Gateway to Ontario’s cottage country opens for the season Friday [Video]

A series of canals linking Lake Ontario with Georgian Bay was originally surveyed as a military route in case the Americans wanted another round in the annexation ring and ultimately took 87 years to complete.

Now the Trent-Severn Waterway, which opens for the season this weekend, is a 386-kilometre route through Ontario’s cottage country that invites travellers to slow down and connect with the rich natural and cultural heritage as they cruise through 44 locks – including a marine railway – on the journey between Trenton and Port Severn.

Parks Canada is welcoming all new and returning visitors to the 105th navigation season on the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site this Friday, with the locks opening at 9 a.m.

The first lock was built in 1833, connecting a number of lakes and rivers and opening a large area in central Ontario to navigation by steamship.

Delays caused by the Upper …