Trent Canal Facilities and Services

Trent Severn Facilities and services

Lock station amenities

Parks Canada’s Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site offers washrooms* with potable water at all of our lock stations, except for at Lock 4 and Lock 7. Washrooms at these stations are available for boater public only.

Availability of washrooms outside of operational hours is reserved for overnight visitors who have purchased a mooring permit and/or a camping permit.

Lock 6 Frankford, Lock 31 Buckhorn, Lock 32 Bobcaygeon, and Lock 34 Fenelon Falls now offer hydro hook-ups to boaters wishing to have power overnight. This service is offered on a first come, first served basis. Fees are applicable for this service.

* Lock station washrooms are available to the general public during operational hours only.

Persons requiring assistance with accessibility at any of our sites on the Trent-Severn Waterway may contact Parks Canada Operations Staff through Ont.Trentsevern@pc.gc.ca or Tel: 705-750-4900 Tel (Toll-free in North America Only): 1-888-773-8888 to be accommodated.

Seasonal Lockage Permit – Allows passage through any number of locks throughout the entire navigation season.
Six-Day Permit – Allows passage through any number of locks on any six days.
One-Day Permit – Allows passage through any number of locks in one day.
Single Lockage and Return Permit – The fee charged to travel through and then return by the same lock station.
Transit Permit – Allows the boater to travel through the Trent-Severn Waterway in one direction only (a one-time transit where vessels go through each lock station only once).

Lockage, mooring and camping permits are available for sale to boaters at most lock stations, online or by calling 1-888-773-8888. Vessel length is used to calculate lockage and mooring fees. Charges for overnight camping are based on group size, or camping is free with the purchase of a mooring permit.

Mooring and camping space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Possession of a valid mooring permit is necessary to moor a vessel overnight at a lock station or bridge station but does not guarantee a docking space. Vessel owners wishing to moor overnight at lock and bridge stations should check in with lock staff upon arrival. Boaters are also responsible for the care of their vessels during the mooring period. Vessels should not be left unattended for long periods of time. Check out time in the morning is 11:00 a.m. on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Boaters must leave the wharf area (wall) by 11:00 a.m. the day following the last permitted mooring night.

Mooring periods vary at different lock stations and bridge stations. Boaters may tie up at locks 1 – 18 for 5 days, but may stay only one night at locks 28, 30, 31, 34, and 42. At all other lock stations, Murray Canal swing bridges and Bridge #50, boaters may stay for 2 nights (48 hrs.).

Blue lines are often used for additional mooring spaces following the day's last lockage. However, boaters must move their vessels off the blue line before the lock opens the next day.

Rafting of vessels is only permitted at lock and bridge stations from the close of navigation for the day to opening the next morning. Boaters on the wall are not required to accept rafting. Rafted vessels are charged the same mooring fee as vessels on the wall.

Vessels having reached the maximum length of stay cannot return to the same wharf or wall for 48 hours, unless directed otherwise by lock staff.

Overnight camping is offered to boaters who arrive by boat and leave by boat. Camping is also permitted for organized cycling and hiking groups at most lock stations, but must be approved in advance.

Vessels towing a boat (aluminum, fiberglass, rubber dingy or personal watercraft) regardless of size, with or without an engine, will require a lockage permit for the towed craft. A mooring permit for a towed vessel is also a requirement.

Vessels 12ft and under are charged a 12ft minimum rate for all permits.

Payment may be made by cash, by personal cheque with proper identification or with Visa/Mastercard.

Permits are valid only during the year of issue and are not transferable or refundable.

Seasonal lockage, mooring or transit decals must be affixed to the vessel. Other permits must be available for verification or validation by lock staff.

Seasonal overnight mooring permits are also valid for use at St. Lawrence Islands National Park, Georgian Bay Islands National Park and Fathom Five Marine Park (boaters using a campsite must also pay a camping fee).

Official Page in Case of Changes - The French Version is available from here. Please note you are leaving our secure pages and will get re-directed to the last known Government Page Location

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Information

TrentCanal.com although unique, we present you with all the maps, coordinates, distancej between all locks from TheTrentSevernWaterway.com.
Trent Severn spans a distance of 387 km (240 miles) and a rise of 180 meters (590 feet) above Lake Ontario and 80 meters (260 feet) above Georgian Bay at the Trent-Severn's highest point, Balsam Lake.
We offer businesses free advertising at our regional site: ShopKawartha.com that encompasses the Centtral Ontario Region.

The Trent Severn Waterway

Brief History of The Trent-Severn Waterway
The start to finish time line spans eighty-seven years with the systems construction starting in 1833 at Bobcaygeon and finishing in 1920 at Port Severn, three hundred and eighty-seven kilometers from Lake Ontario.
The Navigation channel runs a depth of six feet from start to finish. The locks vary in raising the water level some exceptions are; flight locks, the Big Chute Marine Railway with a lift of eighteen meters (58 feet), the Kirkfield Lift Lock with an average lift of fifteen meters (49 feet) )and the Peterborough Lift Lock (finished in 1904) with a lift of twenty meters (65 feet).
Peaking at Balsam Lake at 180 meters (600 feet) above Lake Ontario and 80 meters (250 feet) above Lake Huron’s, Georgian Bay.
Standard lock dimensions are one hundred and twenty feet long by thirty-two feet wide. The two exceptions are the lock 44, the Big Chute Marine Railway at one hundred feet long by twenty-four feet wide and lock 45 at Port Severn is only eight-four feet long and twenty-three feet wide setting the limit if you wish to traverse The Trent Severn Waterway from one end to the other.
Two major upgrades were at Big Chute in 1960 and combining two locks at Burleigh Falls in 1968 eliminating lock 29.
• The Trent Severn Waterway is Central Ontario's 387 kilometers of waterway utilizing 41 locks, a marine railway and 2 hydraulic lift locks. The highest point, Balsam Lake is 180 meters (590 feet) above Lake Ontario and 80 meters (260 feet) above Georgian Bay.
• Navigation here is easy, all the key data is on one page. A click to the printable map or business directory or towns you pass by with quick links to their street map, grocery shopping, LCBO and region.
• Enjoy relaxing, activities or the sights of Central Ontario including the Peterborough Lift Lock or the Big Chute Marine Railway.
• We use 387 km instead of 386 km because that is what we get things to add up to.
• Balsam Lake is the highest point in the system, not Rosedale or Kirkfield. Kirkfield is 14.9 m below Balsam and Rosedale 1.2 m below.
• The Kirkfield Lift Lock Chambers rise to one foot below Balsam Lake, the system works when Balsam fills this area in the chamber increasing the weight, allowing it to descend so the opposite chamber to can rise. The chamber coming down must always have more water (weight) for the design to function.
• There is no lock 29 as two locks were replaced by one at Burleigh Falls.
• Purdey's Mills aka Lindsay aka City of Kawartha Lakes, is a side branch of The Trent-Severn Waterway accessing Lake Scugog.

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