Trent Severne Waterway trip

[mikchesor]

I am taking a trip up the Trent Severne Waterway starting July 17th. We will be using my canoe with a large outrigger and a 2hp honda motor. It travels about 6-7MPH. What I would like to do is start at Lock 1 at Trenton and go to lock 36 at Kirkfield or anywhere before Lake Simcoe. This is about 170 miles and should take about five days one way. Does anyone know of a service on the Trent Severne that would allow me to drop the canoe off at Trenton, I would then take my car somewhere on the waterway close to Lake Simcoe and need a way to get me back to my canoe at Trenton? I wondered if any of the Marinas offered a service like this or if there would be bus or taxi service for this purpose. Any info would be appreciated.
Also, if anyone has taken this trip, I am looking for any interesting things to do or see along the way. I am taking my 16 year old daughter with me and want to keep it entertaining for her.

 

[Tig]

Re: Trent Severne Waterway trip

That will be a nice trip but the setup is very awkward. I am not aware of any such transportation service so that leaves the bus which flows through Toronto. That will turn a 3 hour bus ride into 4, or more. Or you could rent a car one way.
Alternative trip would be Rideau Canal, Kingston to Ottawa. Very historic with some beautiful little towns on the canal. Ends at the Rideau center Mall (You did mention a 16 year old girl. ) and Parliament Hill. On the way Merrickville is a definite stop. Wikipedia has a nice article on that town. Marinas in Kingston would watch your canoe while you take your car north. There are regular buses from Ottawa to Kingston (2 hr drive plus stops in several towns). There are some Marinas in Ottawa but the last one that comes to mind is south of Manotick. Still 20 km from the end point. Others are on the Ottawa river, which has some rapids worth avoiding.

 

[eastont]

Re: Trent Severne Waterway trip

I spent many years on the Trent between Campbellford and Bolsover and my girls were quite bored as they reached the age of 16. There was not a lot for them to do, unless the merry-go-round is running in Rosedale.
There is lots to see and the different waterways are fabulous...if that's what she would like. There are lots of small towns to poke around in, but if you're doing it in 5 days you won't have a lot of time for poking around. I assume you are expecting to be on the water for 8 hours a day.

I would shorten the route and have the time to poke around places like Campbellford, Hastings, Peterborough, Burliegh Falls, Healy Falls, Lakefield etc.

Even in my boat which would average about 10-12mph, 5 days for that trip would only be about being in the boat.

Just my opinion....

 

[mikchesor]

Re: Trent Severne Waterway trip

Thanks for your input guys. You've both made some good points and reaffirmed some gut feelings I've had about my plans. I am trying to make this trip more about my daughter and agree that too much time in the canoe might not be such a good thing. I may also be making it too difficult by trying to shuttle the car. I had considered the Rideau Canal but was focused on the Trent. I am now thinking that maybe we should just park the car in the middle somewhere, go downstream a day or two then if we are still having fun when we get back to the car we can continue upstream.
My new question is ?Do you have any suggestion of a good section of either the Trent or the Rideau to do this?. I would like to camp at the locks near towns that we could eat breakfast or dinner at and do a little ?poking around? in the evenings. Also would like to get out of the canoe every few hours. Also, how is the stretch from Peterborough to Hastings. A trip calculator shows it will take us 7.3 hours. Is there much to see or do along this stretch of Rice Lake? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Tig]

Re: Trent Severne Waterway trip

I have never boated that stretch but I would expect it to not have a lot of public land for your stops since there are no locks. On the other hand it does look like calm waters. The prevailing wind around here is west so I would expect Rice like to not become treacherous because it would generally be blowing across rather than down the length of the lake.
I've found that google earth is a good way to get a peek at places like that. Many people upload photos. If you are not familiar with google earth you can download it from the google site.
I have passed though many of the town of the lower Trent but never boated on it. As for the Rideau I fished the Kemptville to Ottawa area quite a bit. Good musky fishing on that stretch. You may want to scout out the provincial parks as rest stops also. Not sure about the Trent but the Rideau system has a few that come to mind.
Keeping in mind that I'm not as familiar with the Trent waterway I'll just mention a few places that I like.
On the Trent Campbellford is a really nice town. Home to a couple chocolate companies a short walk from the waterway.
Rideau, Chaffey's locks is a beautiful spot to stop when driving. Merrickville, pretty little town dominated by quaint little boutique type shops.
If I have any more thoughts I'll add them later