Field Guides/Trent Hills/Paddling — Flatwater
Strong
Best WindowLate May through October; July and August are the warmest paddling months
Variantscanoeing · kayaking · sup
RegionTrent Hills, Ontario

Paddling — Flatwater.

The Trent River between locks is the spine of regional paddling, with put-ins at Hastings, Healey Falls, Crowe Bay, and Campbellford on protected flatwater between the Trent-Severn Waterway lock-and-dam structures. The Crowe River and Crowe Bay extend the network east through the Lower Trent watershed, and downstream of Hastings Lock 18 the Trent opens into the Rice Lake reach.

Paddling — Flatwater in Trent Hills
01 — What to know

The brief.

The Trent River between locks is essentially a chain of protected reservoirs — flatwater between dams, with no whitewater inside the municipality. Through-paddling between locks requires planning around the Trent-Severn Waterway navigation calendar (roughly mid-May through mid-October), since locks are staffed seasonally and the flow can change at gates.

Crowe Bay and the lower Crowe River carry quieter paddling separate from the main TSW corridor. Best season is late May through October; July and August are the warmest months.

Lower Trent Conservation publishes paddling and access information for the watershed.

02 — Locations

3. places.

  1. 01

    Trent River (between locks)

    Flatwater between Trent-Severn lock-and-dam structures; put-ins at Hastings, Healey Falls, Crowe Bay, Campbellford.

  2. 02

    Crowe River and Crowe Bay

    Quieter Lower Trent watershed paddling separate from the TSW corridor.

  3. 03

    Rice Lake reach (downstream of Hastings)

    Open reach below Lock 18 toward Rice Lake; widening current and exposure.

03 — Conditions

Today's read.

Air Quality
17
eu-aqi · low
UV Index
0.8
scale 0–11
Humidity
68%
relative
Visibility
25.8 km
clear
Temp
+2.2°
H 13° · L -1°
Sun
05:47 / 20:28
14h 41m daylight
C
Marginal conditions for paddling — flatwater

Temperature (2.2°C) below the typical range.