Update May 28, 2018
A few years have gone by and I’ve gotten a little less bad at photography. I was able to put up some pretty decent blue hour photos of Bobcaygeon and other areas in the Kawarthas. You can check them out in this article and, please, let me know what you think (comes with a time lapse sunrise video, as well)..: Kawartha Lakes Blue Hour Photos
Finally. I’ve been saying for a few years now that I would drag myself back into Bobcaygeon for night images. Unfortunately, when you’re by the lake in the summer time, either you’re exhausted from all the fresh air activities or a few alcoholic beverages have entered your system by the time darkness sets in around 9:30-10. Many a weekend have gone by with a broken promise to myself to do this night time long exposure photography.
On our latest visit, the late August sun sets much earlier in Southern Ontario than it did five or six weeks before. Add to that, a trailer full of tired people that were fishing on Pigeon Lake in the rain much of the day. It was the perfect opportunity to get in the car and head down the road into that town the Tragically Hip speak so highly of.
The on again, off again rain that had hampered us all day threatened to ruin my outing. Any of the pictures of the canal and locks were taken in a constant drizzle. However, as it had all day, the inclement weather passed and the sky partially cleared, revealing a moon that would be full in just a few days.
All the images included here are around 30 second exposures. All were taken within a relatively small area within Bobcaygeon, where Sturgeon Lake becomes the short lived Bobcaygeon River. Many are taken on the less popular north shore, looking back across at the area better known to tourists.
Bobcaygeon, Ontario
Bobcaygeon is now part of the City of Kawartha Lakes – formerly known as Victoria County. The town has a permanent population of around 3,500 with numbers ballooning in the summer months. The town is located around 150km northeast of Toronto, Ontario.
The locks, and Bobcaygeon River, connect Sturgeon Lake with Pigeon Lake. Now lock 32 in the extensive Trent-Severn Waterway that connects Georgian Bay with Lake Ontario, the locks here are rooted back to the 1830’s and are some of the oldest in the system. The swing bridge seen in the first image is the oldest in the waterway.
Sturgeon Lake flows into Pigeon Lake. The lake is around 25km or 16 miles at it’s longest stretch but quite narrow with a maximum width of around 3km. The Scugog River flows into the lake at Lindsay and Cameron Lake via the Fenelon River flows in at Fenelon Falls.
The locks are a unique experience but shut down at 5pm. This creates a floating hotel at both the waters upstream and downstream. A popular route for house boat renters, by early evening, the water is lined with these family sized vessels waiting for the morning when they can pass through and be on their way.
If you look to the centre-left of the above image, you will see a pole that rises just above the tree line. This is a man-made platform intended for an Osprey nest. When you zoom in on this image (click the image for the larger version) you will actually see the Osprey sitting at attention in its nest.
Osprey are a fish eating hawk with a wingspan of around 1.6 metres or 5’3″. Much has been done in recent years by organizations like Friends of the Osprey to bring back depleted populations of this majestic bird.
To experience the locks in the Trent-Severn without the high cost of buying a boat or renting a house boat, take a look at the Peterborough Liftlock Tours. This is a cruise that runs out of nearby downtown Peterborough and takes passengers up a traditional flood lock, similar to the one in Bobcaygeon, before the main event. In Peterborough, the highest hydraulic lift locks in the world exist and the Liftlock Tour takes you up and down this wonder of engineering that has stood for over a century.
Not just a summer retreat, Bobcaygeon is popular in the winter months with snowmobilers.
Below is a video I put together a few years ago that shows Bobcaygeon during the day. If you like what you see, please give it a ‘thumb’s up’ in YouTube. If you love what you see, please share with friends!
Bobcaygeon, Ontario Video
