Bucket List Item Complete - Peterborough's 2024 Lock & Paddle Event
Published July 29th, 2024
Photography by Jay Kana
For 95+% of my kayaking adventures, I go solo. I find it peaceful, serene and it’s one of my favourite ways of disconnecting from the world.
Enter the famous Lock & Paddle event, which is a massive exception to my rule.
2024 saw the sixth annual “Lock & Paddle” event take place in Peterborough, Ontario. This paddlers paradise is a perfect place for this yearly collection of people in kayaks and canoes as they traverse the Trent-Severn Waterway.
Before I dig into my experience with this bucket-list event, let’s establish some basics, shall we?
What is the Lock & Paddle event?
Put on by Parks Canada, this event celebrates the Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site. The event sees hundreds of canoes and kayaks paddle into the lift lock and once the lock door is closed, the lock is lifted 65 feet into the air with the boats inside for a unique experience. Both locks are utilized and in 2024, nearly 400 boats participated.
It’s a free event, you don’t need to register and the more the merrier.
Note that stand up paddle boards and inflatable kayaks are not permitted.
Logistics-wise, you paddle to Lock 20, load in, carry on to Lock 21 and enjoy the experience; more on that later in the article.
Simply put, it’s a great community initiative that brings people together on and off the water for a few hours of fun.
Here’s how my experience went.
Steph from RoadTripper.ca and I spent a few days in the Peterborough & the Kawarthas region leading up to the event and on the day of, Saturday July 20th, 2024, we started off by visiting Wild Rock Outfitters to pick up her rental kayak as I brought my own one with me.
They’re a short 10 minute walk from the water and if you are renting from them, be sure to get a kayak carrying cart (a two-wheel contraption that allows you to tow your kayak by hand.)
We parked on Charlotte street, the same street Wild Rock is on, on the edge of Millennium Park. You can park closer but given that it was going to be a busy day, we took the first spot we found.
Lunch at Silver Bean with kayaks close at hand
A short 5-ish minute walk from the car brought us to the popular Silver Bean Cafe, on the shores of the Otonabee River. After a healthy and filling lunch, we launched our kayaks from the dock behind the cafe and were on our way.
If you take this route, keep an eye out for larger tour boats that also use the waterway.
Follow the river to Little Lake, slow down and admire the Little Lake Fountain, where water shoots out at up to 250 feet high, complete with different coloured lights at night.
Carry on to Lock 20 Ashburnham where you’ll meet a plethora of others participating in the event. You’ll gently float into the lock as a practice run from the big event at Lock 21. Once the Lock brings you up, keep paddling toward Lock 21 and along the way, you’ll see Parks Canada staff, live music and spectators snapping pictures and flashing smiles.
The best way I can describe the congregation at Lock 21, Peterborough’s Hydraulic Lift Lock, is rush hour traffic but in a positive way. There are only positive vibes. Scores of smiles, loads of laughter filled with friendliness. As the hundreds of boats funnel to load in the lock, Parks Canada staff gently reviews the rules and reminds us of what the sequence of events are.
What are they? Well, with both locks being used, some of us go to the left lock (myself and Steph included) and others go to the right one. Once we’re all in and the gate is shut, up goes the lock 65 feet and we stay up there for about 20-30 minutes. The wait is so that the other lock can also be used lift participants.
That’s the mechanics of it and on the personal experience side, it was everything I hoped it would be.
There was instant camaraderie between everyone I was on the water with. Steph and I didn’t know anyone else on the water but it sure didn’t feel like that. Throughout our time paddling, we’d give and receive the friendly “smile and nod.” When we were in close proximity to others, we’d always help our boating neighbours with a nudge of the kayak or pulling/pushing them because when you’e that close, arm power is all you’ve got opposed to paddles.
Pro tip; if you have a two-piece paddle, split them so you can use it for a bit of motion when you’re close but not too close to your paddling neighbour. This works best when it was time to exit the lock and we’re all paddling/moving backwards.
Once we were in the air, so to speak, there was yet another instance of Parks Canada staff being engaging and entertaining, complete with a bubble gun, beach balls and some light humour.
Another pro tip: bring twice as much water as you think you need. Our event day saw clear skies and 30-ish degree Celsius weather, so check that forecast often and carefully when/if you go. Sunscreen is a must, as is a hat. Long sleeves can help as well.
Through my entire blissful experience, I was reminded of the importance of community. I was reminded that despite some of the questionable things happening in the world, strangers can be brought together with positivity and happiness. It’s the coming together for a fun, free and fantastic event that is becoming one of many splendid summer events in Peterborough.
There’s Musicfest, the Farmer’s Market and others and even though Lock & Paddle is only six years old, it continues to be something special.
If you enjoy spending time in a kayak or canoe, I highly recommend that you experience the Lock & Paddle event as there’s nothing quite like it.
