The Trent-Severn Waterway
The Trent-Severn Waterway is getting international attention this year, as people around the world discover what we already knew—this is the perfect place to experience a Canadian summer filled with nostalgic feelings of childhood. A place where nature meets small-town charm, and adventure flows through!
The New York Times named the Trent-Severn Waterway one of its places to travel to in 2025, and it’s the only Canadian destination on the list. The 386km canal route connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, at Port Severn has been around since 1833, so why now, and why in 2025?
For starters, The Canadian Canoe Museum just reopened in a brand-new waterfront location in Peterborough, Ontario, earning the interest of Time Magazine, who named it one of “The World’s Greatest Places of 2025.”
Le Boat, a European luxury boat rental company, also opened a base in 2024 on the Trent-Severn just south of Peterborough, bringing even more international attention to the Waterway. Their inaugural year on the Trent-Severn Waterway outsold the Rideau Canal, and sales are looking so good this year that they’ve increased their fleet from 8 to 11 boats.
The act of travelling from lock to lock and village to village is part of the beauty of the Waterway. You’ll feel like a true explorer searching for navigational buoys and beacons with binoculars and experiencing the engineering marvels that await you at each lock. People spend thousands of dollars to travel abroad, when we have an incredible experience right here in Ontario! And at a time when a growing number of Canadians support travelling within the country, what feels more Canadian than spending a summer on the lake?
The best way to experience the Trent-Severn Waterway is by boat, but it’s still accessible even if you don’t own one. Places like Buckeye Marine in Bobcaygeon or Peel Marine in Lakefield rent watercraft, and you can rent anything from a SUP board to a pontoon boat from Kawartha Adventure Rentals, to name just a few options.
Speaking of rentals, houseboats are like floating cottages equipped with a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and sometimes even fun features like slides or hot tubs. There are several companies in the area to choose from. R&R Houseboat Rentals and Egan Houseboats are located on Pigeon Lake, while H2O Getaways is based in Trenton and affords easy access to the lower part of the TSW. The aforementioned Le Boat offers a more European-style cruiser.
The great thing about houseboats is you don’t need a boating licence to drive one. Helpful staff will give you a full training session, which includes a quick lesson on the water to make sure you’re prepared. Lock staff are already ready with tips and support too, so don’t worry if you’re a newbie.
Another option to consider is a cottage resort. The Waterway is dotted with them, some full-service like Elmhirst’s Resort and others smaller-scale like Southview Cottages. We love a good pet-friendly option like Lake Edge Cottages in Lakefield, which caters to you and your furry friend. A lot of these cottage resorts also offer fishing boat rentals.
The Waterway is the main attraction, but it’s the towns and local businesses that are the heart of this experience. Each town has its own character, with lots to discover including unique independently owned shops, a diverse selection of culinary options, outdoor festivals, and open-air theatres. They all have one thing in common: they offer that summer cottage vacation vibe and welcome Waterway visitors with open arms.
It’s a bonus that most of the towns’ offerings are easily accessible from the Waterway. The Canoe Museum sits directly on the waterfront, as does Musicfest, Canada’s longest-running free concert series. Of course, we can’t forget about the Peterborough Lift Lock, the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock. Further south, Campbellford is home of the Giant Toonie, a must for holiday photo ops. To the north, Lakefield has historic literary fame and hosts both a literary and a jazz festival. Buckhorn offers stunning Canadian Shield scenery, hiking trails, lakeside dining, and live music experiences in the summer. Bobcaygeon—a town made famous by The Tragically Hip—wears the moniker “Hip Town” well. In the summer, it’s buzzing with tourists, boaters, people sipping drinks on patios, and shoppers exploring the local boutiques.
Discovering the towns along the Waterway is so much a part of the fun that we created an entire program to help people explore the Trent-Severn Waterway and its towns—the Trent-Severn Trail Towns program, which is the first Trail Town program in Canada. In Kawarthas Northumberland, our “trail” refers to the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site of Canada.
This summer, we invite you to dive into a truly iconic Canadian experience and visit the cottage country that the Trent-Severn Waterway flows through. As Canadian author and New York Times bestseller Carly Fortune says: “Good things happen at the lake!”
To learn more about the towns along the Trent-Severn Waterway, follow this link: https://tswtrailtowns.ca/
You’ll find inspiration and lots of great information to help plan the perfect summer getaway on the Trent-Severn Waterway, where nature meets small-town charm.
