Point of interest

Trent-Severn Waterway, Lock 21 - Peterborough Lift Lock

Name: Trent-Severn Waterway, Lock 21 - Peterborough Lift Lock
Address: 2320 Ashburnham Dr, Peterborough, ON, CA

37 locals recommend,

Tips from locals

Terri

May 20, 2022

This is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world and the first of two built in North America, both on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Robin

January 18, 2022

Boat lift located on the Trent Canal. For many years the locks dual lifts were the highest hydraulic boat lifts in the world, raising boats 65 ft

Peg

September 8, 2022

The Peterborough Lift Lock is a boat lift located on the Trent Canal in the city of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and is Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway. For many years, the lock's dual lifts were the highest hydraulic boat lifts in the world, raising boats 65 ft. This was a considerable accomplishment in the first years of the 20th century, when conventional locks usually only had a 7 ft rise. In the 1980s, a visitor centre was built beside the lock. It offers interactive simulations of going over the lift lock in a boat, and historical exhibits detailing the construction of the lift lock. Residents and visitors skate on the canal below the lift lock in the winter. The Peterborough Lift Lock was designated a National Historic Site in 1979, and was named an Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1987. The Trent-Severn has a similar hydraulic lift lock, the Kirkfield Lift Lock, at its summit near Kirkfield, with basins of the same dimensions, but which has a smaller vertical lift.