Motivated Motion

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The Trent-Severn Waterway, Historic Lakefield, And The Peterborough Lift Locks

(Click on words underlined in blue to get links)

(You can click on any photo to make it bigger, just back-page out of it when you want to get back to the blog)




I have been very fortunate in my life. My parents liked to travel in North America for our holidays. Their idea of a great vacation: road trip with the trailer, and boat (flipped over on top of camper trailer to tow) in the wilderness. The vacation was a memorable hit if the car didn't break down, a human or pet didn't get sick, the bears didn't get into our gear, and the fishing was awesome!

My parents are the best fishermen in the world! I am not joking. My Mom has an award winning trout on her wall you would have thought Red Fisher caught! Their Salmon Fishing Charter Boat on Lake Ontario really drew in crowds from all over the world too. My parents have a nose for fish. If we were in the wild and only had a knife and a fishing rod and one hook, we would not starve. The trick to fishing is patience. Enjoy the solitude, and wear sunblock.

We have had some very very interesting trips in my life, yet we have never travelled by boat on the Trent-Severn waterway. We have definitely been on pieces of it, but we have never taken at trip along it over a few weeks.

Many folks do. They take their yahts or sailboats or cruisers along the waterway to see the multitude of lakes and rivers bywhich it is abound.

Seeing I have done some comparison in size of the width of parts of this waterway to the Canals in Berlin, I figured I should show you a piece of this great waterway. Alex and I did a day trip to Peterborough and Lakefield to show you what the waterway size is like. First you will notice that there are large amounts of uninhabited land along these waters, and second you will only find small towns and villages at most of the waterway hubs, eventhough the waterway goes right to Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes.

If you come as a tourist here, in the Peterborough and Lakefield area, you can go on day cruises on the waterway in tourist boats. There are also different places you can rent houseboats for a holiday. Ontario does require you to have a boating licence for any motorized boat. So this must be planned ahead. You are required to take an online test on boating laws and regulations and terms. We have laws about drinking and driving boats here that are very strict. We have police all over our waterways.



(the native Sumac plant)
The Trent-Severn Waterway is 386 km long. It joins the Great Lake Ontario at The Bay of Quinte (pronounced kwin-tee) to Georgian Bay. The photograph at the top of the page shows all the waterways that are connected by the Trent-Severn Wateray. Remember Newmarket is just to the south of Lake Simcoe. You can find Lake Simcoe on the map as well.




There are 36 conventional locks, two flight locks (Ranney Falls and Healey Falls), two hydraulic lift locks and a marine railway.


(flower Queen Annes Lace)


We start outour daytrip in the Village of Lakefield
This is in the Kawarthas. The Kawarthas is a series of lakes, and the main villages of these lakes that are within the Trent-Severn Waterway.
This is the beginning of what we in Ontario call "Cottage Country".
You will see from these photos I have taken that some folks idea of a cottage is a large, fully equipped villa that could easily house more than one family.
Many retired city dwellers will sell their city houses or condominiums and move to the Kawarthas. They will purchase large villas if they have many adult children who would come to visit with their families on weekends.
Homes in this area vary from $189,000 CAN to $798,000 CAN for waterfront lots with well water and septic tanks.


The homes you see here are in a lagoon community beside Lakefield College. Lakefield College is a private Boarding School. In 1978 Prince Andrew attended Lakefield on a school exchange.
If you want to see some video footage of events at Lakefield click on the video camera icon at this link.






This is the view toward the lagoon from the dam in Lakefield. Along side the dam runs the river, and along side the river runs the Waterway Canal.
This is the view from the Canal Pier.
This is the view from atop the dam.
This is the dam sleuce.
Dam sleuce (left), River (right)
There is quite a difference in the water level.
The dam is mostly closed with one channel open to allow water below.
You can see the natural slag wall with the stone spill-way built on top of it. On the other side of this wall is the Waterway Canal.



If you look carefully you can see some kids swimming by the old power mill.

One gate is opened part way on the dam.


Here are some boats travelling through the Waterway Canal, and one boat docked at the pier.


Waterfall from the dam gate.




View up the Canal
This is the dam in Peterborough. It is roughly the same size as the one in Lakefield, but it has its hydro station attached to it.

This is the view along the Otonabee River. A large cruiser is coasting along the river heading toward the buildings of Trent University. (This is Where Alex went to school)


Here is another part of the Waterway Canal. There is a defunct swing bridge located up the canal.



This is the other side of the dam.


View from the Trent University bridge.

This is a view to the North.


This is South. To the right is the University Library.



This is Trent University's new DNA lab. One of many new buildings dedicated to the planned largest DNA studies facility in Canada.



This Year Amber (Alex's Girlfriend) will probably spend most of her days in the DNA building. She is a Chemist who is studying Forensic Sciences.

Further along the Otonabee River you come to the Peterborough Lift Locks.
They are a sight to be seen.

Alex beside the Diver Model.


If you click on the picture you should be able to read the information about the Peterborough Lift Locks. The Peterborough Lift Locks is the largest in the World.


To give you an idea of the size....There is a man standing at the bottom platform near the fence.
You can click on any of these pictures to make them bigger. Just back page to this page when you wish to continue on.


Crazy Bumble Bee on the Lobelias. (If I have the name wrong for these blue flowers tell me in comments. It is possible that it is a type of Loosetrife pr Beardtongue.)

(Black Eyed Susan)

Geese in the Liflock Park



Here is a site with all sorts of pictures of Ontario in it.





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