The canal was originally surveyed as a logging route, the first lock was built in 1833 as a commercial venture. But with the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 to other various delays to WW1. The link to Trenton finally opened in 1918. The first complete transit of the waterway was made in July 1920. By the time the route was completed its use as a commercial waterway was over; ships plying the Great Lakes had grown much larger than the canal could handle, and the railways that originally connected to the canal now took most of its freight. But the introduction of motor boats led to the Trent–Severn's emergence as a pleasure boating route, and today it is one of Ontario's major tourist attractions. Today it is officially organized as a National Historic Site of Canada Linear Park operated by Parks Canada. It is open for navigation from May until October, while its shore lands and bridges are open year-round.
There are 45 locks on the Trent Severn Waterway!
Hey, did you know that Samuel Champlain was the first European to travel the network of inland waters from Georgain Bay to the Bay of Quinte with the Hurons in 1615? Yes, it’s true! It was the same route that would be later be canalized and become the Trent Severn Waterway!