MENU
Cruise the Kawartha
Due to its proximity to the greater Toronto area, the Kawartha Lakes and the Severn River are very busy in the summer with a wide range of boaters. Our Kawartha cruises showcase a greater diversity of engineering including the Peterborough Lift Lock, the Kirkfield Lift Lock and the Big Chute Marine Railway.
In 1920, the Trent-Severn Waterway was opened to thru navigation across central Ontario from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay. This 386 km stretch of scenic lakes, rivers and locks was created over a period of 87 years in conjunction with the water transport needs of the local lumber industry and the neighbouring communities. Subsequent ongoing development and improvements to the infrastructure since 1920 have resulted in a modern recreational waterway which locks over 120,000 boats per season.
Parks Canada is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the 43 locks and 125 dams controlling the water flows in this 18,600 sq km area. Of the 22 locks we travel through, there are some manually operated “heritage” locks as well as modern hydraulic locks built to service the areas of heavier boat traffic.
Our KAWARTHA FALL SERENITY cruise runs from October 15-20. Enjoy the quiet splendour of our FALL SERENITY cruise from Hastings (east of Rice Lake) to Kirkfield Liftlock (west of Balsam Lake). The itinerary for our FALL SERENITY cruise is as follows:
Sunday October 15 Park at the Holiday Inn in Peterborough and board our chartered bus at 6:45 pm for a 35 minute ride to Hastings
October 16 Depart Hastings at 9 am and cruise Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River arriving in Peterborough about 4:30 pm
October 17 Depart Peterborough at 9 am and cruise on up the Otonabee River through 7 heritage locks including the great liftlock at Peterborough. Leaving Lakefield, we enter the Kawartha Lakes and arrive 3:30 pm at Youngs Point lock providing passengers the opportunity to visit the renowned Lockside Trading Company.
October 18 Departing Youngs Point we enter Clear Lake with its palatial summer homes followed by our passage through Hell’s Gate into beautiful Stoney Lake. A modern lock at Burleigh Falls lifts us 27 feet to Lovesick Lake. Leaving Lovesick lock we cruise Lower Buckhorn. There will be a stop in Buckhorn for a walkabout before we head on into Buckhorn Lake and Pigeon Lake with arrival in Bobcaygeon about 3:00 pm which gives our passengers a chance to browse the shops on main street.
October 19 Departing Bobcaygeon we cruise west through Sturgeon Lake to Fenelon Falls where we have a stop. After leaving Fenelon Falls we cross Cameron Lake to our overnight stop at the Rosedale lockstation. Our “crew entertainment night” will add some more fun!
Friday October 20 Departing Rosedale we cross Balsam Lake which is the summit of the Trent-Severn Waterway. At the west end of Balsam Lake we enter the 8 km Kirkfield channel which leads us to our final docking at the Kirkfield Liftlock. After lunch our chartered bus will take about 1.5 hours to take you back to Peterborough. The estimated arrival time in Peterborough is 3:00 pm
