Trent Severn Waterway Seasonal Closing for 2022

  Sadly, this coming October 10th will mark the final day of the 2022 navigation season on the lovely Trent Severn Waterway. It certainly was a challenging year for the system, with closures to to high spring waters, ongoing staffing issues at the Big Chute and finally the breakdown of the Kirkfield Lift Lock. 

 The navigation season - the time when boats are able to pass through the locks and use the facilities (washrooms, etc.) - runs from the end of May through to October each year. For a full listing of dates and hours, take a look at the Parks Canada site, here. That site will be updated sometime over the off season, usually by late winter, to give specific dates for the upcoming 2023 season.

 Hopefully, many if those issues can be rectified before the 2023 season rolls around. As we always say in the boating world - there's always next year 😀 

Canada Day Boating Long Weekend on The TrentSevern Waterway

 Here's way too many pics from our July 1st long weekend away at one of the locks. A nice get away close to home. And now that we are even closer, we hope to do some more & farther traveling back this way through the Trent Severn Waterway.

 This is what we woke up to on the morning that we headed out from the marina - the boat + dock + pretty much everything else was covered with Shad Flies (May Flies);

Approaching the eastern portion of the Trent Severn Waterway, close to Gamebridge;

Lock #39 - 'Portage Lock' , our home for the next few days;

Anchor Girl getting the lines ready;

A look eastward from the top of the lock, towards Lake Simcoe. You can see how the locks are in close proximity along this stretch;

Looks like we got a great parking spot;

This is what the grounds look like. As I mentioned in the above video, the entire Trent Severn Waterway is operated by Parks Canada and, therefore, we can enjoy a park like setting at many of the locks. The ones in this area are particularly appealing as the have limited road access, keeping the road/car traffic to a minimum;

The cruise boat 'Kawartha Voyageur' passed through on day one. That big boat was built to fit in the smallest lock that it passes through. The tighter locks it passes through are accommodated by the fact that the bow section is hinged so that it can fold up, making room for the boat to get into a lock like this one;

Here she is exiting at the bottom;

Once again, I have MORE MIND BLOWING VIDEO to share of this monumental event;

Waiting at the bottom we  have the 'Poker Sticks' & 'Sand Dollar' crews;

This was the first time for these guys to pass through this way;

They decided to continue on to attempt an overnight at Coboconk, on Balsam Lake. Ultimately, they ended up staying at the Kirkfield Liftlock;

Good time for a brief snooze. Ya, it was REALLY brief, as my first mate wouldn't stop bugging me;

This is one of my favorite photos of the summer of '11;

Nice spot;

Another look east;

A quiet evening;

The following day, Jim & Marg returned with Bill & Joan to spend some time here.
Here's Jimmy & I doing our best figuring out how to put his bug tent together;

Still working on it . . .

At least our fumbling around with the thing provided some entertainment for Bill & Joan;

TADA! We got it;

Just before the lock closed for the day, these guys moved their boats from the bottom to the top for the night;

This boat 'Life Is Short' was behind us. These folks have taken them words to heart and 'did the Loop' - all 6000+ miles of it - in this vessel a few years back.
Here's a LINK to their web site, if you would like to read about their adventure.
Good for them!!

BBQ time;

A nice evening;

This was the first time using the recently installed fire pit. They even sell firewood at the lock;

Jimmy kicking back to enjoy the fire - and maybe even an evening cocktail or two ;-)

Sunday morning and time to head home. Here the three of us in the lock;

'Poker Sticks' splashing through the waves on Simcoe. It doesn't look too rough in this photo, but we were having some waves break spray right up to the flybridge;

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 As we had such an enjoyable time on the long weekend, we decided to head back the following weekend, this time spending a night at Lock #40. The 'Docked Wages' crew were able to join us, as well;

Yaaaaaa!

There wasn't enough room at the top of the lock, so Boogaboo stayed tied up at the bottom side;

A final look out the side of Boogaboo . . .

Boat Cruise to Fenelon Falls - Holidays 2007

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Day one of our on the road portion of the 2007 trip to the eastern portion of the Trent Severn Waterway - all the way to Fenelon Falls Marina.

 Here's a few pics that mirror the excitement we have enjoyed up to this point. Click on them to expand to full size.

The first one is just heading out onto Lake Simcoe - how's that for Perfect conditions???








The second one is 'Boogaboo III' sitting on the blue line, waiting to lock through. Except for one lock, we were able to hit all of them on our own, which made the whole process easy. However, there was a fair bit of traffic heading in the opposite direction, so there was a wait for them to 'unload' at most of the locks - and a 20 minute wait at Kirkfield Liftlock while the staff did some maintenance.

This is a Close Encounter we had passing through the cut, just past Kirkfield. These folks were so intimidated by OUR BOAT, that the captain actually started to back up! I tried to hail him on the radio, but no luck, so we just got closer and yelled for him to continue on (with a bit of speed, to maintain control) & we passed by each other without even a little clunk (above or below the water line).


This was the view at or current spot, Fenelon Falls Marina. A lovely little cloud passed by and left me no choice to to capture it - on film.

After the clouds passed & the wind died down, we had this wonderful sunset view for the evening. Seems like every time we come here, we get to enjoy these spectacular vistas.

After the sun was gone, the moon showed up. Take a look at the moon's reflection over the lake! Beautiful.

Chow for now.