Paddling the Trent-Severn Waterway:
Hamlet of Trent River to
Hardy, Slaughter, Oak & Haunted Islands
From Windswept on the Trent (accommodation)
Difficulty: Novice to Intermediate depending on wind conditions.
Distance: 3.5km loop but you can explore much farther around the other small islands.
Portages: None
Shuttle Info: Not required.
Launch Details: Windswept on the Trent on Birch Point Road, just 10 minutes north of Campbellford. For a $5 fee you can park at their resort and launch from their dock. Map link.
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. Map link.
Head to Hardy:
You can park 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?
Once you check out Windswept on the Trent, you might decide to make it more than just a day paddle. Your lovely hosts and owners are Bob and Elaine Connor who also own the idyllic off-grid Oak Island cabin. For a $5 parking fee, 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. You can take your time meandering close to shore. The smaller islands to the southwest of Slaughter were likely part of the same island before the water levels changed with the canal system.
Campbellford Paddle Rentals at 197 Queen St. (right on the Trent River in Campbellford - Map Link) is a great place to pick up rental canoes and kayaks for your daytrips in the area. We pit stopped to pick up a kayak and to check out their new Barefoot Paddle showroom at 19 Bridge St. - Map Link. Right across the road is That Little Pub which has a great selection of craft beers, ciders, cocktails and great food if you decide to end your day here or spend the night. If you need 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 fueled.
Boat launch at Windswept Inn.
Bald eagles.
Hardy Island Eagles
About fifteen years ago, Bob and his wife Elaine noticed a pair of bald eagles had taken up residence on Hardy Island. Since then, the number of nests on the island has grown while a number of the offspring have surely flown farther from the nest to start their own families. 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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