Lock and Paddle returns to the Trent-Severn Waterway this Saturday (July 20), bringing together paddlers of all ages and skill levels for an exhilarating trek to the top of the Peterborough Lift Lock.
Organized and hosted by Parks Canada as a highlight of Parks Day, the event will see again hundreds of canoes and kayaks, many of them decorated, converge for what has become quite a spectacle.
Ontario Waterways spokesperson Karen Feeley says the event was started in 2016 and has grown more popular every year since.
Feeley says the opportunity to get up close and personal with the world’s tallest hydraulic lift lock is a huge draw for many who take part.
Feeley says the Peterborough event’s success has led to Lock and Paddle being held Saturday for the first time on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa and on Montreal’s Lachine Canal.
The event goes rain or shine, with lock fees waived for the day. The wearing of personal flotation Devices is mandatory, and only canoes and kayaks are allowed. For more information, visit https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/trentsevern/activ/eclusez-pagayez-lock-paddle.
(Written by: Paul Rellinger)
