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Ontario Waterways & Canals Cruise

Relax and enjoy the scenic view as you travel the historic Trent-Severn Waterway from Peterborough to Big Chute aboard the quaint Kawartha Voyageur as part of our Ontario Waterways & Canals Cruise tour.

The Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site is a 386 km navigable historic lock system maintained and operated by Parks Canada that connects Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay.

The Kawartha Voyageur. Photo taken by tour director Roland.

This 5-day cruise meanders through the interconnected canals, rivers, and lakes along a portion of the historic waterway passing through 21 of the 42 historic locks, under dozens of bridges and across the Kawartha Lakes. The word ‘Kawartha’ is derived from the Anishinaabe meaning ‘land of reflections” and this area is truly just that, a beautiful land of reflections!

Watch the following video as the captains of the Kawartha Voyageur give a brief overview of the cruise.

According to Parks Canada, the historic locks along the Trent-Severn Waterway were designed to “raise and lower boats from one water level to another” and were built more than a hundred years ago. Further details on how lockage works can be found on the Parks Canada website.

Many of the historic locks are still operated manually by Parks Canada staff, while others, such as Peterborough Lift lock, are hydraulic and operate on a counter-balancing system. According to Parks Canada, the Peterborough Lift Lock in particular is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world. It was designed to accommodate a 65-foot change in elevation. Watch the Parks Canada time laps video below showing two boats ‘lock through’.

In addition, the Kawartha Voyageur is no ordinary ship. It was built specifically to cruise the Trent-Severn Waterway and has several unique modifications that allow it to travel trough most of the locks on the canal.  The ship and these special customizations are described further in the following short video. 

Join our webinar to learn more!

If you would like to learn more about cruising these beautiful waterways, please join our webinar on Thursday, February 16 at 10 am (PDT).

Thursday, February 16th at 10am (PDT)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Once you have registered, you will be emailed the link to join.