7/31/15 – 8/7/15          The End of the Trent-Severn Waterway

7/31/15 - 8/1/15           To Fenelon Falls (Lock 34)

We travelled about 15 miles to get to Fenelon Falls. Lock 34 is the only lock we went through.

Below are some shots along the way.

And this was entering Fenelon Falls.

 

We tied up to the wall in the middle of the town. We were able to get electric here so the fridge stayed nice and cold. We were limited to 2 nights at this location on the wall. Actually, almost all locks have a 2 night limit. The exception is a few who allow you to stay only one night.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a delightful little town and since it was a week-end it was quite busy.

 

 

8/2/15                          To Sunset Cove Marina in Bolsover, Ontario

This picture should indicate how shallow the water can be in some places along these waterways.

Note the man standing in the water and all of the boats beside him in the marina. Our boat extends 3.5 feet below the surface. Some boats our size and larger need 5 feet.

We went through Lock 35 into Balsam Lake which was the last of the locks to lift the boat. At this point we were over 840 feet above sea level.

We found some unique sites along this section of the trip.

Do you think it will be big enough?

From the lake we entered one of the very narrow canals. Not only was this one narrow but it is also quite shallow. Thank goodness we didn’t have to pass any other boats.

 

Lock 36, Kirkfield Lift Lock, was the first lock down and also the second lift lock on the waterway. The following pictures are of our trip down.

We enter the pan. Note nothing but tree tops ahead.



Almost at the bottom



At the bottom, waiting to leave

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Here is the famous Hole in the Wall Bridge in Canal Lake. This bridge was constructed in 1905 and has a 28’ vertical clearance. It sure doesn’t look that tall when you are approach.

 

We pulled into Sunset Cove Marina and spent the night.
 

8/3/15 – 8/5/15                        On to Orillia, Ontario

This portion on the trip took us through Lake Simcoe. It is the largest lake on the Trent Severn. It is roughly 20 miles long and 16 miles across. This can be a very dangerous lake because storms are known to come up quickly. We did not run into a storm but we still went through about 3 foot waves.  

Opening to Lake Simcoe

It really is this green!

And his blue!

 

 

 

The following spots are on the lake just before entering the narrows.
 

 

This is entering Port of Orillia and the adjacent Couchiching Beach Park.
 

We stayed 3 nights (paid for 2 and got 1 free). This deal and this stop should not be missed. There was a grocery store and LCBO (Liquor store) nearby along with a few restaurants. We checked out the city. The area had some large hills so we did more walking than we did bike riding. We had a wonderful meal at Cosmo’s Restaurant which was up the hill, but definitely worth the walk.

French’s est. in 1920, just across the park



Sidewalks were bumped out into the street to allow outdoor dining

Shops along the main street



Tour Cruises
 

8/6/15              To Severn Falls, Ontario

The first part of this trip took us across Lake Couchiching. This is another shallow lake full of islands and rocks. Then we entered the Severn River which is the last portion of the waterway.

Hope you enjoy these pictures along the way.
 

Yep! Another personal sea plane

Our destination for the night was Severn Falls Marina. This was a very small town and everything was right there on the water. It was a very busy place. Most of the traffic was by boat.

8/7/15              End of Trent Severn and out into Georgian Bay

We travelled down the Severn River which had its share of islands too.
 

This was an island house

Some islands are not inhabited

Below are some interesting boats we passed today
 

Then we reached “Lock 44”. This is actually not a lock at all but is called “Big Chute” and is a railway lift. In this instance the boat is removed from the water and placed in slings on a railway car bed which then travels over the ground and then placed back in the water at the other end.

These are pictures of some boats being lowered into the water where we are waiting.

These pictures are of our trip over the 58 foot rail lift (down for us).

Our approach



Getting the slings into place

Our ascent



At the top



Our descent

At the bottom re-entering the water

looking back at the empty carriet

We then continued down a narrow channel called “Little Chute”. We actually passed 3 boats going the other way.

Some interesting sights along the last part of the Severn.

I want to do a jigsaw puzzle of this one



This one’s for sale if anyone’s interested

These folks have a distinct case of whimsy!



Lock 45 (last lock and end of Trent-Severn)

This was our last lock and the end of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The entire waterway was 240 miles long. We ascended 607 feet and then descended 261 feet.  From here we continued into the Georgian Bay.

Stay tuned for the next installment about our travel on the Georgian Bay.