Paddling
Get on the water and explore these recommended routes by canoe or kayak
Fresh Air, Exercise, and Incredible Views
Paddling has always been an essential part of life in Kawarthas Northumberland—just visit The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough if you need proof. You can even start your day paddling from the Museum’s dock, though that’s just one of many adventures you can have along the Trent-Severn Waterway.
Each Trail Town has its own attractions and favourite routes, so paddlers can enjoy the nearby communities just like their motorized fellow boaters. We asked canoe expert and author Kevin Callan for a few recommendations that begin or end near Trail Towns, and below you’ll find some of his favourite local paddles.
Before you set out, just remember to put safety first—wear a PFD, check the weather before you leave, and be realistic about your route and skill level. For a complete review, see Parks Canada’s safety and guidelines page.
The Kawarthas - A Paddler’s Paradise
by Kevin Callan
When European settlers came to the region it didn’t take them long to obtain birchbark or dugout canoes from the local First Nations so they could navigate the watershed, the same aquatic highway that had been used for hundreds of years by the Indigenous peoples. It was a place the Mississauga called Ka-wa-tha, meaning “bright water and happy lands,” and it became the preferred route of the missionaries, fur-traders, and settlers.
Given the demand for the watercraft in the area back in the 19th century, it is no surprise that the first modern canoe originated in the Kawarthas. Fed up with portaging a heavy dugout, settler John Stephenson, along with Tom Gordon, manufactured the first plank-and-rib canoe.
There was soon worldwide demand for the Peterborough canoe. Surveyors traveled the West and North with the aid of Peterboroughs. A Lakefield canoe was allegedly the first to be paddled across the English Channel. Even Theodore Roosevelt and Queen Elizabeth paddled cedar-rib canoes built in the Kawarthas. But it was the area where these famous canoe craftsmen obtained their building material that attracted canoeists by the hundreds. In 1907 a tourism brochure advertised this land of “bright water and happy lands” as “the playground of the Continent.”
Now, with several provincial parks, Parks Canada Trent-Severn Waterway, and plenty of Crown land preserving some of the best remaining paddling routes in the Kawartha, there still exist secluded pockets of semi-wild lakes and rivers lying in sweet abandonment, where a canoeist can become lost for a day or two in an ancient paddler’s paradise.
Trent Severn Waterway - Lakefield to Little Lake
The section of Parks Canada’s Trent-Severn Waterway between the quaint hamlet of Lakefield to the city of Peterborough is known to be one of the most scenic and quietest portions to paddle. The Lakefield Beach is a popular put in for this day outing, and so is Lock 26 on the west side of town. It’s a downstream run all the way along the Otonabee River. The distance is a moderate 16.5 kms and takes around 4 hours to complete.
With less powerboat traffic along this stretch wildlife encounters are pretty much guaranteed. Great blue herons and osprey are common place, and there’s a good chance to spot the more secretive green heron or American bittern.
There’s also Trent University, an architectural masterpiece that chief architect Ron Thom conceptualized to “grow out of the landscape – respectful of the location.” The University opened its doors to its first students in September 1964 and became “a place of aesthetic as well as intellectual excitement.” The main stone design was to be a mixture of craft and science and was labelled one of the most ambitious and comprehensive commissions in Canadian history.
There are a total of seven locks you’ll pass through, or portage around if you don’t want to pay the moderate lockage fee. But the experience of taking your canoe through the lock system is worth the payment—especially the dual lifts in Peterborough. It’s like an amusement park ride, raising you up 20 meters (65 ft), which was considered a huge engineer masterpiece when it was first opened on 1904. Make sure to plan your day trip the same date that Park’s Canada help celebrate Canada’s Parks Day Lock & Paddle event, where hundreds of canoes and kayaks gather and squeeze as many boats into the lock as possible. It’s a celebrations that shouldn’t be missed.
Roger’s Cove Beach on Little Lake in Peterborough was once the preferred take-out spot. But that was before the Canadian Canoe Museum built their new centre on the shoreline of the same lake. It opened in 2024. The building measures 65,000 square feet (6,038 square metres) over two storeys on a five-acre property on the shores of Little Lake. It houses the world’s largest—over 600—collection of canoes, kayaks, paddles and other paddling craft.
The museum’s upper level is a true masterpiece. A 20,000 square foot (1,858 square metre) exhibit hall displays historic canoes and kayaks, from traditional voyageur canoes to watercraft used by such paddlers as Gordon Lightfoot, Bill Mason, George Douglas and Dan Starkell.
The big bonus to the new building is a massive storage area filled with an assortment of birchbark canoes, dugout canoes, old-school Grumman canoes, skin-on-frame kayaks, racing canoes and countless cedar canvas canoes manufactured by companies with names like Herald, Peterborough, Chestnut, Lakefield and Canadian.
And the new museum even has elaborate floating docks constructed along the shoreline of Little Lake to accommodate your arrival. There’s also the option to camp for the night at the neighbouring Beavermead Campground, literally right beside the museum. Park’s Canada also provides camping at the majority of their lift-locks for a very reasonable price. They also have a oTENTik—a cross between a tent and a rustic cedar cabin—to rent out at Lock 24 Douro, which is along the route.
Campbellford to Percy Bay
Campbellford has a good vibe to it. It’s a blender mix of a small southeastern Ontario limestone village, mirrored with some across-the-pond European canal district. It’s also the birthplace of the two-dollar coin—the Canadian Toonie. It’s got great cafes, music buskers, jaw-dropping theatre performances, and yes the tasty freshly made local butter tart. It also has an incredible day paddle.
There are a number of access points along the way but the preferred one for a full-day outing is at the floating dock on the lower section of Lock 13, just upstream from the town of Campbellford.
The urban paddle through the town of Campbellford is a pleasant one. There are a number of cafes a short walking distance from the river. The Canadian Toonie statue is located in Old Mill Park, along the right side of the river. It’s a good size (27 feet tall and 18 feet wide) and made from the same material as the Toonie. It was local artist Brent Townsend who created the polar bear image on the tail side of the coin, which is the reason Campbellford is home for the statue. The date on the coin is the same year the monument was completed, 1996.
A highlight of the trip is Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge. Access can be had directly beside locks 11 and 12, just south of Campbellford. The 300-foot-long walking bridge hangs 30 foot above the Ranney Gorge, downstream of Ranney Falls. And yes, it will sway back and forth a little bit while you cross over. The view is well worth the tummy roll, however. On the opposite side is Ferris Provincial Park and access to a series of hiking trails. The bridge was opened to the public in 2004 and constructed by the 8 Wing CFB Trenton engineers as a training project.
There are 5 locks in total along the route (locks 11-12 Ranney, Lock 10 – Hagues Reach, Lock 9 – Meyers, Lock 8 – Percy Reach). You can portage around all of them if you don’t want to pay the moderate lockage fee. But you should really consider taking a ride through locks 11-12 (Ranney). It’s a double lock system where two conventional locks are joined at the hip to help boost the startling 48 foot lift. As you rise up you can gawk down at the Ranny Gorge below.
Lock 8 – Percy Point marks the end of your day. You can take out at the floating dock on the upper portion of the lock or continue through and use the boat launch a little further downstream.
If you want to camp along the way, Ferris Provincial Park can be accessed directly from the water. All the lock stations also provide campsites for a small fee. Lock 10 (Hagues Beach) and Lock 9 (Meyers) have a really cool camping option—teardrop Oasis pods. You’re elevated above the ground and tucked back in a wooded site. Inside there’s a convertible table/bed and a suspended hammock. It’s an incredible experience that shouldn’t be missed.
Wolf Island Provincial Park
Wolf Island is a relatively unknown provincial park (non-operating) situated along the Trent-Severn Waterway between Lovesick Lake and Lower Buckhorn Lake. It was originally designated a Natural Environmental Park for its unique geological features, where Paleozoic limestone outcroppings rub shoulders with much older Precambrian bedrock. A n umber of crescent-shaped gouges and striations were marked deep into the bedrock by passing glaciers, and the mixture of swamp forest and barren rockscape make for an interesting habitat.
There’s no road access directly to Wolf Island. You have to paddle to it. Your two main access options are to make use of the parking lot and boat launch at Lock 32 in Buckhorn, on the west side of Buckhorn Road, or at the Burleigh Falls Lock 28, located north of the falls and on the left side of Highway 28.
From Burleigh it’s half the distance and less open water. However, the paddle along the north shore of Buckhorn Lake is a scenic one. It all depends how much time you have. From Burleigh it takes about an hour to reach the island and double that from Buckhorn. Either way, keep to the islands to avoid boat traffic.
Once your reach Wolf Island, plan to circle it counterclockwise. There are four short (50 meter) marked portages around a series of dams that split up the island (Sunrise, Sunset, Black Duck and Grey Duck), and an old abandoned canoe lift-over at the Lovesick Lock. The best option to paddle around the island is to use the portage around the north side of Grey Duck, the second of two dams to the north. Then take a ride on the Lovesick Lock—it’s a better option than portaging. It’s a moderate lockage fee and a unique experience to wait inside the cement chamber amongst all the yachts and pleasure craft.
The island, as well as some of the smaller surrounding islands, have designated campsites if you choose to camp out for a night or two. Take note, however, that this is a non-operating provincial park. There’s no fee but there’s also no facilities like outhouses, maintained fire pits, or picnic tables, and no way to reserve as site. It’s first come, first served.
Burnt River
Downstream of the town of Kinmount the Burnt River offers whitewater paddlers an excellent joy ride all the way to Somerville Park. But if you’re not looking to run rapids and portage around waterfalls then the lower stretch from Somerville Park to the Trent-Severn Lock 35 in Rosedale makes for a beautiful float along a lazy river shrouded in wooded banks and lowland swamp.
To access the park and the river drive 20 km north of Fenlon Falls on County Road 121, and make a left on #44. There’s not much to the park, just a small roadside rest area with a beach and a couple picnic tables. But it offers an excellent put in for your canoe.
It’s a long, wide, twisting waterway (10 km) to the Rosedale Lock Station, and the river gets populated with camps and boats the closer you get to the mouth of the river at Rosedale River and Cameron Lake, especially if the annual Burnt River Tube Floatillia is being held that weekend. Most paddlers generally paddle downstream from the put-in and paddle a good three kilometres or so and then paddle back up to the access.
The shoreline is quite different on the lower stretch of the Burnt than the upper. The whitewater section down from Kinmount is more northern-like, with stout pine and high sandy banks dominating the shoreline. The lower is more flat with low-lying shrubs and swamp maple. This habit is an oasis for bird life. Kingbirds fly from bank to bank, catbirds squawk their meow-like call. Various flycatchers, vireos and warblers.
There’s no campsites suitable en route. But if you want to make a weekend out of it, Trent-Severn’s Lock 35 at Rosedale provides campsites for a small fee. They also offer a rustic cabin for you to rent. It’s set up across from the lack station on Dewey’s Island Nature Reserve. It’s a perfect place to stay after a day of paddling the wilds of the lower Burnt River.
Upper Pigeon River
Omemee is a small village along Highway 7 between the historic city of Peterborough and the idyllic town of Lindsay. The pigeon River flows through it. Downstream the river flushes into the expanse of Pigeon Lake. It’s big water with powerboat traffic. To the south, however, lies a hidden gem, where the source of the Pigeon River trickles in from Mount Horeb. This is a short route that can be paddled in 2-3 hours but there’s plenty of side routes and places to visit along the way.
The access point is on the left (east) side of County Road 31, just past Windy Ridge Conservation Area. where the river flows under the bridge. You’ll see where the Trans Canada Trail (Rail Trail) crosses the road. You could also park at the Conservation Area’s Parking lot and portage your canoe to the launch. There’s a boat launch on the northwest side of the Omemee dam. You can organize a car shuttle between the two points or decide to just paddle back upstream to the put-in off County Road 31.
From the access point you paddle downstream towards Omemee. You could go under the bridge and paddle a little ways upstream but it eventually gets too shallow and weedy. This section of waterway has no current to speak of. It’s slow, swampy, and sluggish—and it’s alive with wildlife.
Not far past the put-in you’ll go under an old railway bridge and then see the hiking trail for Windy Ridge Conservation Area following the shoreline. It’s a 1.8 loop trail that brings you to the highest ridge in the area and offers a beautiful view of the countryside.
The waterway forks soon after where the cool clear water of Fleetwood Creek trickles into the turbid waters of the Pigeon. Make your way up the small stream as far as your canoe can be navigated and you’ll be rewarded by sightings of mink, beaver, white-tailed deer, and countless species of birds. It is an incredibly diverse ecosystem here.
The Pigeon River widens the closer you get to Omemee, and you’ll eventually float past some mowed backyards. There’s a low lying bridge where a rough road heads up a steep hill to the east. If the water level is high you might not fit under the bridge and be forced to get out and lift over it. Or you could choose this spot to simply turn back and paddle back to where you started to eliminate a car shuttle from Omemee. In fact, it’s a good idea to get out of the canoe here anywhere. The rough road is part of the Hogsback Trail that follows a geological esker—a ridge of stratified sand and gravel left behind by the glaciers. This is another hidden gem of the Kawarthas. It snakes its way through cow pasture and woodlots for 20 kilometres and provides striking views of the rural wilderness.
If you’re looking for a place to camp after your paddle then Emily Provincial Park is on the Pigeon River just downstream of Omemee. You could easily continue past the low lying bridge, portage to the left of the Omemee dam and boat launch, and in less than an hour you’ll see the campground on your right.
Big/Boyd Island
Google maps label the largest island on Kawartha’s Pigeon Lake as Big Island. It’s a good name for it since it’s the largest island on the lake (1,100 acres). The locals, however, call it Boyd Island, since it was once owned and farmed by one of the first settlers (the Boyd family) to stake a claim from the nearby town of Bobcaygeon. The First Nations of the region also called it Chiminis, and they gathered here for over two thousand years to hunt, fish and gather Manomin (wild rice).
The island hosts a number of very diverse species of flora and fauna, and a system of hiking trails (8 km) allow visitors to explore the dense forests, open grasslands and lush wetlands. And the only way to get there is by boat.
You can launch your canoe at a public access on the east side of Pigeon lake, at the end of Bear Creek Road, off County Road 37. There’s no official boat launch but there’s plenty of places to park your car and a short trail leads down to a rocky shoreline where you can load up your canoe. It’s about a kilometre paddle across. You could also launch from Bobcaygeon’s upper Lock 32. It’s about three times the distance, however, and less protected from prevailing winds. The stretch between the Bear Creek access and the east side of the island is part of Back Channel which is a more sheltered from the wind and waves.
You can either spend an hour or two paddling around the island and stop for a lunch break at one of the eight picnic areas along the eastern shoreline. Or, if the wind is up, just take out at the south side or east side shoreline docks and hook up to the system of hiking trails. There’s a central loop (3.8 km) starting at the east dock and a southern loop (3.4 km) starting at the south dock, with a 1 km linear trail that links the two.
Things have dramatically changed on Big/Boyd Island over the years. It’s now celebrated as the largest undeveloped island in the Kawarthas. However, it came close to housing a number of massive cottage lots. Fortunately in 2015 the new owners, Mike and Terry Wilson, graciously donated the majority of the island to the Kawartha Land Trust. Volunteers now clean litter and maintain the hiking trails annually, and people now have permission to enjoy this natural wonder in the Kawarthas. Take note that it’s for day use only. No overnight camping or campfires are allowed. If you’re looking for a place to stay, there’s plenty of high quality resorts in and around the town of Bobcaygeon.
About Kevin Callan
Kevin (aka The Happy Camper) is the author of 20 books; his latest being A Spark Of Courage – a children’s book on how time in the wilderness helps cure anxiety. He is an award winning writer and a keynote speaker at outdoor events across North America. Kevin is also a regular guest on several television morning shows and CBC Radio. He has won several film awards, writes a column for Paddling Magazine and Explore Magazine. Kevin was listed one of the top 100 modern day explorers by the Canadian Geographical Society. He was also made Patron Paddler for Paddle Canada. Check out his web site at kevincallan.com and YouTube channel KCHappyCamper.