One-Tank Trip for
May 19/18
(c) By Jim Fox
Ranking up there
with the top canals in the world, the Trent-Severn Waterway is an engineering
marvel but not just a pretty face for tourism.
It’s getting busy
on the waterway as the navigation season opens this weekend and continues through
Thanksgiving, connecting the playgrounds of Lake Ontario and Lake Huron.
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| Boaters pass through the Trent-Severn locks at Lindsay. (Jim Fox photo) |
The waterway flows
386 kilometres, linking the Bay of Quinte to Georgian
Bay through a system of rivers, lakes, canals and locks.
Operated by Parks
Canada, the waterway is Canada’s largest national historic site.
Parks Canada says
the “romance” of the Trent-Severn has evolved from its roots in the 1800s as
a commercial/military shortcut across central Ontario.
It now has
44 locks, a marine railway and 160 water control structures as “an
important part of both the local tourism economy and quality of life for
residents in communities along its length.”
Behind that pretty
face, the canal’s dams play an essential role in water management and hydro
electricity generation.
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| Parks Canada workers manually open and close the Lindsay lock gates. (Barbara Fox photo) |
Just like a super
highway, the waterway is in need of regular maintenance.
The federal
government is investing more than $600 million to repair, rehabilitate or
replace the network of locks and bridges across the waterway, much of it from
this year to 2020.
Cruising the waterway
Whether by car,
motorcycle, bicycle or boat, a great day trip or longer is cruising the
waterway.
Parks Canada says most
lock stations are located next to or a short distance from a major highway or
byway and roadside “beaver signs” steer you to the attractions.
“Since there is so
much to experience at each lock – whether it is boat watching, picnicking or
relaxing in a park-like setting – taking excursions to see and enjoy the locks
by land has become a favourite pastime for many,” the agency says.
It’s fun watching
Parks Canada workers scurrying in circles, cranking open and closing the lock’s
massive gates using hand winches.
Day trips
- Travel by motorcycle
or car to Big Chute Marine Railway near Coldwater that’s the only one of its
kind in North America.
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| At Big Chute, a massive wheeled carriage takes boats over the road. (Jim Fox photo) |
Start out on the Upper
Big Chute Road winding 42 kilometres through rock bluffs and pines of the
Canadian Shield that inspired the Group of Seven painters.
At the site, the Severn
River has carved a narrow chute out of solid granite and the railway portages
boats in a 100-tonne open carriage.
There’s an observation
deck to watch workers scramble up and down ladders to operate the slings and carriage.
It lifts boats
almost 18 metres over a ridge between the Severn River and Gloucester Pool on
Georgian Bay and slips them gently back into the water on the other side.
Stay on to barbecue,
picnic or swap tales from the road.
- Another marvel is
the Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site on the Otonabee River section
of the Trent Canal.
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| Canoes and kayaks are jammed into the Peterborough Lift Lock for a National Canoe Day event. |
As the
highest lift lock in the world, it opened to great fanfare in 1904 and is powered
by gravity, lifting boats 19.8 metres.
The lock operates
on a balance system, with water let into the upper chamber and then a
connecting valve is opened and the heavier chamber automatically descends,
forcing up the lower chamber to start a new cycle.
- Nearby are two
prime summer boating towns in the Kawartha Lakes – Bobcaygeon and Fenelon
Falls.
The two historic
lumber towns have thriving main streets, colourful shops and upscale waterfront
dining.
Bobcaygeon is
between Pigeon and Sturgeon lakes at Lock 32, the first lock built on the waterway
in 1833.
To the west, Fenelon
Falls, called the “Jewel of the Kawarthas,” has spectacular granite cliffs at Lock
34 between Sturgeon and Cameron lakes. Waterway details: pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/on/trentsevern/index.aspx;
1-888-773-8888
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com
For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca
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