Sailing & Boating.
Lock 45 at Port Severn is the smallest of 45 locks on the Trent-Severn Waterway — a 25.6-metre chamber at the northern end of a 386 km route from Trenton on Lake Ontario. Six kilometres upstream, Lock 44's Big Chute Marine Railway carries cruisers in individual cradles up an inclined plane over an 18-metre change of height — the only marine railway of its kind in North America.
The brief.
The Trent-Severn navigation season runs roughly May through October, with Parks Canada operating Lock 45 and Lock 44 on a published schedule. Lock 45's 25.6 m (84 ft) length is the through-vessel ceiling for the entire system, so larger boats can enter from Georgian Bay but cannot through-navigate to Lake Ontario.
Honey Harbour, at the boat-launch end of the township, is the gateway to the 30,000 Islands archipelago — the UNESCO Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere designated in 2004 — and to the inner-island channels of Georgian Bay Islands National Park. The eastern Georgian Bay shore is exposed to strong winds and cold open-water; gusts funnel through the islands.
4. places.
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Lock 45 (Port Severn)
Northern terminus of the 386 km Trent-Severn Waterway and the smallest lock on the system at 25.6 m.
Map ↗ - 02
Lock 44 / Big Chute Marine Railway
Only marine railway of its kind in North America; carries boats up to 100 ft over an 18 m elevation change on an inclined plane.
Map ↗ - 03
Honey Harbour and the Port of Honey Harbour
Boat-launch and gateway to Georgian Bay Islands National Park.
Map ↗ - 04
30,000 Islands archipelago
Open-water sailing and motor-cruising terrain along the eastern Georgian Bay shore.
Map ↗
Today's read.
Cool but comfortable for layered effort · light winds.
