Paddling the Trent-Severn Waterway:
Hamlet of Trent River to
Hardy, Slaughter, Oak & Haunted Islands
written by The Land Canadian Adventures. Read more by The Land.
Route Overview
From Monument Road:
Difficulty: Intermediate as there is significant current at this point in the river. Respect boat traffic.
Distance: 7km to loop around Burnt Point Bay to the South of Hardy Island and return but you can add smaller islands to your route.
Portages: None
Shuttle Info: Not required.
Launch Details: There is a small parking lot at the end of Monument Road (at County Road 30, in the hamlet of Trent River). You'll see a large white monument, a memorial to the women and men who have served in the armed forces from that area.
Head to Hardy:
You can park at Monument Rd. and head east for about a kilometre past houses and cottages before you see Graham Island. At this point it’s best to head south to follow the marshier western shore and then head through Birch Narrows and up the east side of Hardy Island and then around the north shore of Graham Island.
More than just a day trip?
If you plan to spend more than a day in the area, Windswept on the Trent is a fantastic option with its own dock for guests. Hosts and owners Bob and Elaine Connor also own the idyllic off-grid Oak Island cabin. As an overnight guest, you can launch right from Windswept's dock and start your paddle in the lovely Birch Narrows, where you aren’t likely to share the waters with big boats. The smaller islands to the southwest of Slaughter were likely part of the same island before the water levels changed with the canal system.
If you're looking for a great place to eat in the Campbellford area, pay a visit to That Little Pub. They have a great selection of craft beers, ciders, cocktails and delicious food that nicely finishes off a perfect day of paddling. If you're looking for snacks for your paddling trip, pick up some 5-year-old Empire Cheese cheddar at the famous Dooher’s Bakery, along with breads and sweet treats. Bring a small knife in your day-pack and you've got a shore-side lunch to keep you fuelled.
Boat launch at Windswept Inn.
Bald eagles.
Hardy Island Eagles
Over the past fifteen years or more, a number of bald eagle have nested on Hardy Island. The bay is quite rich with bass, pike, pickerel, muskies and carp creating the ideal habitat for these majestic birds. You are likely to spot at least one when circling the island.
Ecotone
Ecotone is the word used to describe the edge of a homogeneous ecosystem. In the case of the Hardy Island eagles and the fish in the Trent River here, they are residents of an ecotone known as The Land Between - a corridor that stretches approximately 240km East, West around 40km wide and encompasses most of what is recognized as Cottage Country - Kawartha Lakes and Northumberland Region. This is the grey area between the Canadian Shield to the North and the homogeneous Saint Lawrence Lowlands to the South. The Land Between has more shoreline to area than anywhere else in Ontario, which is part of what makes it such an interesting place to paddle!
What’s in a name?
Dark Island... Slaughter Island...Haunted Island… These names paint a rather morbid picture and yet, the true stories behind the names may be forever buried. Local resort owner, Bob Connor of Windswept on the Trent, has heard a couple of different versions that sent chills down my spine. Keeping in mind the current water levels (after the construction of the Trent Severn Waterway) are at least 6 feet higher than they were one hundred years ago. The islands South of Burnt Point Bay on the Trent River are much smaller than they were. Windswept is located on what was the most rugged stretch of Sagetewedgewam - River Hard to Travel - 46 km from Rice Lake horseshoeing up to Hastings and back down to Percy Reach south of Meyersburg where paddlers would have encountered multiple rapids as well as the impressive Healy Falls: a 220 foot drop all in all. As such, it was not commonly used as a main transportation route but was often visited for rich hunting and fishing pursuits.
One version goes that in the struggle for the possession of these rich hunting grounds, the Mississaugas (a branch of the Anishinaabeg whose home was North of Lake Huron and the North Shore of Lake Ontario) determined to push the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) South of Lake Ontario and that Slaughter Island is the site of one such skirmish which accounts for the archeological treasures discovered on the island: a tomahawk, skinning stone and several arrowheads. These remnants all indicate a battle could have indeed taken place there as the Mississaugas were ultimately successful in driving the Haudenosaunee South of Lake Ontario.
And could it be that some restless spirits made their way only as far as Haunted Island? Whatever the case may be, be mindful of where your paddle lands and tread lightly on these shores, if for no other reason than the respect and admiration for the creatures living here and the paddlers in years to come.
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