Sarah Warsi

Kayaking has always been a summer activity that I enjoy. It’s very peaceful and you can get quite the workout. This summer I wanted to try and do something a little different.

I had recently heard about an interesting kayaking adventure in Peterborough – a city located just northeast of the GTA and home to some beautiful architecture and serene waters of the Trent-Severn Waterway.

When it comes to canoeing or kayaking, this area is known for the famous Peterborough Lift Locks – a boat lift on the Trent Canal. Lock 21, (pictured below), in particular, has become an historic site and tourist attraction over the years.

For years, this boat lift was considered the highest in the world, raising boats to 65 feet, when at the time, conventional locks could only raise boats to about 7 feet.

Experiencing this firsthand was super interesting – especially given the fact that a cruise ship was also touring the locks at the same time! It should also be noted that Lock 21 was built back in 1904 and has far exceeded its 80-year life expectancy – a fact that the cruise ship tour guide chose to tell us as we were going up! lol

My knowledge of lift locks prior to this was fairly non-existent, but basically, what makes the operation of these lifts unique is that they run entirely on gravity. No external power is needed. Using the concept of counterweight – one chamber ascends while the other descends – to put it simply. (If you’d like to learn more about how this works, feel free to go here.)

So it was like sitting inside a giant bathtub and being hoisted up to the next level. The picture below is inside the lock as we are waiting to ascend. You can see just how huge the chamber really is. Just before the gates would open at the top, you could feel the water equalizing underneath you. It was really neat and its one of those things you need to experience for yourself to truly appreciate how it works.

The locks also make for a great addition to Peterborough’s landscape with picnic benches and walkways lining the pathways leading up to the locks to allow people to observe the locks in operation from the ground.

So, if you’re a boat lift enthusiast (lol), or just want to do something a little different, I would highly recommend visiting the Peterborough Lift Locks.