to strive them out. The water is calm, and there are biking trails close by.
Day 7 Lakefield to Le Boat
Today is your last day on the Trent Severn Waterway, so take your time and cease in any respect the locks and locations you missed between right here and Horseshoe Bay at Le Boat. Stop and have a picnic lunch, pop into Peterborough, lay on the seashore at lock 20 or just chill out on the waters.
You will want to be via the final lock by 6 pm so you will get to the Le Boat marina to keep in a single day because the 9 am take a look at comes early. But you’ve the night to pack up and cargo your automotive, make your last meal on the barbecue, and speak with different Le Boaters to see how their journeys went. It really is an incredible week on the water.
How Difficult Are Le Boats to Drive?
The Horizon boats by Le Boat are extraordinarily simple houseboats to drive.
You have two choices for the place to steer the boat. You can steer it both from the highest flybridge or beneath within the cabin. It’s a simple shift to flip the steering from beneath to above, and the Le Boat employees will present you ways to do this.
Up high provides you the most effective view and management. So when you can drive from there, more often than not, until it’s inclement climate,
The precise management of the boat is tremendous simple. The boats come with each bow and stern hydraulic thrusters, which permit you to maneuver the entrance of the boat and the again of the boat, mainly facet to facet, which actually helps in docking and even going into the locks themselves.
One factor about renting with Le Boat is that y you don’t want a ship license to drive considered one of these. Before leaving the dock, you’ll have an concerned lesson to find out about how to deal with the boat. They train you to flip the boat, steer it, park it and run you thru all the security options.
There are limiters on the boat as effectively, so you possibly can solely go 10 km an hour (possibly 11 or 12 you probably have the wind and present behind you. So, when you observe the buoys and markers, it’s simple to keep in management.
Planning your Trent Severn Waterway Itinerary
From the Le Boat docks, you possibly can select to go south to Trenton or north to Peterborough and past. When you might be planning out your route, simply do not forget that you’re solely doing 10 kilometers an hour at full velocity. So whenever you’re planning the place to go from someday to the following, you will have to take into consideration the timing.
During the excessive season, you possibly can spend an hour or so on the lock ready for boats to undergo. So our greatest recommendation is to ask the lock masters how busy the locks are forward of you and the way far they assume it is possible for you to to get. They know these waters effectively.
Lock Etiquette
Boating the Trent Severn Waterway is a novel expertise. All locks are operated by Parks Canada, so there’s at all times somebody on the lock stations to ask for recommendation. They carry a wealth of details about the historical past of the locks and the native space and waters.
So, how does going via the locks work? It’s simple, and if you’re not sure, make sure that to ask the employees earlier than leaving the marina. However, we’re right here to assist. Here are the steps of what to do when approaching a lock.
Drive up to the blue line and await the purple mild to flip inexperienced.
They lock employees will name you in if there isn’t a purple mild or if the lock is already open. When driving in, use your thrusters to keep management.
These boats are tremendous simple to deal with to go into the lock. Just drive gradual, use your thrusters and ensure to flip it into reverse to cease.
With 4 individuals on the boat, there might be one individual dealing with the ropes on the again and one other on the entrance. When the boat will get into place, all they’ve to do is loop the ropes on the lengthy cables hooked up to the lock that may assist to preserve the boat regular because the water rushes in.
You might be within the lock with different boats, so be respectful of their area and enter and go away in an orderly trend. Whoever is within the entrance will go away first, after which that facet will observe earlier than the opposite facet exits.
If you’ve any questions, ask the lock grasp; they are going to be ready to let you know the place to go.
Cruising the Trent Severn Water is likely one of the best boat journeys on earth. It is a big portion of the Great Loop Tour that boaters placed on their bucket lists to take a 12 months cruising from Florida. We advocate anybody (whether or not you’re a boater or not) spend seven days cruising this lovely a part of Canada. As Dave stated, phrases and photographs can’t seize the fantastic thing about the Trent. It is by seeing it with your personal eyes that you just really recognize how particular the Trent Severn and Kawarthas really are. So, begin planning your journey immediately!