With a top international canal boat rental company about to launch a new base of operations in Peterborough on the Trent-Severn Waterway, the city has officially joined the Trent-Severn Trail Town program five years after it was created.
Launched in 2019 by Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) — a non-profit organization funded by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport to promote regional tourism activity in Kawarthas Northumberland, which encompasses Kawartha Lakes, the city and county of Peterborough, and Northumberland County — Trent-Severn Trail Town is a regional program designed to encourage tourism in the communities along the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site.
As 80 per cent of the Trent-Severn Waterway lies within Kawarthas Northumberland, and half of the region’s tourism assets are located within three kilometres of the waterway, the Trent-Severn Trail Town program is designed to raise awareness and attract visitors to the region’s restaurants, accommodations, arts, and cultural attractions.
The communities of Bobcaygeon, Buckhorn, Campbellford, Coboconk, Fenelon Falls, Hastings, Lakefield, Lindsay, and Rosedale have been part of the program since its launch. With the addition of Peterborough, the Trent-Severn Trail Town program now represents the full range of communities along the Trent-Severn Waterway in the region.
“Having this vibrant community as part of Canada’s first waterway trail town program will ensure that this region becomes synonymous with the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site of Canada, one of the finest interconnected systems of navigation in the world,” says RTO8 Executive Director Brenda Wood in a media release.
According to RTO8, the addition of Peterborough to the Trent-Severn Trail Town program was spearheaded by Hillary Flood, vibrancy manager for the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Association (DBIA).
“We’re thrilled to have downtown Peterborough join the Trent-Severn Trail Town community,” Flood says. “Our businesses are ready to welcome travellers by motor vehicle, boat, paddle, foot, and bicycle with warm hospitality and pride of place. We’re primed and ready to elevate every moment of their journey.”
In advance of the opening of the Trent-Severn Waterway’s navigation season on the Friday before the Victoria Day long weekend (May 17), Le Boat — the top provider of houseboat vacations in Europe — is expanding its Canadian operation to the Trent-Severn Waterway. The company already operates in Canada on the Rideau Canal.
On Saturday (May 11), Le Boat will officially launch its new base at the newly renovated Horseshoe Bay Marina on the Otonabee River in Peterborough. The launch event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a tour of Le Boat’s luxury Horizon Cruiser, and the inaugural voyage on the waterway.
“We are so excited for the grand opening of our second Canadian base on the Trent-Severn Waterway,” says Lisa McLean, Le Boat’s North American marketing manager and head of Canada. “Our customers have been asking when we will be offering luxury boat rental vacations on this national historic site. We are excited to give them what they have been waiting for.”
Le Boat is predicting their latest expansion will attract new customers from the Greater Toronto area, Quebec, and the United States, as well as their current base of international travellers from Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and South Africa.
During its first year of operation on the Trent-Severn Waterway, Le Boat will have a fleet of eight luxury Horizon Cruisers. The boats range in size from two to four bedrooms and will offer several suggested cruising routes departing from Horseshoe Bay Marina.
For more information about the Trent-Severn Trail Town program, visit tswtrailtowns.ca. For more information about Le Boat, visit www.leboat.com.
